The Colorado Railroad Museum is a

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

railroad museum A railway museum is a museum that explores the history of all aspects of rail related transportation, including: locomotives (steam, diesel, and electric), railway cars, trams, and railway signalling equipment. They may also operate historic equ ...

. The museum is located on at a point where Clear Creek flows between North and South Table Mountains in

Golden Golden means made of, or relating to gold. Golden may also refer to: Places United Kingdom *Golden, in the parish of Probus, Cornwall * Golden Cap, Dorset *Golden Square, Soho, London *Golden Valley, a valley on the River Frome in Gloucestershi ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

. The museum was established in 1959 to preserve a record of

's flamboyant railroad era, particularly the state's pioneering

narrow-gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...

mountain railroads.

Facilities

The museum building is a replica of an 1880s-style

railroad depot A train station, railway station, railroad station or depot is a Rail transport, railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passenger train, passengers, freight rail transport, freight or both. It generally consists of at least one r ...

. Exhibits feature original photographs by pioneer photographers such as

William Henry Jackson William Henry Jackson (April 4, 1843 – June 30, 1942) was an American photographer, Civil War veteran, painter, and an explorer famous for his images of the American West. He was a great-great nephew of Samuel Wilson, the progenitor of Am ...

and Louis Charles McClure, as well as paintings by Howard L Fogg,

Otto Kuhler Otto August Kuhler (July 31, 1894 – August 5, 1977) was an American designer, one of the best known industrial designers of the American railroads. According to ''Trains'' magazine he streamstyled more locomotives and railroad cars than Cr ...

, Ted Rose and other artists. Locomotives and railroad cars modeled in the one inch scale by Herb Votaw are also displayed. A bay window contains a reconstructed depot telegrapher's office, complete with a working

telegraph sounder A telegraph sounder is an antique electromechanical device used as a receiver on electrical telegraph lines during the 19th century. It was invented by Alfred Vail after 1850 to replace the previous receiving device, the cumbersome Morse regist ...

. The lower level of the museum building contains an exhibition hall which features seasonal and traveling displays on railroading history. The lower level also contains the Denver HO Model Railroad Club's "Denver and Western" operating HO and HOn3 scale model train layout that represent Colorado's rail history in miniature. The Robert W. Richardson Library houses over 10,000 rare historic photographs, along with other reference materials such as timetables, maps, employee records and engineering documents about Colorado railroads.

Collection

Golden CO Colorado-Railroad-Museum D&RGW-683 2012-10-18

Golden Steam-locomotive-D&RGW-346 2012-10-18

Golden CO Colorado-Railroad-Museum DL&G-191 2012-10-18

The museum has a large collection of

rolling stock and provides narrow-gauge train rides on special event days known as "Steam Up days". The museum also has ex-

Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad The Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad , often shortened to ''Rio Grande'', D&RG or D&RGW, formerly the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, was an American Class I railroad company. The railroad started as a narrow-gauge line running south from De ...

No. 683, a coal-burning

2-8-0 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, usually in a leading truck, eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles, and no trailing wheels. ...

" Consolidation" type

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...

built by the

Baldwin Locomotive Works The Baldwin Locomotive Works (BLW) was an American manufacturer of railroad locomotives from 1825 to 1951. Originally located in Philadelphia, it moved to nearby Eddystone, Pennsylvania, in the early 20th century. The company was for decades t ...

in 1890, builders number 11207. It is the only surviving steam locomotive from the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad. All of the railroad equipment is displayed outdoors. Display tracks are complete with a rare

three-way In human sexuality, a threesome is commonly understood as "a sexual interaction between three people whereby at least one engages in physical sexual behaviour with both the other individuals". Though ''threesome'' most commonly refers to sexua ...

stub switch,

dual gauge In railway engineering, "gauge" is the transverse distance between the inner surfaces of the heads of two rails, which for the vast majority of railway lines is the number of rails in place. However, it is sometimes necessary for track to c ...

track and switches and century-old switch stands. These tracks hold over 100 historic narrow and standard gauge locomotives and cars. The oval of gauge track is used by trains on operating days. The museum's roster contains the following notable pieces of rolling stock:

Steam locomotives

Diesel locomotives

*Denver & Rio Grande Western Davenport 0-4-0 #50 *Denver & Rio Grande Western EMD F9A #5771 & F9B #5762 *Denver & Rio Grande Western EMD GP30 #3011 *Denver & Rio Grande Western EMD SD40T-2 #5401. Donated to the museum in 2018.

Passenger cars

*Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe Observation Car ''Navajo'' *Chicago Burlington & Quincy Business Car No. 96 *Colorado Midland Observation Car No. 111 *Denver & Rio Grande Western Coach No. 284 *Denver & Rio Grande Western Railway Post Office Car No. 60 *Union Pacific Coach No. 5442 *Union Pacific Diner No. 4801 *Uintah Combination Coach No. 50

Special equipment

• Manitou & Pikes Peak Cog Railway #1 (Cog locomotive) • West Side Lumber Company #12 (Shay locomotive) • West Side Lumber Company #14 (Shay locomotive) *Chicago Burlington & Quincy snow plow No. 205065 *Colorado & Southern rotary snow plow No. 99201 * Rio Grande Southern "Galloping Goose" No. 2 * Rio Grande Southern "Galloping Goose" No. 6 *Rio Grande Southern "Galloping Goose" No. 7

References

External links

*
Denver Garden Railway Society websiteDenver HO Model Railroad Club website
{{authority control Heritage railroads in Colorado Model railway shows and exhibitions Museums established in 1959 Museums in Golden, Colorado Non-profit organizations based in Colorado Publishing companies of the United States Railroad museums in Colorado Railroad roundhouses in Colorado 1959 establishments in Colorado