The Texas Western Railway ran the 42 miles from Houston to Pattison in 1877. It
eventually extended along what is now Interstate 10 to Sealy, but went out of
business in 1896. Land donated by the Pattison family for a terminal reverted
to the family in 1900.
Transportation was a major problem facing early settlers in Texas. As late as
1850 the settled area of the state was largely confined to the river bottoms of
East and South Texas and along the Gulf Coast. Because Texas rivers were not
deep enough for dependable year-around transportation, and roads were either
poor or nonexistent, many proposals to improve internal transportation were
considered during the period of the Republic of Texas and early statehood.
In 1936, the first congress of the Republic of Texas chartered the Texas Rail
Road, Navigation and Banking Company to construct railroads. Although the
company was still active in mid-1838 during the second congress, it collapsed
soon after without making any attempt to build a railroad. Three 19th century
railroads that served the Houston area were the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad
(M-K-T, also known as the Katy), the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway and
the Texas Western Railway.
The Katy, incorporated in 1865, was the first railroad to enter Texas from the
north. In 1866 the first legislature after the Civil War passed a resolution
recommending that Congress adopt means to insure the building of the Union
Pacific, Southern Branch, through the state. At that time none of Texas
’ many small railroads connected to those in other states.
In 1870 the railway’s name was changed to the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railway Company. The newly
named railroad was intended to funnel business from the north and east to a new
rail route across Indian Territory to and through Texas. The Katy, touted in
advertisements as the Gateway to Texas, breached the Texas frontier near the
site of present-day Denison. Under the leadership of financier Jay Gould, the
Katy expanded operations in Texas to serve Dallas, Fort Worth, Waco, San
Antonio, Houston, Galveston and Wichita Falls.
The Katy continued its expansion in Texas through 1914, but in 1915 it went into
receivership. Reorganization in 1923 left the line with fewer tracks, but still
operating. The M-K-T opened a huge territory to commerce and travel. Wheat
flowed regularly from Katy lines in Oklahoma to Fort Worth, Houston and
Galveston, and oil rolled out of on-line patches by the trainload. Passengers
luxuriated aboard the Texas Special, the Bluebonnet and the Katy Flyer. The
Katy continued its financial ups and downs until 1988 when the Interstate
Commerce Commission gave Union Pacific and its subsidiary, the Missouri Pacific
Railroad Company, permission to buy the Katy. On Dec. 1, 1989, the M-K-T was no
more.
The San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway Company was chartered in 1884 to
connect San Antonio with Aransas Bay, a distance of 135 miles. The SAAP
eventually extended out of San Antonio in all directions to Corpus Christi,
Kerrville, Houston, Waco, Rockport, Alice, Shiner and Lockhart. One arm of the
SAAP went through Bellaire, Alief, Clodine, Harlem, Gaston, Flewellen, Fulshear
and Simonton, just missing what would become the city of Katy.
In 1877, the Texas Western Railway opened 42 miles track between Houston and
Pattison. In 1882 the railroad bridged the Brazos River and completed a 10-mile
extension to Sealy, where a connection was made with the Gulf, Colorado and
Santa Fe Railway Company. However, due to the difference in track gauge between
the two companies, the Texas Western was unable to interchange cars. The fate
of the narrow gauge was sealed in 1893 when the M-K-T built into Houston along
the projected route of the Texas Western. The Katy line between Sealy and
Houston paralleled the Texas Western and crossed the gauge three miles south of
Pattison. The Texas Western
rails were removed in 1900.
