Picture Courtesy of Jim Kuntz

Picture Courtesy of Jim Kuntz

Rock Island Railroad
The Katy was first, but not the only, railroad into Windsor. When the Bowen brothers moved here in 1901 to mine extensive coal veins, it encouraged the development of another railroad through Windsor. The Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific, built from St. Louis to Kansas City, arrived in 1904. Remains of the Rock Island can be seen below the plate girder bridge at milepost 247.4 along Katy Trail Park.

From Rail to Trail
The Katy Railroad hit hard times in the 1980s, finding itself overbuilt and hard-pressed to compete with larger railroads and modern trucking. Katy filed with the Interstate Commerce Commission in August 1986 to discontinue use of its rail between Sedalia and Machens. Two years later, the company merged into the Union Pacific Railroad. The Union Pacific generously donated the rail corridor between Sedalia and Clinton to the Missouri Department of natural Resources in December 1991.

Little is left behind to remind visitors of the bustle of train activity that once took place. One reminder sits quietly by with many stories to tell. The Katy Caboose 176 was donated by the Union Pacific Railroad to the community in 1989. When it arrived, the caboose sported the Katy's green and yellow motif and the number "130." As local citizens began stripping the paint and rust, they discovered this caboose was no ordinary end car. It was the Katy's primary contribution to America's bicentennial celebration.

The last train ever to leave Windsor pulled away in 1991. The final Rock Island train left over a decade earlier.Though the whistle remains silent, visitors still arrive in Windsor along the age-old corridor. The Missouri Department of Natural Resources reopened this line to non-motorized travelers as an extension of the Katy Trail State Park on Sept. 12, 1999.

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