Mass. Gen. Laws » Part I Title XXII Chapter 160
Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 160, § 1 (2026)

Definitions

✓ current as of July 2026
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Section 1. The following words as used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires, shall have the following meanings:

''Board of aldermen'' or ''selectmen'' includes the board or other authority exercising the powers of a board of aldermen or of selectmen; but nothing herein shall be construed as affecting the veto power of a mayor of any city.

''Department'', the department of public utilities.

''Public way'', any way laid out by public authority.

''Railroad'', a railroad or railway of the class usually operated by steam power.

''Railroad corporation'', the corporation which lays out, constructs, maintains or operates a railroad of the class usually operated by steam power.

''Railroads and railways'', all railroads and railways except tramways in mines and marine railways.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 3 cases, 1930–2005 · leading case: Libby v. New York, New Haven & Hartford R.R., 73 A.L.R. 101 (Mass. 1930).
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Libby v. New York, New Haven & Hartford R.R., 73 A.L.R. 101 (Mass. 1930). “G. L. c. 160, § 1, is significant: it defines a railroad as “ a railroad or railway of the class usually operated by steam power.”
Matulewicz v. Plan. Bd., 438 Mass. 37 (Mass. 2002). “” G. L. c. 160, § 1 (governing railroads). G.”
Anderson v. Lam Builders, Inc., 19 Mass. L. Rptr. 89 (Mass. Super. Ct. 2005). “37, 43 (2002), citing G.L.c. 160, §1, G.L.c. 161, §1. The 1913 records demonstrate only that the Town named Chapin Road, not that a public authority laid it out.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.