Most people today hear “Katy Trail” and think of the often-crowded running and biking trail that cuts through the Uptown neighborhood of Dallas.
However, there are some Dallasites who remember when the trail wasn’t a trail at all — it was railroad tracks. For more than a century, trains with names like the Katy Flyer and the Texas Special carried people and products down the very same path that many locals still use today, just in a different way.
We took a journey through our archives to find the stories that tell the long history of the Katy — from train to trail.
Early, prosperous years
The Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad —often shortened to “K-T,” which led to the present-day recognizable name, “The Katy” — was the first railroad to enter Texas from the north in the mid-to-late 1800s. The railroad didn’t make its way into Dallas until 1881, but then it quickly grew along with the city.
By 1904, the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railway Co. of Texas owned and operated 1,119.33 miles of rail in Texas. In these early days, the company hauled cotton products, produce and livestock and provided passenger and mail service. Some early passenger trains included the Texas Special, the Bluebonnet and the Katy Flyer. The railway was prosperous up to and during World War II but steadily declined in the following decades.
Passenger service: 1870s to mid-1960s
At its peak, the Katy offered passenger service to Junction City, Kan.; Kansas City, Mo.; St. Louis; Wichita Falls; Mineola; Austin; San Antonio; Galveston; Houston; and other cities.
The Katy was also a “pioneer” in through-car service, The News reported. There was a time before WWII that passengers could board a Pullman “palace car” at the Denison station and ride straight through to Chicago thanks to an arrangement with the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad. Post-WWII, the Katy attempted through-car service again with trips to New York and Washington.
The Katy passenger trains served “cornettes” to train-goers; they were “dainty, tasty little cornbread muffins.” Political editor Allen Duckworth said: “No railroad in the nation had a dining car service which eclipsed the Katy when it was at its peak … You didn’t get creek water on the Katy. They served you Mountain Valley spring water from Arkansas, not only pure but good-tasting.”
The cars were around 80 feet in length — “none bigger in the nation” — and attendants passed out free apples to passengers at the end of the night.
Following WWII, the railroad attempted to make a passenger “comeback.” According to Duckworth, at that time you could board the Texas Special train at Highland Park Station at 7:18 a.m., and “after you read your newspaper and had breakfast, you’d just about be in Austin, arriving at 11:59 a.m.” The 40-year station master of Highland Park Station, Frank Wakefield, was quoted as saying, “At a time, we were the best railroad in the world.”
The Highland Park Station opened in 1922 The first trip it offered was aboard the northbound Texas Special. The station was convenient for residents of Oak Lawn, Highland Park and Munger Place who needed to catch the train but didn’t want to travel to Union Station. The station closed in the mid-1960s when the railroad ended passenger service.
Abandoned tracks
The Katy Railroad company received various loans and acquired additional railroad tracks over the decades to stay afloat, narrowly avoiding bankruptcy. By 1980, the cargo shipments were limited to a small assortment of goods, and “the glory days of railroads, when iron locomotives and steel rails dominated Dallas,” were gone.
In 1988, the Katy Railroad and Union Pacific merged, resulting in hundreds of lost jobs in the area. The merger also led to the abandonment of over 300 miles of track where the two companies ran parallel rails. This made 18 acres of railyards in downtown Dallas available for redevelopment.
Union Pacific donated some of the rail lines to the city in 1993. The following years, there were proposals to use the tracks for DART and other projects, but none panned out. Instead, local businesses and community members proposed the transformation of the abandoned lines into a greenbelt.
The trail
The trail as we know it today got its start in 2000. The first phase took it from the then-new American Airlines Center through Turtle Creek and to Highland Park. Later it was extended to connect near Knox Street and then to the north tip of White Rock Lake and its popular hike and bike trail.
The local community created a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, Friends of the Katy Trail, to maintain the trails and park. The group was also vital in getting the project approved and started. David Stocks, executive director of the group in 1999, said to News writer Tony Hartzel, “We’re taking something unique to Dallas, this old railroad corridor, and turning it into something useful for the city.”
The trail has undergone expansions and improvements over the years, and today bikers, joggers and commuters can benefit from the trail daily. Dallasites can also enjoy periodic special events like races and visit places along the trail that serve food and drink.
As The News editorial board said in December 2002: “The Katy Trail is one of Dallas’ great success stories — a ribbon-like oasis for joggers, walkers and skaters that cuts through the heart of the bustling inner city. Just a few yards from the noisy din on busy streets is a 2.5-mile stretch of asphalt where 1,600 people show up daily to exercise, stroll or simply enjoy being outdoors. … The Katy Trail is a Dallas treasure. Let’s nurture this gift and help it grow.”
