Katy Trail Forum

My grandfather ,John Atchison, woroed for the MKT line as a section forman. Where would I go to get a list of former employees? And possable pics.

There has to be some organization of former employees. Union Pacific RR bought the MKT and they may have information. TRAINS magazine and RAILROAD & RAILFAN are two of the big magazines for the rail fans. Try www.trainsmag.com and ask a question. R&R has a site too. Railway Age is the trade publication so try www.railwayage.com. This will give you a start.

My great grandfather James Zachary Lewis left Illinois in 1899 after his wife died and went to work as a skimmer for the Katy R.R. The railroad paid for transportion for him and his team of horses.He died in 1906 and is buried in the Indian Terrority Cemetery, Checotah, OK. I am trying to find records of his employment. Can anyone help?

Employee records may not have survived the UP RR merger. Go to Google and enter: Missouri Kansas & Texas Railroad. The site has lots of pages. You can go to KatyRailroad.org/links.htm and they'll give you sites you can contact. The Katy Railroad Historical Society doesn't have any employee records. The Red River Railroad Museum in Denison, Tx has some records and seniority lists. Another site might be: www.katyrailroad.org/records.htm. Good luck on your search.

I am planning to hike the trail from Clinton & ending in St. Charles this March. I am a ultra runner from Colorado but I used to live in Alton Illinois and this trail has always interest me. My plan is to hike/run the trail in 5 days or less. Can anyone give me advise on weather in March? I will be starting early every morning at around 4 - 5 am. I am one day looking at hiking the Colorado Trail so this will be a great training hike for that. I am also wanting to buy a book of the Katy Trail because my father will be following me on the trail setting up camp every 50 miles or so. Thanks for the info,
Stephen!

From the home page on this site, scroll down for both guidebook and MO weather info. March can be pretty cold and wet.

That sounds like an ambitious plan, but it also sounds like you are in shape. Keep in mind that you really can't see beyond "civil twilight", which is about 30 minutes before sunrise and 30 minutes after sunset. Also keep in mind that Daylight Saving Time starts on March 11. So without a flashlight, you can't hike safely before 6 a.m. early in the month, and 7 a.m. after March 12. But once you start, you will have 12 hours of hiking at that time of year. Good luck.

Yeah I hike/run a lot during the night with a headlamp to get my training in and still spend time with family! I have run a lot of 100 mile runs but not thru hikes so itd will be a great challenge!

If you go to weather.com, click on monthly, then click on averages, you can get a basic idea of seaonal weather changes for any given area.

Good luck. Remember, though, that the park is only open during daylight hours.

I intended to run/hike it in 6 days last May. I had run a few 100 mile weeks in preparation, and was in pretty good shape. The thing I was not prepared for is how flat the Katy Trail is. I went east-west, and in the first 160 miles there was 150 ft of climb, almost a foot a mile! It was the same step over and over with no variance. After 2 days (85 miles) I ended up with severe tibial tendonitis and could hardly take a step. I didn't finish the trail on foot but ended up renting a bicycle and still had a good time.

Good advice, im sure the unchange in footing is very rough on ones body. I am doing lots of my training on rock paths similar to Katy Trail! I have done few 50 mile hikes on this this trail and you can for sure feel it. All I can do is train and do what I can. Did you hike or run the trail? I am thinking 15 min miles just a fast hike!

Best wishes with your adventure. Keep us posted over the next few months. I am interested in following the story. (As a side note, I am headed to Castle Rock in June for the Elephant Rock Cycling Classic.) Again - best wishes.

I did a run/walk, averaging about 12 minute miles for a moving pace. With a couple of hours of break for lunch and exploring the towns along the way, the overall average was about 15:00/mile.

To carry the discussion a step further do you think that a regular road bike with 27"/1" would work for the entire length of the Katy Trail?

I wouldn't do it. Recommend a hybird with 32's.

If you ride in the lane where most of the pug has been kicked to the side, you should do fine. We ride 28's on the tandem and have done fine. We've also ridden hybrids with wider tires, but when you find yourself in the loose stuff it doesn't seem to matter what the tire size is.

I'd recommend going with a good puncture-resistant tire. A little wider is good because you'll run into washouts and other gnarly trail and something with a little width and tread (and a little lower pressure) absorbs the shock better.

The only time I've had a flat on the trail was when I was using slicks instead of something with a little tread on them.

Thanks all! Your comments are most helpful! Take care and have a great weekend!

We ride road bikes with 27's on the Katy on a regular basis. Wider tires make life easier and may reduce flats, but will also slow you down. It depends on your budget and goals.

