A company which contracts for the operation, or takes a lease, of another railway shall, subject to the terms of such contract or lease, have and enjoy the powers and privileges, and be subject to the duties, liabilities and restrictions of the company owning it; but no right to carry on an express business or to be a common carrier of merchandise shall be allowed, except as provided in this chapter or chapter one hundred and fifty-nine, over any location where it had not been granted prior to March twenty-ninth, eighteen hundred and ninety-seven.
Massachusetts Legal Code