Cheyenne Depot Museum Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids

Cheyenne, WY

The San Francisco Zephyr at Cheyenne in April 1976.

Location

121 West 15th Street, Cheyenne, Wyoming 82001

Line(s)

Union Pacific Railroad

History

Closed

October 28, 1979

Former services

Preceding station	Amtrak		Following station
Laramie toward Oakland-16th Street		San Francisco Zephyr 1972–1979	Greeley toward Chicago
Laramie toward Oakland-16th Street		City of San Francisco 1971–1972	Greeley toward Chicago
Preceding station	Union Pacific Railroad		Following station
Borie toward Ogden		Overland Route	Hillside toward Council Bluffs Transfer
through to Ogden via Overland Route		Cheyenne – Denver	Speer toward Denver

Union Pacific Railroad Depot
Union Pacific Roundhouse, Turntable and Machine Shop

U.S. National Register of Historic Places

U.S. National Historic Landmark

Union Pacific Passenger Station

Location

121 W. 15th St., Cheyenne, Wyoming

Built

1887

Architect

Van Brunt & Howe

Architectural style

Romanesque Revival, Richardsonian Romanesque

NRHP reference No.

73001934 (depot);
92000930

Significant dates

Added to NRHP

January 29, 1973 (depot);
July 24, 1992

Designated NHL

February 15, 2006 (depot)

The Cheyenne Depot Museum is a cool railroad museum located in Cheyenne, Wyoming. It's inside a really old train station that was built way back in the 1880s for the Union Pacific Railroad. This station was super important because it was the biggest one west of Council Bluffs, Iowa. It's also famous for its special building style called Richardsonian Romanesque.

The museum opened in 1993. It teaches visitors all about Cheyenne's early days and how the Union Pacific Railroad was built. You can see lots of exhibits there. Sometimes they even offer tours of other railroad spots nearby.

A Look Back at the Cheyenne Depot
Gallery
See also

A Look Back at the Cheyenne Depot

The Cheyenne Depot building is made from big blocks of sandstone. This stone came all the way from Fort Collins, Colorado. The depot was built right across the street from the Wyoming State Capitol building. This shows how important the train station was to the city and the state!

Changes and Renovations Over Time

The building was made longer and updated in 1922. It got a fresh new look in 1929. More big updates happened from 2001 to 2006. The city of Cheyenne spent $6.5 million to improve it. A new plaza was also built in front of the Depot. This plaza now hosts many music events and other fun activities all year long.

When Passenger Trains Stopped Running

Amtrak's San Francisco Zephyr train stopped using this station directly in 1979. Instead, trains started using a new station in Borie, which is nine miles west. This change helped trains avoid a tricky backup move in and out of the Cheyenne station. Passengers would take a bus between Borie and Cheyenne.

Regular passenger train service ended completely in Wyoming when Amtrak canceled its Pioneer train in 1997.

Future Plans for Train Service

As of 2022, there's a new train service being planned. It's called Front Range Passenger Rail. This new service aims to connect Cheyenne with Pueblo, Colorado.

How the Museum Was Created

The Cheyenne Frontier Days Old West Museum and Cheyenne Frontier Days worked together to create the Cheyenne Depot Museum, Inc. This organization is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. This means it's a group that works for public good, not for profit. The organization leased the depot building from the city of Cheyenne for 25 years.

Gallery

A photo of the depot taken in 2011.
The nearby roundhouse. This is where the Union Pacific Railroad keeps its historic steam locomotives and E9 diesel locomotives.
Union Pacific's nearby machine shop. This is where they fix and maintain their steam locomotives.

Cheyenne Depot Museum facts for kids

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