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 City of San Francisco 1971–1972 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 (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 in Cheyenne, Wyoming. It is located inside an old train station built in the 1880s. This station was very important for the Union Pacific Railroad. It is also a special historic building called a National Historic Landmark.

The museum opened in 1993. It teaches visitors about Cheyenne's early days. You can also learn about how the Union Pacific Railroad was built. The museum has many exhibits. Sometimes, it offers tours of other railroad buildings nearby.

History of the Cheyenne Depot

The train station is made from large blocks of sandstone. This stone came from Fort Collins, Colorado. The Depot was built right across the street from the Wyoming State Capitol building. This showed how important the station was to the city and state.

Changes Over the Years

The building was made longer and updated in 1922. It was decorated again in 1929. More big changes happened from 2001 to 2006. The city of Cheyenne spent $6.5 million to improve it. A new open area, called a plaza, was built in front of the Depot. This plaza is now used for many music events and other activities all year long.

Passenger Train Service Changes

Amtrak's San Francisco Zephyr train stopped using this station directly in 1979. Instead, trains went to a new station in Borie, about nine miles west. This change saved time because trains no longer had to back up into the Cheyenne station. Passengers then took a bus between Borie and Cheyenne. All passenger train service in Wyoming ended in 1997. This happened when Amtrak stopped its Pioneer train.

As of 2025, there is a plan for a new train service. This proposed service would connect Cheyenne and Pueblo, Colorado.

How the Museum Started

The Old West Museum and Cheyenne Frontier Days worked together. They created the Cheyenne Depot Museum, Inc. This organization is a non-profit group. The group rented the depot building from the city of Cheyenne for 25 years.

Images for kids

• 

  A photo of the depot taken in 2011.

• 

  The nearby roundhouse. This is where the Union Pacific Railroad keeps its historic steam and diesel locomotives.

• 

  Union Pacific's nearby machine shop. Here, they work on their steam locomotives.

See also

• Union Pacific 844
• Union Pacific 3985
• Union Pacific 4014
• Union Pacific 6936
• Cheyenne Frontier Days
• Cheyenne Frontier Days Old West Museum
• List of National Historic Landmarks in Wyoming
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Laramie County, Wyoming