Rivaling Fred Harvey’s Dining Services:
MKT’s Katy Flyer
The Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railway had deep Kansas roots. Commonly referred to as “the Katy,” this legacy company had a rail network that connected towns and cities primarily in eastern Kansas. But the railroad made its mark in Central Kansas as well when the MKT acquired Rock Island track following the Rock’s 1980 bankruptcy and ran trains as far west as Salina on the track that the Abilene and Smoky Valley Railroad uses today. A lost piece of railroad history is the fact that the Katy’s passenger trains once had a dining operation that rivaled the famous Fred Harvey experience, first with dining stops similar to the Santa Fe’s Harvey Houses, and then with dining cars that exemplified fine railroad dining and service. On July 20, the A&SV Dining Car Heritage Series presents a tribute to the Katy railroad’s once-heralded Katy Flyer with an early 20th-century menu featuring the railroad’s signature dish, Katy Chicken Pie, accompanied by a lettuce edge salad, mashed potatoes, corn, and a special biscuit item, “Katy Kornettes.” For dessert, Lucinda’s Katering is preparing MKT peach cobbler. Iced tea and water accompany the meal. Our two-hour air-conditioned ride through the Smoky Hill Rover Valley leaves our 1887 Rock Island Depot at 6:00 p.m.
Join us on the A&SV Smoky Valley Limited as we present a taste of Kansas railroad history!
