Train enthusiast marks six decades since Waco's last passenger train (2024)

David Chiles refuses to be kept off his prized railroad tracks, even 60 years later.

At 11:45 a.m. Friday the 75-year-old Houston resident will start his vigil near the old railroad tracks near Jackson Avenue to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the last passenger train to roll out of Waco.

The railroad aficionado has taken similar trips down memory lane for the 40- and 50-year anniversaries of the last train out, usually standing at Jackson and South Eighth Street. For the 60th anniversary, Chiles will move down to 11th since parking is easier.

Chiles grew up visiting relatives and riding the train along the storied Missouri-Kansas-Texas railroad, affectionately known as the “Katy.” Chiles said he has been obsessed with passenger locomotives ever since.

“It’s just a passion that I’ve grown up with,” Chiles said. “Some guys have a passion for golf or tennis. I don’t know how, I just remember as a little boy, 7 or 8 years old, being infatuated with passenger trains.

“Just like baseball and football players, it’s just something that you’ve grown up with. Sometimes you can’t really explain it.”

The Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad, or M-K-T, established its presence in Texas in the late 19th century. Dubbed the “Gateway to Texas,” the Katy reached Waco in the 1880s and played a significant role in the city’s development, according to an entry on the railway from Wacohistory.org.

By 1910, the Katy had recognized Waco’s strategic importance, establishing a roundhouse in the rural area north of the city, now known as Bellmead.

However, the golden age of passenger trains waned in the mid-20th century with the rise of air travel and the interstate highway system. By the time the last passenger train left Waco on July 26, 1964, the Katy’s ridership had dwindled significantly.

The 99-year-old company eventually ceased passenger operations to focus on freight, and in 1989, it merged with Union Pacific, signaling the end of the M-K-T.

Chiles said he dearly misses passenger train travel, especially his beloved Katy railway. Chiles owns a detailed model of the Texas Special, the name of the last passenger train that rolled through Waco. He said it would be a great transportation alternative for Interstate 35, other major Texas highways and air travel.

“It’s like a racetrack between Woodway and McGregor, they’re just going so fast,” Chiles said. “With public buses, you’re so cramped. What is left?”

Despite the decline of passenger rail, interest in train travel has seen a resurgence. Amtrak’s Texas Eagle, which runs between San Antonio and Chicago with a stop in McGregor, reported a 16.2% increase in ridership in 2023 according to the Texas Rail Advocates, even though the service operated with a reduced number of cars.

Amtrak has committed to do studies to accelerate efforts to build high-speed rail in Texas, specifically a long-proposed route from Dallas to Houston, the Texas Tribune reported Tuesday. Behind that effort is $66 billion in potential funding for high-speed rail across the U.S. through the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

Yet, for local train enthusiast Bradley Linda, the modern trains cannot compare to the nostalgia and charm of the old ones.

“The Texas Special was a gorgeous train when it was introduced,” said Linda, a senior academic consultant at Baylor University. “I wish we had more around.”

Linda’s sentiments were echoed by his good friend Sean Sutcliffe, who grew up watching the Katy freight trains and visiting the rail yards in Bellmead, where the railroad once operated a giant repair shop for locomotives. Sutcliffe said it is easy to sit around with Linda and talk about the intricacies of railroad history in Texas.

“It’s easy for any of us to get lost in the weeds because we enjoy it,” said Sutcliffe, a reference librarian at Waco-McLennan County Library.

Sutcliffe added that he reminisces on the past when he visits his sister in Plano.

“Every time I go up and down I-35, I think about how nice it would be to have that (passenger rail) instead of driving,” Sutcliffe said.

Chiles, Linda and Sutcliffe agreed that Waco will probably never see passenger trains return, but that does not stop them from looking back on the good old days.

Chiles said he welcomes anyone who wants to join him at midday on Friday for the anniversary. This marks the third-straight trip he has made in 10-year segments, and he said he will do everything in his power to be back next decade.

“Don’t bet the house on it,” Chiles quipped.