Clifton City to Sedalia - Clifton City, MO
Posted by: Groundspeak Premium Member YoSam.
N 38° 45.743 W 093° 02.456
15S E 496443 N 4290410
Points of interest and history along the Katy Trail State Park.
Waymark Code: WM1249R
Location: Missouri, United States
Date Posted: 02/24/2020
Published By:Groundspeak Premium Member iconions
Views: 0
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County of marker: Cooper County
Location of marker: MO-BB, Katy Trail State Park Trailhead, Clifton City
Marker erected: 2010
Marker erected by: Missouri Department of Natural Resources

Marker Text:

Clifton City to Sedalia

Sedalia, the next trailhead west, is 11.70 miles via the old rail corridor. Users may notice a change from a rolling and occasionally rugged terrain to the more open landscape of the plains. Pastures, crop lands and woods intermingle.

At about milepost 218, the trail enter the Shaver Creek valley and continues along the permanent stream for the next five miles. The Shaver Creek bridge crossing at milepost 218.6 is the lowest point on this stretch at an elevation of 710 feet.

The rail community of Beaman at the intersection of the trail and State Highway O is reached at milepost 221. The The community mostly consisted of a post office, stockyard, depot and Christian Church, all of which are gone.

Griessen Road, at milepost 224.5, was the western terminus of Katy Trail State Park prior to 1999, when trail construction to Clinton was completed. Nearing Sedalia, the designated route briefly leaves the historic MKT corridor at Griessen Road. Due to an overdeveloped section of trail in Sedalia, some travel over city streets is required, adding slightly to the milepost distance.

Web link: [Web Link]

History of Mark:

The Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad (MKT)
Begun in the 1870s, the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad, also known as the Katy, ran through much of the Missouri River valley by the 1890s. With the Pacific Railroad running from St. St. Louis to Jefferson City by 1856 and the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad becoming the first cross-state railroad in 1859, the Katy was a relative late comer to the railroad game. However, it provided a vital link between the agriculture of central Missouri and the quickly developing American southwest. The Katy added to Missouri's prosperity, supporting towns along the corridor and causing several new towns, such Mokane and Tebbetts, to spring up almost overnight.

The Katy Ceases Operation
In the fall of 1986, the Katy experienced severe flooding that washed out several miles of track. Due to the cost of repair, the fact that railroad use was in decline, and the company was in financial trouble, the company decided to cease operations. On Oct. 4, 1986, trains 101 and 102 became the very last trains to use the corridor and the Katy ceased operations on its route from Sedalia to Machens.

The Railroad Amendment
The National Trails System Act Amendments of 1983 provided that railroad corridors no longer needed for active rail service can be banked for future transportation needs and used on an interim basis for recreational trails. When the Katy Railroad ceased operations, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources filed for a certificate of interim trail use for the corridor from Sedalia to Machens and it was granted in April 1987. The department used the opportunity to develop one of the most successful rails-to-trails conversions in the United States.

The Development of Katy Trail State Park
The first section of the trail from Rocheport to McBaine opened in April on 1990. In August of 1990, another section from Augusta to jut northeast of Defiance opened. The rail corridor from St. Charles to just past Sedalia was developed by 1996. Through a donation from the Union Pacific Railroad, the department then extended the trail to Clinton, opening the section between Sedalia and Clinton in September of 1999. Funds from the Missouri Department of Transportation will be used for construction of the final section of Katy Trail from St. Charles to Machens. Future plans include the Rock Island Trail-Katy Connector, which will connect the trails at Windsor to Pleasant Hill.



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