The council shall have power to regulate levees, depots, depot grounds, and places of storing freight and goods, and to provide for the passage of railways through the streets and public grounds of the city; also to regulate the crossings of railway tracks and to provide precautions and adopt ordinances regulating the same; to regulate the running of railway engines and cars, except speed, and to adopt ordinances relating thereto; and to make any other and further provisions, rules and restrictions to prevent accidents at crossings, and on the tracks of railways, and to prevent fires from engines.

On and after the effective date of this act, that part or parts of any rule, regulation or ordinance adopted pursuant to this section regulating the speed of railway engines and cars shall not be of any force or effect, and that part or parts shall be null and void.