The Colorado
Railroad Museum
A replica of an 1880s-style depot, the museum building
houses thousands of rare old photographs, artifacts and documents illustrating
the colorful histories of the railroads which have served the state for over
125 years. An outstanding book and gift shop features hundreds of railroad
books and videos, as well as magazines, posters, jewelry and other
memorabilia.
The museum is located just east of Golden, Colorado,
at a point where Clear Creek flows between North and South Table Mountains.
Display tracks, complete with rare three-way stub switches and century-old
switch stands, hold many historic narrow and standard gauge locomotives and
cars. The museum building, based in exterior design on standard station
construction of the 1880s, houses the largest known collection of
historic records, mementos, artifacts, and pictures of Colorado
railroads.
Museum Grounds
The museum grounds contain three main buildings:
the actual museum and gift shop, the Robert W. Richardson Library, and the
Cornelius W. Hauck Restoration Facility, better known as the Roundhouse.
There is approximately 15 acres of grounds which contain the buildings,
locomotives, and rolling stock.
The museum grounds also include a shady picnic area.
Inside the main building, many interesting old photographs, documents, and
artifacts are exhibited. Original photographs by pioneer photographers such
as William Henry Jackson and Louis Charles McClure - as well as paintings
by Howard Fogg, Otto Kuhler, Ted Rose and other artists - may be found throughout
the building. A bay window contains a reconstructed depot telegrapher's office,
complete with a working "sounder". Every nook and corner contains its share
of fascinating railroad items.
Museum Building
The actual museum building contains the gift store, offices, and inside exhibits.
A new exhibit, "Trains on the Plains", was dedicated in December. This exhibit
explains the other Colorado of stock raising, irrigated farms, mile-a-minute
streamliners, and the other transcontinental railroads like the Union Pacific,
Missouri Pacific, Rock Island, and Santa Fe. There are also exhibits on the
Fred Harvey restaurants, lanterns, smaller railroads in Colorado, dining
car china, and model trains.
There is also an art gallery between the upper and lower levels. We have
original art by Otto Kuhler, Howard Fogg, Ted Rose and other artists. Also
shown is original photographs from such noted pioneer photographers as William
Henry Jackson, Louis Charles McClure, and George Beam, to name a few.
The bay window on the west part of the building contains a reconstructed
telegraprapher's office. There is a telegraph sounder that taps out the dots
and dashes of Morse code. A key text alongside lets the visitor know just
how the exchange goes as in railroad days.
The museum also has tour hosts. May through September, there are daily tours.
Tours are given at 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. During other parts of the day,
the tour hosts circulate through the grounds with "Ask Me" tags so any visitor
questions can be asked and answered. The staff is also available to answer
questions. Be sure to ask about special programs and field trips that are
also available, schedule and pricing.
Reference
Library
The Robert W. Richardson Library houses over
10,000 books specific to railroads. This includes car and locomotive cyclopedias,
bound magazines to the 19th century, such as Railway Age, and other trade
publications. There are also many documents from the ICC valuation forms
kept by the railroads in Colorado. The library has some employee records
from various lines in Colorado. There are many original drawings for car,
locomotive, and lineside buildings. Folios of cars and locomotives are on
hand. Many passenger department, bridge and building department, and operating
department records can be found here. There is an extensive collection of
black and white photographs going back to the earliest days of railroads
in Colorado. Kenton Forrest, our librarian, would be glad to assist specific
requests for information. Duplicates of photos and other documents can be
procured at nominal cost.
Roundhouse
The new Cornelius W. Hauck Restoration Facility
was dedicated July 15, 2000, during a gala ceremony. The design was a composite
to reflect a fairly prosperous railroad putting up a brick roundhouse in
a small division point during the late nineteenth century. The building also
has a visitors' gallery so people can observe restoration in progress safely.
The observation gallery is open during museum hours.
Currently, the staff is installing mechanical systems to support the welding,
metalworking, and woodworking areas. Much of this work has been accomplished.
Not waiting for total completion of the mechanical system installations,
we have put three projects into the roundhouse. RGS Motor #7, our small shop
switcher, and D&RGW #318 are being worked on now. The roundhouse is also
used as an auditorium. It gives a distinct flavor to the railroad shows presented
there.
Museum
Bookstore
The Colorado Railroad Museum Bookstore maintains
one of the most complete stocks of railroad books to be found anywhere!
Our stock includes over 1,000 titles of books, recordings, videotapes and
DVDs, as well as a full selection of art prints, maps, timetable reprints,
and railroad hardware and gift items. Support railroad preservation by buying
your next book or video through us!
Museum Gift Shop
The Museum Gift Store carries railfan magazines,
T-shirts, mousepads, placemats, mugs, jewelry, postcards, railroad plaques
with enameled or hard-board logos, caps and bandanas, cookie cutters, coasters,
shot glasses, train song CDs, railroad prints, railroad pasta, and
"Thomas the Tank Engine" toys.
The Gift Store also carries railroad videos.
There is a small selection of discontinued videos at a discount.
Out-of-print books are sold at a fair price, so the one book missing
from a collection can be bought - these titles vary constantly.
Railroad Equipment
The Museum is home for several pieces of historic
railroad equipment owned by the Rocky Mountain Railroad Club. The largest
item, 317-ton Burlington locomotive 5629, was a gift from the railroad to
the Intermountain Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society for
permanent display here. Another significant item is the Navajo, the
stainless steel observation car from the original streamlined Santa Fe Super
Chief of 1937. Locomotives,
RGS motors, cars and
other railroad equipment are displayed
outside beneath the palisades of North Table Mountain. The natural setting
is very similar to some of the locations where they once operated.
Denver Garden
Railway Society G-Scale Exhibit
The Denver Garden Railway
Society has its G-scale exhibit on the grounds of the museum.
Denver HO Club
The Denver HO Model Railroad
Club's large layout, in the basement of the Museum, is open to the public
on the first Thursday of each month. It features HO, HOn3, and electrics
which represent Colorado rail history in miniature.
