1901 private laws – Ch.87 Sec.1

That J. A. Deal, Geo. A. Jones, N. L. Barnard, R. L. Porter, T. B. Higdon, H. H. Jarrett, Noah Littlefield, S. N. Lyle and J. O. Harrison and such other persons as are now or may hereafter be associated with them, are hereby created and declared to be a body politic and corporate to exist for the term of sixty years, under the name and style of Blue Ridge and Atlantic Railway Company, and in that name may sue and be sued, plead and be impleaded, contract and be contracted with. Said company shall have power to adopt a common seal and to change the same at will, and shall be capable of taking by purchase, gift or in any other way, real and personal property necessary or convenient for the construction, maintenance or operation of its road, and of holding, leasing. conveying or in any other manner dealing with the same; and said company shall also have and enjoy all the rights, privileges and immunities which similar corporate bodies may lawfully exercise or enjoy, and may make ordinances, by-laws and regulations consistent with the laws of this State and of the laws of the United States for the government of all under its authority, for the management of its estates and for the due and orderly conduct of its affairs.