This case is not distinguishable from that of Norway Plains Co. v. Boston & Maine Railroad,
In thаt case, so far as one lot of goods was concerned, as in this, the agent of the consignee was at the station after the ar
The court had previously held in Thomas v. Boston Providence Railroad,
The judgment in Norway Plains Co. v. Boston & Maine Railroad went further; and was put upon the ground that, from the necessary condition of the business of railroad corporations, and from their practice to have platforms on which to place goods from the cars in the first instance, and warehouse аccommodations by which they may be securely stored, the goods of each consignment by thеmselves, in accessible places, ready to be delivered, the whole duty assumed by the railrоad corporation is to carry the goods safely to the place of destination аnd there discharge them upon the platform, and then and there deliver them to the consignee or party entitled to receive them, if he is there ready to take them forthwith, or, if he is not there ready to take them, then to place them securely and keep them a reasonаble time, ready to be delivered when called for ; that delivery from themselves as common carriers, to themselves as keepers for hire, discharges their responsibility as common carriers ; that they are responsible as common carriers until the goods are removed from thе cars and placed on the platform; that if, on account of their arrival in the night, or at аny other time when by the usage and course of business the doors of the merchandise depot or warehouse are closed,- or for any other cause, they cannot then be deliverеd, or if for any reason the consignee is not there ready to receive them, it is the duty of the сompany to store them and preserve them safely, under the charge of competеnt and
In short, the railroad corporation сeases to be a common carrier and becomes a warehouseman, as matter of law, when it has completed the duty of transportation and assumed the position of warеhouseman, as matter of fact and according to the usages and necessities of the business in which it is engaged.
The rule then established, after argument by eminent counsel and upon much considеration, and supported by great force of reasoning, has ever since been considered settled law in this Commonwealth. Sessions v. Western Railroad,
Upon a careful examination of the numerous deсisions in' other states, fully collected in the elaborate arguments at the bar, some in acсordance and some in conflict with the judgment of this co’:rt, we find nothing which adds to or controls the reasoning of Chief Justice Shaw, upon which, more than twenty years ago, the law of this Commonwealth was authoritatively declared.
This case does not require us to consider whether the rule should extend to a case in which the goods have not arrived at their final destination, but are held by onе railroad corporation in a warehouse at the end of its own line, with the duty of forwarding them by another carrier to their ultimate destination — as to which the judgments of the Supreme Court of the United States in Railroad Co. v. Manufacturing Co.