RAILROAD

A road or way on which iron or steel rails are laid for wheels to run on, for the conveyance of heavy loads in cars or carriages propelled by steam or other motive power. The word “railway” is of exactly equivalent import. Whether or not this term includes roads operated by horse-power, electricity, cable-lines, etc., will generally depend upon the context of the statute in which it is found. The decisions on this point are at variance. Railroad commission. A body of commissioners, appointed in several of the states, to regulate railway traffic within the state, with power, generally, to regulate and fix rates, see to the enforcement of police ordinances, and sometimes assess the property of railroads for taxation. See Southern Pac. Co. v. Board ot Railroad Com’re (C. C.) 78 Fed. 252.