The Colorado Railroad Museum Rail Report continues a long tradition that began with the Rocky Mountain Railroad Club, connecting rail enthusiasts through shared history, preservation, and a love of railroading. Now produced by the Museum, the newsletter brings together longtime Rocky Club members and new readers alike by sharing stories of preservation and restoration developments, current rail news, progress on Museum projects and Rocky Mountain Railroad Club history.
If you have received this email as a forward from someone else, please click here to continue receiving the Rail Report monthly. And if you know of someone who might be interested, please forward and share!
We’re delighted to continue this long tradition with a new look and feel. All aboard!.
Paul Hammond Dave Schaaf
Executive Director Rail Report Editor
| |
Rail Watch
Current highlights and on-the-ground happenings in railroading today.
| |
A Union Pacific train carried military loads from California to Fort Carson, Colorado. Seen here with four-legged friends near Greenland, Colorado, on the morning of August 15, 2026. Photo by Chip.
| |
The Kyle Railroad No. 4460 "America 250 Years" unit was running with Kyle Railroad No. 4461 "Honoring Veterans & Service Members" together in eastern Colorado near Genoa on August 18, 2026.
Photo by Chip.
| |
The coast-to-coast travels of Union Pacific steam locomotive No. 4014 wrapped up late last month. This Big Boy is seen here just west of Byers, Colorado, headed for Denver on July 27, 2026. The engine and crew headed west from Cheyenne in March, later rolling east and eventually stopping in Philadelphia for Independence Day. This year, they have traveled over 7100 miles with a lot of local stops in between. Photo by Dave Schaaf.
| |
Rocky Mountain Rail Preservation
The Colorado Railroad Museum History & Vision
By John Bush
| |
The development of the West and Colorado in particular was dependent on the building of rail transportation.
Here in the Denver metropolitan area, we are overwhelmed with rapid growth and change. The Colorado & Southern (C&S) roundhouse and rail yard west of Union Station became an amusement park and home to high-rise condos. The Rio Grande’s Burnham Shops are about to be redeveloped into a new sports stadium with new restaurants, shops, and parking lots. These new uses reflect a very different focus for the city. Transportation of supplies and people in and out of the mountains was the primary reason for Denver’s development. As the front range changes, an awareness of the role that railroads played in its development continues to dwindle.
| |
The Colorado Railroad Museum plays a key function in preserving that history. Its core function is educating the public about the role railroads have played and continue to play in transforming the Centennial State.
In 1958, Robert (Bob) W. Richardson moved his collection of seven pieces of narrow gauge equipment from the Narrow Gauge Motel in south Alamosa, Colorado, to property he had purchased east of Golden, Colorado, between North Table Mountain and South Table Mountain. The new property, fronting on West 44th Avenue, was near the C&S branch to Golden and the Coors Brewery. In 1959 Bob opened the Colorado Railroad Museum together with his financial partner Cornelius Hauck.
The Iron Horse Motel was built on the property next to the Museum. It was intended that revenue from the motel would help support operation of the museum. The motel operation did not turn out to be a profit center and was eventually sold to an outside operator. The museum was reorganized and set up as a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization in 1964.
| |
As the collections grew, it was clear the property needed to expand. In March 1995, the Museum repurchased the motel property and razed the building. The original “U” layout of track was made into a loop in 1999. In 2000, a five-stall roundhouse was completed, and a turntable was installed. Those changes have allowed expanded operation of regular train rides, as well as making both the Day Out With Thomas™ and THE POLAR EXPRESS™ events possible. Together, these two events make up nearly 50% of the annual revenue of the Museum today.
The Denver HO Model Railroad Club built a massive HO and HOn3 model railroad in the basement of the depot building starting in the late 1960s. A large garden railway layout was developed on the property by the Denver Garden Railway Society starting in the early 1990s. More recently (in the ‘teens), a picnic pavilion was built for everyday use, and in 2020 this began a transition into a year-round facility hosting receptions, special events, and theatrical presentations as part of the seasonal THE POLAR EXPRESS™ event.
| |
In 1962, my family moved from a four-year stay in Washington, D.C. to Wheatridge. I found out about the museum and began riding my bicycle out to reunite with Rio Grande Southern locomotive No. 20 and other things I had seen in Telluride in 1951. In the 1960s and 1970s the Museum was a place where those of us not part of the “in crowd” at school could hang out, and learn about railroads in general and the narrow gauge in particular. The D&RGW narrow gauge and the RGS were the basis of the collection largely due to the fact that they were most threatened with scrapping.
Bob Richardson lived in a farmhouse (located where the Museum Library now stands), and a U of track had been laid. There were a couple of switches, a water tank had been built, and Denver & Rio Grande Western steam locomotive No. 346 was operational. Because most of the equipment had not been cleaned up and re-painted, the Museum very much had the feel of a little-used branch line somewhere in western Colorado. The upper room in the museum/depot/gift shop (today’s Upper Gallery) was filled with paperwork and photos, displayed behind the window frames salvaged from passenger cars that had been scrapped. During stormy or cold weather, this was a great place to see pictures and read historic documents when “Narrow Gauge in the Rockies” was almost the only available resource in print.
| |
Lauren Giebler compiled a roster of the rail equipment on the property as of 2020. While there have been a few changes by accession and de-accession since that time, the growth in the collection since the Museum’s early days is obvious. As of 2020, the Museum's collection of rail vehicles included:
5 narrow gauge steam locomotives (3 of them operational)
3 narrow gauge diesel switch engines
9 narrow gauge passenger cars (business/baggage/coach/sleeper/RPO)
3 narrow gauge outfit cars
8 narrow gauge boxcars
8 narrow gauge cabooses
4 narrow gauge refrigerator cars
1 narrow gauge flanger
5 narrow gauge stock cars
8 narrow gauge open gondolas
4 narrow gauge drop bottom gondolas
4 narrow gauge flat cars
3 narrow gauge tank cars
1 narrow gauge water car
3 narrow gauge motors (galloping geese)
Total of 77 pieces of narrow gauge rail equipment.
