The Cheyenne Depot Museum is a

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 ...

Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. Their Cheyenne language belongs to the Algonquian language family. Today, the Cheyenne people are split into two federally recognized nations: the Southern Cheyenne, who are enroll ...

Wyoming Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...

. It is located inside the historic

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...

depot, built in the 1880s. The depot, a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

, was the railroad's largest station west of

Council Bluffs, Iowa Council Bluffs is a city in and the county seat of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, Pottawattamie County, Iowa, United States. The city is the most populous in Southwest Iowa, and is the third largest and a primary city of the Omaha–Council Bluffs ...

, and a major western example of

Richardsonian Romanesque Richardsonian Romanesque is a style of Romanesque Revival architecture named after the American architect Henry Hobson Richardson (1838–1886). The revival style incorporates 11th and 12th century southern French, Spanish, and Italian Romanesque ...

architecture. The museum, founded in 1993, interprets Cheyenne's early history and that of the construction of the

. It houses multiple exhibits and occasionally offers tours of other railroad facilities.

History

The station is built from blocks of sandstone quarried in

Fort Collins A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

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 Depot was built directly down the street from and facing the

Wyoming State Capitol The Wyoming State Capitol is the state capitol and seat of government of the U.S. state of Wyoming. Built between 1886 and 1890, the capitol is located in Cheyenne and contains the chambers of the Wyoming State Legislature as well as the office ...

building, signaling its significance to the city and state. The building was lengthened and renovated in 1922 and redecorated in 1929. More renovations were made from 2001 to 2006, including a $6.5 million improvement by the city of Cheyenne and a plaza built in front of the Depot. This plaza hosts a variety of music and events throughout the year.

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

's ''

San Francisco Zephyr The ''San Francisco Zephyr'' was an Amtrak passenger train that ran between Chicago and Oakland from June 1972 to July 1983. History From the start of Amtrak in spring 1971 until summer 1972, Amtrak service between Chicago and Oakland was prov ...

'' ceased serving this station directly in 1979 in favor of a new station in Borie, nine miles to the west. This eliminated a time-consuming backup move in and out of the Cheyenne station. Passengers were bused between Borie and Cheyenne.

The Old West Museum The Cheyenne Frontier Days Old West Museum is located in Cheyenne, Wyoming, United States. The museum was founded in 1978. It is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, dedicated to interpreting, conserving and exhibiting the history and material cu ...

and

Cheyenne Frontier Days Cheyenne Frontier Days is an outdoor rodeo and western celebration in the United States, held annually since 1897 in Cheyenne, Wyoming. It bills itself as the "World's Largest Outdoor Rodeo and Western Celebration." The event, claimed to be one of ...

made an agreement which established the Cheyenne Depot Museum, Inc., as a

501(c)3 A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of the 29 types of 50 ...

non-profit organization 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 ...

. The organization leased the depot from the city of Cheyenne for 25 years.

Gallery

File:Cheyenne WY UP depot.JPG, 2011 photo of the depot File:Union Pacific Roundhouse, Cheyenne, Wyoming.jpg, The nearby roundhouse where the

stores its historic steam locomotives, and E9 diesel locomotives. File:Cheyenne UP Shop.JPG, UP's nearby machine shop, where it services it's steam locomotives.

References

External links

Cheyenne Depot Museum Website

The Rotary Steam Plow # 900082 in Cheyenne

Union Pacific Depot National Historic Landmark
at the Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office
Union Pacific Roundhouse Turntable and Machine Shop
at the Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office
Union Pacific Passenger Station, 121 West Fifteenth Street, Cheyenne, Laramie, WY
at the

Historic American Buildings Survey Heritage Documentation Programs (HDP) is a division of the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) responsible for administering the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), Historic American Engineering Record (HAER), and Historic American Landscapes ...

(HABS) {{authority control Former Amtrak stations in Wyoming Historic American Buildings Survey in Wyoming Museums in Cheyenne, Wyoming National Historic Landmarks in Wyoming National Register of Historic Places in Cheyenne, Wyoming Railroad museums in Wyoming Railroad roundhouses in Wyoming Railroad-related National Historic Landmarks Railway stations on the National Register of Historic Places in Wyoming Railway workshops in the United States Transportation in Cheyenne, Wyoming Transportation in Laramie County, Wyoming Former Union Pacific Railroad stations Railway roundhouses on the National Register of Historic Places Railway workshops on the National Register of Historic Places Railway stations in the United States opened in 1887 Industrial buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Wyoming Railway stations closed in 1979 Repurposed railway stations in the United States

History

Gallery

See also

References

External links