How Bruce Blalock, who owns and operates the Katy House B&B in Smithville came to own the original and only full size original blueprints of the San Antonio MK&T station in San Antonio is an amazing tale. A friend of his happened to be passing the Katy's main offices in Denton Texas in 1988 when they were being ruthlessly cleared out following the sale of the railroad to the Union Pacific. Stuff Katy enthusiasts would pay dearly for today was being dropped into dumpster via large plastic chutes installed at various upper floor windows. Bruce's friend was able to simply walk through the chaotic scene helping himself, almost at random, to anything he could see. One of the things he saved were these original drawings made by the architect in 1914. No other copies are known to exist. Before it was learned, in a casual conversation, that Bruce had them, a thorough search of historical and architectural archives in three cities yielded nothing.

The museum acquired a lot of rolling stock from the KATY yard in 1966, not all of it ex-MKT. The Santa Fe Cafe Observation car 1511 would have a much better fate than its sister car, #1510 which was unceremoniously scrapped. After being put in service on main lines for TTM excursions (see also the Missouri Pacific page) it was transferred to the Texas State Railroad that runs between Rusk and Palestine. Caboose 835 was also sold and has just recently re-emerged in the hands of Bruce Blalock. The Clover Glade was kept for a few years only and never made it to our "new" site. Santa Fe Business car 404, of course, did make it here, and has been with us since our earliest day at our current location. (We've been here over 30 years but started off down town at the Pearl Brewery.) The McKeever has been with us a good long time as well after fifteen years or so at a place on lake Placid, near Seguin. Those were strange days. The railroads were desperate to get rid of their passenger cars. What vandals and scrap yards did not get to, time and weather have and much of what is out there is not worth having.