Everything about Missouri Kansas Texas Railroad totally explained
The
Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad (reporting marks
MKT) was incorporated May 23rd, 1870. In its earliest days the MKT was commonly referred to as "the K-T", which was its stock exchange symbol; this common designation soon evolved into "
the Katy".
The Katy was the first
railroad to enter
Texas from the north. Eventually the Katy's core system would grow to link
Kansas City and
St. Louis,
Missouri;
Tulsa and
Oklahoma City,
Oklahoma;
Dallas,
Fort Worth,
Waco,
Temple,
Austin,
San Antonio,
Houston, and
Galveston,
Texas. An additional mainline between Fort Worth and
Salina,
Kansas, was added in the 1980s after the collapse of the
Rock Island Railroad; this line was operated as the
Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas Railroad (OKKT).
History
When it incorporated in May of
1870 the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad immediately acquired the
Union Pacific Railway, Southern Branch and its of track. The Union Pacific Railway was, for a period of several years in the late 1800s the official name of the
Union Pacific Railroad who later acquired MKT as part of the
Missouri Pacific Railroad. The Union Pacific Railway, Southern Branch had begun operations in
1865.
At the time of 1870 incorporation, consolidations were also made with the Labette & Sedalia Railway Co. and the Neosho Valley & Holden Railway Co. At this time MKT also acquired the Tebo & Nosho Railroad Co., the St. Louis & Santa Fe Railroad Co., and the Hannibal & Central Missouri Railroad Co. Combined with the Union Pacific Railway, Southern Branch these small, newly built railroads formed the foundation on which the Katy would build.
Congress had passed acts promising land grants to the first railroad to reach the Kansas border via the Neosho Valley and the part of the Katy had been the the Union Pacific Railway, Southern Branch was in a heated competition for the prize. On
June 6,
1870, Katy workers laid the first rails across the Kansas border winning the race. Ironically the promised land grants never materialized; the courts overturned the grants promised by Congress because the land was in
Indian Territory and was the property of the Indian tribes.
Still, the Katy continued its push southward, laying track and acquiring other small railroads, extending its reach to
Dallas in 1886,
Waco in 1888,
Houston in April 1893 and to
San Antonio 1901.
When the railroad reached Houston, joint ownership of the
Galveston, Houston, and Henderson Railroad gave the Katy immediate access to the Port of
Galveston, and access to ocean-going traffic on the
Gulf of Mexico.
In 1896, as a publicity stunt the Katy crashed two locomotives at a site that came to be known thereafter as
Crush, Texas.
From 1915 until
January 4,
1959, the Katy, in a joint venture with the
St. Louis-San Francisco Railway (popularly known as the
Frisco), operated the
Texas Special. This luxury passenger liner ran from St. Louis to Dallas, Ft. Worth, and San Antonio. It sported rail cars with names like
Sam Houston,
Stephen F. Austin,
David Crockett, and
James Bowie.
The Katy's purchase by the
Missouri Pacific Railroad Company (MoPac) and the MoPac's owner, the Union Pacific, was approved by the
Interstate Commerce Commission in 1988. On
December 1 1989, the Katy was formally merged into the MoPac, and the MKT is now part of the
Union Pacific Railroad system.
A large portion of the
Missouri track has been converted into a
Missouri State Park: the
Katy Trail State Park. A long section, also called the
Katy Trail, is being converted into a multi-use trail through downtown Dallas, linking White Rock lake to the
American Airlines Center.
The former MKT rail line which linked Katy to Downtown Houston has been converted; a section between
Loop 610 and Katy, Texas, is part of the
Interstate 10 expansion of the Katy Freeway since
TxDOT purchased the MKT right-of-way in 1998, and the MKT line east of Loop 610 into
Downtown Houston is currently owned by the City of Houston's Parks and Recreation Department (plans are underway to convert the right-of-way into a bicycle trail).
In July 2005, Union Pacific unveiled a brand new
EMD SD70ACe locomotive,
Union Pacific 1988, in MKT colors as part of a new heritage program.
Regular revenue trains
The Katy operated the following named trains on regular schedules:
Livery paint schemes
1870-1947 Steam locomotives were shiny black with the MKT herald on their tenders. Rolling stock used colors common in those days, for example boxcar brown, caboose red, etc.
1947-1957 Diesels were bright red with silver side panels and cream yellow on top of the nose hoods. Passenger cars were painted to match. Boxcars, cabooses, and other rolling stock were frequently painted Sloan Yellow (named for MKT President Matthew S. Sloan)
1957-1965 Diesels were painted an orange-red with yellow MKT and road numbers. The herald was changed to read simply "Katy" in red letters on a gold background. The text and herald were outlined in black.
1965-1971 The Katy returned to a bright red paint, perhaps deeper than the original 1947 through 1957. They also returned to the original herald.
1971-1988 Diesel Locomotives, cabooses, and other rolling stock were painted green with yellow stripes, lettering and numbering. The first Katy locomotive painted into this scheme was GP7 #123.
In its final years, the Katy acquired several locomotives second-hand which, due to its impending acquisition by Union Pacific were not painted into the standard green and yellow scheme. MKT acquired 18 GP40s from Conrail in late 1983 that were numbered 231-248 (example
).
A set of nine GP39-2s were acquired from Kennecott Copper Corporation in late 1984. Ex KCC #779-783, 785, and 787-789 were renumbered MKT #380-388 (example).
In 1985, 3 additional GP38s were purchased from Conrail that were numbered 322-324 and finally 19 GP38ACs were purchased from Illinois Central Gulf and numbered 325-343 (example).
The changes in the red paint used by MKT were most likely due to the fact that they were trying to find a red paint that wouldn't fade quickly in the Texas sun. It was common to see turning locomotives and rolling stock various shades of faded red. The change to green in 1970 may well be a concession to the fading red paint also.
Company officers
Presidents of the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad:
Charles E. Schaff, 1923–1926.
Charles N. Whitehead, 1926.
Columbus Haile, 1927–1930.
Michael H. Cahill, 1930–1934.
Matthew S. Sloan, 1934–1945.
Donald V. Fraser, 1945–1956.
William N. Deramus III, 1957–1961.
Charles T. Williams, 1961–1965.
John W. Barriger III, 1965–1970.
Reginald N. Whitman, 1970–1975.
Harold L. Gastler, 1975–1988.
In popular culture
The Houston suburb of Katy, Texas takes its name from the railroad's nickname.
An early blues song, "Bad luck blues" - written by Blind Lemon Jefferson - refers to the railroad -
Sugar, you catch the Katy, I'll catch that Santa Fe,
doggone my bad luck soul,
Sugar, you catch that Katy and I'll catch that Santa Fe;
I mean the Santy, speakin' about Fe,
When you get in Denver, pretty mama, look around for me.
A blues song, "She Caught the Katy" - written by Taj Mahal and Yank Rachell - refers to the railroad.
President Dwight D. Eisenhower's father (David Jacob Eisenhower) was an MKT employee working in Denison, Texas at the time of Ike's birth.
Numerous model railroad manufacturers produce MKT locomotives and rolling stock.Further Information
Get more info on 'Missouri Kansas Texas Railroad'.
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