4 standard gauge steam locomotives.
1 cog steam locomotive
4 standard gauge diesel locomotives
2 cog diesel locomotives
8 standard gauge passenger cars (business/observation/diner/coach/sleeper/RPO)
6 standard gauge boxcars
4 standard gauge cabooses
3 standard gauge refrigerator cars
1 standard gauge rotary snowplow
1 standard gauge wedge plow
2 standard gauge flat cars
1 standard gauge scale test car
7 track cars
Total of 45 pieces of standard gauge rail equipment.
A grand total of 114 pieces that require track space.
This does not include several pieces on loan or stored on the property.
| |
When the Museum was started in Golden, Bob purchased a 15-acre tract of land to house and display a small collection (7 pieces) of narrow gauge equipment. It provided enough room for the motel as well. The Richardson library (located on the site of the farmhouse) was built to house the collection of printed original documents, photos, models, and artwork. That important collection has exploded exponentially. The library is now clearly inadequate both in size and environmental control to house this ever-expanding collection.
While reliable figures for the early years are not available, by 2007 Day Out With Thomas™ was contributing significantly to attendance. That year there were roughly 50,000 visitors.
Attendance in 2024 and 2025 was over 100,000 people annually.
| |
To say that the Museum property is currently quite full is clearly an understatement. Seeing the trend, the Museum began a strategic planning process in January of 2023. As a result, the mission statement (which dates from earlier) remains:
The mission of the Colorado Railroad Museum is to preserve and convey the rich history of railroading in the Rocky Mountain region through acquisition, research, exhibition, and education.
The goals and aspirations of the museum are contained in its vision statement:
The Colorado Railroad Museum’s vision is to inspire individuals, families, and communities to learn how Colorado’s railroads have unlocked transformations that are still expanding our world today.
| |
The goals of the 10 year strategic plan are:
1.Enhance Informal Learning Experiences
2.Create Additional Educational Opportunities
3.Explore Offsite and Mobile Exhibit Options
4.Enhance Live Rail Experiences
5.Align Future Growth with Property Development Rights
6.Expand/Relocate Parking Lot
7.Create an Enhanced Visitor Experience
8.Consolidate & Rehouse Small Artifacts and Archival Collections
9.Increase Covered Rail Vehicle Storage Capacity
10.Expand Space for Restoration
11.Develop Human Resources/Personnel Capacity
12.Increase Revenue & Refine Budgeting
13.Inclusivity: Build on positive Reputation
14.Increase Representation Through Education
| |
To achieve this mission and vision the Museum is now engaged in an expansion of the campus, with the goal of doubling its size to a 30-acre footprint.
None of these accomplishments and goals would be possible without the talents and dedication of the Museum’s Staff and Volunteers, led by Executive Director Paul Hammond, its Trustees led by Board Chair Lauren Giebler, and of course the Museum’s many members and donors, without whom none of this impressive growth and vision for the future would be possible.
We are all guardians of history.
| |
A Bit of Rocky Mountain Railroad Club History By Jim Ehernberger
| |
On the morning of May 28, 1949, overcast clouds appeared like moisture was in the air. However, as the day progressed the sun burned off the clouds and it remained clear and bright. The Denver & Rio Grande Western depot at Ridgway was utilized jointly with the Rio Grande Southern. Locomotive 74 was selected on purpose since it had operated on the Colorado & Southern to Leadville. It originally was built for the Colorado & Northwestern Railway, later the Denver, Boulder & Western.
| |
Within a few miles after departure from Ridgway, the locomotive was not steaming properly, and was stopped to regain steam. The Conductor removed a telegraph phone from the caboose, and it was connected to the telegraph line, so he could report their delay to the train dispatcher. Luckily, Club member Everett Rohrer, who had previously been a Union Pacific fireman, offered his assistance and got the old engine steaming properly. Years later, he stated that firing this engine required “corner firing” and not a flat bed of coal across the grates. Typical for railroading, tricks of the trade do apply. JACK A. PFEIFER PHOTO /
JAMES L. EHERNBERGER COLLECTION.
| |
The Telluride Branch extended a few miles to the Pandora Basin, serving extensive mining activities. At this point the San Juan mountain range is near a box canyon, but over the top would be looking toward Red Mountain Pass north of Silverton. The date is May 28, 1949, and snow is evident at this elevation. JACK A. PFEIFER PHOTO /
JAMES L. EHERNBERGER COLLECTION.
| |
The train was towed in reverse order from Pandora to Telluride. The turning facilities at Pandora did not consist of enough room to turn the entire train. It was reported that lodging accommodations were scarce in Telluride, and passengers stayed in private homes, in the city jail, and a few remained on the train as well. Telluride, after the railroad was abandoned, changed completely into a tourist area, and a ski resort community. This image of the train with RGS engine 74 was photographed late in the day at Telluride on May 28, 1949.
JACK A. PFEIFER PHOTO / JAMES L. EHERNBERGER COLLECTION.
| |
Content contributions this month from Chip Sherman, John Bush, Jim Ehernberger and Dave Schaaf. Editorial assistance from Paul Hammond & Matthew Isaacks.
| |
| Thanks to our generous Sponsors & Partners
| |
|
|
|
|
