The latest addition to Iron Horse Square offers a leisurely stroll through history.

The park on the south side of the rail line through Mineola has been expanded to the west with a walking trail from the playground area, through the mini-train loop and all the way to Stone St.

It’s known as the Katy Trail, a tribute to the Missouri Kansas and Texas line that once ran from Mineola northwest to Greenville, through Golden and then roughly along U.S. Hwy. 69.

The trail follows the Katy’s old rail bed, and a section of the track embedded in concrete remains visible within the mini-train loop.

One day the mini-train track is planned to be expanded to the west, along the Katy Trail, and looping back to the south and east.

Loops are also planned for the trail for those who prefer a shorter walk.

Other plans include some shade structures along the path and information boards explaining the railroad history of Mineola, flora and fauna of the area and history of the community, first known as Sodom before it was changed to Mineola when the railroads came through.

Old iron pieces from the railroad days, which have been found all along the trail, are being gathered to be fashioned into a sculpture.

The efforts to continue improvements to Iron Horse Square are overseen by the Mineola Landmark Commission, a group of volunteers appointed by the Mineola City Council.

Most recently, a retaining wall adjacent to Front St. was added.

The trail is paved with decomposed granite about 10-12 feet wide along its entire length.

Interactive signs are also planned along the trail so walkers will know they are still on track.

In addition to the embedded rails, viewers can also see the remaining metal pump shack on the south side in an area which once housed all of Mineola’s oil company jobbers.

The Katy would stop along side the jobbers to offload various petroleum products.

An ash pit and auger still remain in the embedded portion of the rails, dating to the steam engine days when the engines would offload their ashes from burning wood to power the steam boilers.

The Katy was one of three rail lines that ran through Mineola.

The Union Pacific is the only one remaining, running east and west along U.S. Hwy. 80. It forms the northern boundary of the park, and all the park is located in the railroad right-of-way, which runs to the center of Front St. on the south and Commerce St. to the north. The exception is the lot of the fellowship hall of St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church at Stone St., which was bought from the railroad in the 1920s.

All the park facilities are located in the ROW courtesy of a lease.

At the Stone St. end, a paved pull out is planned to access the west end of the trail

The next big improvement at the park will be a depot for the mini-train to be constructed on the east end. The concrete pad is in place, and construction should begin in the coming months.

It will offer train riders a shaded area for waiting.

Plans are ongoing for a future walk and bike trail along the old International and Great Northern Line which ran east from the depot, curving to the southeast to Tyler and Troup. Its rail bed already forms the base of the main trail in the Mineola Nature Preserve.

The trail will continue from Loop 564 just north of the preserve and come into the east side of town.