169.23—Railroads.
(a)
The Act of March 2, 1899 (30 Stat. 990), as amended by the Acts of February 28, 1902 (32 Stat. 50), June 21, 1906 (34 Stat. 330), and June 25, 1910 (36 Stat. 859; 25 U.S.C. 312-318 ); the Act of March 3, 1875 (18 Stat. 482; 43 U.S.C. 934 ); and the Act of March 3, 1909 (35 Stat. 781), as amended by the Act of May 6, 1910 (36 Stat. 349; 25 U.S.C. 320 ), authorize grants of rights-of-way across tribal, individually owned and Government-owned land, except in the State of Oklahoma, for railroads, station buildings, depots, machine shops, side tracks, turnouts, and water stations; for reservoirs, material or ballast pits needed to the construction, repair, and maintenance of railroads; and for the planting and growing of trees to protect railroad lines. Rights-of-way granted under the above acts shall be subject to the provisions of this section as well as other pertinent sections of this part 169. Except when otherwise determined by the Secretary, rights-of-way for the above purposes granted under the Act of February 5, 1948 (62 Stat. 17; 25 U.S.C. 323-328 ), shall also be subject to the provisions of this section.
(b)
Rights-of-way for railroads shall not exceed 50 feet in width on each side of the centerline of the road, except where there are heavy cuts and fills, when they shall not exceed 100 feet in width on each side of the road. The right-of-way may include grounds adjacent to the line for station buildings, depots, machine shops, side tracks, turnouts, and water stations, not to exceed 200 feet in width by a length of 3,000 feet, with no more than one station to be located within any one continuous length of 10 miles of road.
(c)
Short spurs and branch lines may be shown on the map of the main line, separately described by termini and length. Longer spurs and branch lines shall be shown on separate maps. Grounds desired for station purposes may be indicated on the map of definite location but separate plats must be filed for such grounds. The maps shall show any other line crossed, or with which connection is made. The station number shall be shown on the survey thereof at the point of intersection. All intersecting roads must be represented in ink of a different color from that used for the line for which application is made.
(d)
Plats of railroad station grounds shall be drawn on a scale of 400 feet to an inch, and must be filed separately from the line of route. Such plats shall show enough of the line of route to indicate the position of the tract with reference thereto. Each station ground tract must be located with respect to the public survey as provided in § 169.8 and all buildings or other structures shall be platted on a scale sufficiently large to show clearly their dimensions and relative positions.
(e)
If any proposed railroad is parallel to, and within 10 miles of, a railroad already built or in course of construction, it must be shown wherein the public interest will be promoted by the proposed road. Where the Interstate Commerce Commission has passed on this point, a certified copy of its findings must be filed with the application.
(f)
The applicant must certify that the road is to be operated as a common carrier of passengers and freight.
(g)
The applicant shall execute and file, in duplicate, a stipulation obligating the company to use all precautions possible to prevent forest fires and to suppress such fires when they occur, to construct and maintain passenger and freight stations for each Government townsite, and to permit the crossing, in a manner satisfactory to the Government officials in charge, of the right-of-way by canals, ditches, and other projects.
(h)
A railroad company may apply for sufficient land for ballast or material pits, reservoirs, or tree planting to aid in the construction or maintenance of the road. The authority to use any land for such purposes shall terminate upon abandonment or upon failure to use the land for such purposes for a continuous period of 2 years.