The railway that became the KM&T was incorporated in 1865 as Union Pacific Railway Southern Branch. It had nothing to do, however, with the transcontinental of that name then being constructed. In 1870 it was renamed the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railway Company (MK&T), colloquially known as the Katy. The railroad survived for over 130 years, before being acquired by Union Pacific in 1989. There is a concise history of the company on OKHistory.org.

In 1950, the railroad covered 2,787 route miles (4,485 km), across fourteen main lines over three states.

Today’s piece is a check from the M.K.& T., numbered 145. This one doesn’t indicate its use. Like other railway checks, it may have been used as a pay check, tool check, time check or various other uses.

Like many similar pieces, it is uniface – blank on the back. This one came on a little chain, although I suspect that may have been a later addition (I acquired several unrelated checks at the same time, all on similar chains).

The KatyRailroad.org site has more information, including route maps: