"Plaintiff
by leave of court files this, her amended petition, and
states that the defendant Chicago, Burlington & Quincy
Railroad Company is and was at all the times hereinafter
mentioned a railroad corporation and the defendant city of
St. Louis is a municipal corporation and political
subdivision of the State of Missouri; that plaintiff is the
widow of Francis Gorman, who died at the city of St. Louis on
or about the 7th day of June, 1904, leaving a last will and
testament whereby after bequeathing the sum of five dollars
to each of his children he devised and bequeathed unto
plaintiff all other property, whether real, personal or
mixed, which he owned at the time of his death; that at the
time of his death the said Francis Gorman was the owner of
the tract of ground hereinafter particularly described and
under his will plaintiff became and still is the owner
thereof and all the debts and bequests mentioned in the will
of said Francis Gorman have been paid and his estate duly
administered and settled; that subsequent to the dedication
of Aurora avenue as hereinafter stated and prior to the
construction of the railroad embankment hereafter described
the said Francis Gorman for a valuable consideration
purchased and thereby became the owner of the tract of ground
above referred to and particularly described as being a tract
of land situated in United States Survey No. 926, having a
front of 660 feet on the south line of Aurora avenue and
extending southwardly between parallel lines for a distance
of 341 feet 8 inches and thence southwardly to the center
line between Aurora avenue and Humboldt avenue on which
center line it measures 620 feet, said tract being composed
of lots 31 and 32 of that part of the subdivision entitled Garden Suburb, by John How, which lies east of
the Wabash Railroad excepting the triangle off of the
southeast corner thereof conveyed by said Francis Gorman to
the St. Louis, Keokuk & Northwestern Railroad Company, on or
about the 9th day of January, 1892; that at the time that
said Francis Gorman became the owner of said tract of ground
the same was in St. Louis county but outside of the city of
St. Louis; that thereafter about the year 1876, the limits of
the said city were extended so as to include within said city
the said tract of ground and all of said Garden Suburb; that
said Garden Suburb was a subdivision made by one John How
who duly platted same and recorded a plat thereof in the
office of the recorder of deeds of St. Louis county, on or
about the 24th day of July, 1868, and which is of record in
the office of the recorder of deeds of the city of St. Louis
in plat book 6, page 22; that in said subdivision divers
streets were platted and dedicated as public streets and
highways and amongst them was Aurora avenue, which runs in a
general eastern and western direction from Broadway, formerly
Bellefontaine road, on the west to the Mississippi River on
the east and being the only public street upon which
plaintiff's said tract of ground fronts, and said Aurora
avenue ever since has been and still is a public street and
highway; that there is no way of reaching
plaintiff's said tract of ground except by passing along
Aurora avenue from the east or from the west; that by
ordinance No. 15377 of the defendant city of St. Louis,
approved December 24, 1889, the St. Louis, Keokuk & Northwestern Railroad Company was authorized by said city to
construct, maintain and operate a railroad of standard gauge
with a single or double track over, along and across divers
streets and alleys in said ordinance mentioned and along a
route therein designated and which included the crossing of
Aurora avenue at the point hereinafter stated;
that purporting to act in accordance with the terms of said
ordinance the said railroad company in 1893 constructed its
railroad across Aurora avenue at a point about 250 feet east
of the eastern line of plaintiff's said property; that in
constructing its said road the said railroad company
wrongfully built across said Aurora avenue at the point
aforesaid a solid embankment about 30 feet wide on top and
with sloping sides and the top of which was and still is
about 15 feet above the surface of Aurora avenue; that upon
said embankment the said railroad company laid its tracks and
operated its trains thereover; that on or about January 1,
1901, said St. Louis, Keokuk & Northwestern Railroad Company
sold, conveyed and delivered said railroad and embankment to
defendant Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company,
which has ever since maintained and operated same and still
does so; that said embankment entirely obstructs travel along
Aurora avenue eastwardly from plaintiff's property and
there is no street or highway crossing or leading into Aurora
avenue between the western line of plaintiff's property
and the said embankment of said railroad company; that by the
construction of said embankment across Aurora avenue
aforesaid the easement incident to plaintiff's said tract
of ground of the right to pass from same eastwardly to the
public wharf and the river has been totally destroyed and
there is no way of reaching plaintiff's said property by
travel along Aurora avenue from any point east of said
embankment and thereby plaintiff has been deprived of her
property, to wit, said easement, without due process of law,
contrary to section 1 of the amendment 14 to the Constitution
of the United States and plaintiff's said property has
been taken and damaged for public use and without
compensation contrary to section 21 of article 2 of the
Constitution of Missouri and said embankment so built across
Aurora avenue, as aforesaid, is and since its
construction always has been a public nuisance and said
railroad company has been permitted to maintain said public
nuisance by the defendant city of St. Louis, which has never
at any time taken any steps to cause same to be removed and
by the maintenance of said public nuisance plaintiff's
property has been greatly depreciated in value and by reason
of said nuisance and the location of said property and of the
deprivation by said nuisance of plaintiff's said easement
and right to travel to and from her said property eastwardly
along Aurora avenue she has suffered and will suffer damages
different in kind from that suffered by the public at large
by reason of the maintenance of said public nuisance and
plaintiff states that she has no adequate remedy at law in
the premises.
"Plaintiff
therefore prays the court to order, adjudge and decree that
the said public nuisance be abated and that the defendant
railroad company be perpetually enjoined from maintaining
said solid embankment over Aurora avenue and from maintaining
its tracks across Aurora...
