The charter of the Troy and Greenfield Railroad, was granted in 1848, and authorized the construction of a railroad with one or more tracks, from a point on the Vermont and Massachusetts Railroad, at or near Greenfield, to some point on the line of New York or Vermont, convenient to meet or connect with any railroad that may be constructed from any point at or near the city of Troy, on the Hudson River in the State of New York. Its capital stock was limited at $3,500,000. The corporation was authorized to contract with the owners of any contiguous railroad leading into or from either of the States of Vermont or New York, for the use of the whole or any part thereof, or for the running and operating the two railroads conjointly, or for the leasing of such contiguous road, or for any other road, or for the letting or hiring of their own road to the owners of such contiguous road, or of any other road which composes a part of the railroad line between the cities of Boston and Troy, of which the Troy and Greenfield Railroad shall be a part. The first meeting under the charter was held June I, 1848, at which subscription papers were voted to be issued and circulated, in order to organize the corporation. In 1849, March 16, the subscribers to the stock held their first meeting, and organized under the charter. At the annual meeting, February 6, 1850, the stock was apportioned among the neighboring towns as follows:- Ashfield, 60 shares. Charlemont, 400 " Colrain, 150 " Conway, 50 " Greenfield, 700 " Hawley, 120 " Heath, 120 " Leyden, 30 " Monroe, 50 " Rowe, 100 " Shelburne, 400 " Buckland, 150 " Florida, 120 " Adams, 1,000 " Williamstown, 800 " Clarksburg, 40 " Hancock, 50 " Deerfield, 150 " Bernardston, 40 " Gill, 80 " Whitingham, 00 " Reedsborough, 00 " Stansford, 00 " 0,000 shares. It was also voted to apportion the directors among the towns in the following manner, to wit:-- North Adams, 3; Florida, Rowe, Heath and Monroe, 1; Colrain, Buckland and Hawley, 1; Shelburne, 1; Greenfield, Deerfield and Conway, 3; Williamstown and Whitingham, 2; Charlemont, 1; and one director at large. Before the annual meeting in 1850, the directors had voted to assess three per cent. upon each share of the capital stock. This vote was passed April 11, 1849, and on the first day of October in the same year, they voted that the construction of the road from the State line at Pownal, Vermont, to Adams, and from Greenfield to Shelburne Falls, be put under contract as soon as sufficient subscription shall have been obtained therefore, and that the two ends aforesaid shall be constructed simultaneously.