I did the entire trail on 27 x 1-1/4 touring tires. Nothing special, just $20 tires and regular tubes. Maybe I was a little lucky, but did not suffer any punctures or flats.

I ride the Treloar to Machens section on 27x 1 1/8 without any problems. (Actually, I replaced my worn out tires with 27x 1 1/4 this year, but I can't really feel any difference.) The 27x1 would pretty much be like a 700Cx25mm, and that's been used by a bunch of people.
As another person commented, and depending upon your total weight of bike and rider, you might want to use a larger volume tire that would allow you to run lower pressure.

I have rode the trail from Columbia MO to St. Charles and back twice, and both times I have used a road bike with no problems. One of the trips was slightly soggy and I still encountered no problems. That said, St. Charles to Machens trail packing was a bit loose and would be rough on a road frame. It should be noted that i am in my mid 20s so a little roughness wasnt too bad.

Sort of an update comment regarding the previous poster's comment: I rode the St. Charles to Machens section yesterday, 8/29/2011, and it was packed okay for my 1985 chrome-moly frame road bike with 27 x 1 1/4 tires. Only a fairly short section just NE of St. Charles is a bit new. This section is a little curvy with some small ups and downs. It's rougher than average, but still okay for a metal road bike. (I suppose you could use a carbon frame. But he original poster was asking about 27 inch tires, so that wouldn't apply.)

The tire diameter isn't the issue. I ride it with a 26 inch rear and 20 inch front (long wheel based recumbent) and it rides great on this trail. The issue is width because it's crushed limestone/dirt...well packed mind you, most of the time. I use 1 1/4" with no problem on this type trail. I've never had a flat on the trail, but a riding buddy once picked up 4 thorns in one place on his MTB 2 1/4 width tires (crossing the river at Boone).

I have rode various recumbents since the trail opened. I've had four flats that I can remember. Taking spare inner tubes and the tools to change them has always been what saves me.

Unless you are riding after a SIGNIFICANT period of rain - I think you will be fine. Good advise to stay away from the loose stuff on the edges. Puncture resistant is more important to me than width. That said - my preferred width is 28s.

My 2 cents worth on this is that you CAN ride almost anything you want to, but you WANT to ride something a little wider and softer. Depending on what kind of bike you have, I prefer 700c x 37's or 26" x 1.5 path tires with a fairly smooth tread (but not slick), both with 60 or 65 lbs. of air of pressure. Specialized makes a tire called the Nimbus: It is perfect in my opinion because it has a light tread with no where for the little limestone arrowheads to imbed in the tire, nor do they throw up a lot of dirt for the riders behind you, or on you. Sure the path is hard, but in most places it feels as if Kitty Litter was spread on top of it. There are lots of spots that have been washed out, there are ruts, there are bumpy surfaces left by the lugs on tractors and maintence vehicles, etc. There are also LOTS of dirt roads that cross the trail, and every time that happens, there is a rough transition from the path surface over the dirt road and then back on to the path. The loose surface also makes it tough to go real fast: I am a road rider and usually ride in the 15-18mph range: On our thru trip last fall, we usually went 12-13 mph when loaded with 25-30lb of gear-. The surface also gets pretty loose when it's wet. All that to say, I think you can ride anything, but you take your chances if you go skinny, it would be pretty rough, and I strongly recommend that you go big with less air pressure and puncture protection from all those little limestone arrohead shards.

The city park has camping,$15.00 a tent, with Shower. Lots of traffic/truck noise, located by hwy 100.

Which city park KW? Hwy 100 is not on the Katy Trail.

The park is at the corner of 14th and Market.
More exact is Mozart St. and Gasconade St. This is not a bad camp ground for being in the middle of town. There is a bit of traffic noise. Last time I was there they were just starting the new bridge

Are you referring to the City Park of Hermann?

The hours have changed. Sun-Mon 9am-3pn, Tues-Wed, 7am-3pm, Thurs-Sat 7am-6pm

I have grown up in St. Charles where the old men played "up and down broadway" in the Pine room bar, through all the growth and all the changes; Tuners, is one of those bars that have stood the test of time. You can't ask for friendlier people than owners, Susie and Jim.
A Good burger at lunch and at night the music is some of the best you'll experience in St.Charles...If you like blues, rock and roll, newer rock and the ever-famous "BLACKDOG." and rubbing shoulders with us ole-timers this is a good time. Bachelorette parties always welcome! Say hello to Jr. at the door...