CITY OF KATY (Covering Katy News) - The locomotive known as "The Katy" arrived downtown before daybreak on Wednesday. It is at the intersection of First Street and East Avenue and made the trip to Katy to kick off the historic train depot's 125 birthday celebration.
The engine is number 1988 to reflect the year the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad joined Union Pacific.
The Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad, affectionately referred to as the K-T or the Katy, was created in 1865. By the time the railroad joined Union Pacific, the Katy line served six midwestern states with more than 3,377 miles of track, according to the Katy Heritage Society.
Headquartered in Dallas, the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railway was an important north-south link between the Midwest and Texas, especially for the growing coal business.
The commemorative train was commissioned in 2005, but it does not visit Katy very often.
"The last time the engine was on display was 2017, and 2009 before that," City Council Member Chris Harris said.
According to Harris, the train will remain in downtown Katy through Saturday night when it departs.
It took a lot of coordination for Union Pacific to schedule the train for a visit to Historic Katy during the depot's birthday celebrations.
"It took our board president eight months and dozens of email strings, countless phone calls," said a post on the Katy Heritage Society's Facebook page.
Those who stop by to see the big train are asked to stay back 25 feet.