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Colorado museum
Colorado-Railroad-Museum Logo.svg
Established 1959
Location 17155 W 44th Ave
Golden, Colorado 80403
Type railroad museum
Public transit access none

The Colorado Railroad Museum is a special place in Golden, Colorado, that helps us learn about trains. It's a non-profit museum, which means it's run to teach people, not to make money. The museum is built on 15 acres (about 6 hectares) of land, right where a historic train line used to run. It's also located near Clear Creek, with North and South Table Mountains nearby.

The museum started in 1959. Its main goal is to save and share the exciting history of Colorado's railroads. This includes the special narrow-gauge mountain trains that were so important in the state's past.

What You Can See at the Museum

Colorado Railroad Museum depot building
Main museum building, designed to look like an old train station.

The main museum building looks just like a train station from the 1880s! Inside, you can see amazing old photographs from famous photographers like William Henry Jackson. There are also beautiful paintings by artists who loved trains, such as Howard L Fogg. You can even see tiny, detailed model trains that are 1:12 scale, which means they are one-twelfth the size of real trains. One cool part is a recreated telegraph office, where you can hear a real telegraph machine working!

DHOC Exterior
The Denver HO Model Railroad Club is in the museum's basement.

Downstairs in the museum, there's a big hall for special exhibits that change throughout the year. This is also where the Denver HO Model Railroad Club has its "Denver and Western" train layout. This is a huge model train set that shows Colorado's train history in miniature. It uses HO and HOn3 scale models, which are popular sizes for model trains.

The museum also has a library named after Robert W. Richardson. It's filled with over 10,000 old photos and lots of other materials. These include old train schedules, maps, and documents about Colorado's railroads.

Amazing Train Collection

Businesscar
A historic business car at the Colorado Railroad Museum.

The museum has a huge collection of trains, especially 3 ft (914 mm) narrow-gauge ones. These are trains that run on tracks that are narrower than standard tracks. On special "Steam Up days," you can even ride some of these historic narrow-gauge trains!

Golden CO Colorado-Railroad-Museum D&RGW-683 2012-10-18
Steam locomotive D&RGW #683 at a mock-up train station.

One special train is the old Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad No. 683. This is a coal-burning 2-8-0 "Consolidation" type steam locomotive. It was built in 1890 and is the only surviving standard-gauge steam locomotive from the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad.

All the trains and railroad equipment are displayed outside. You can see special tracks, like a rare three-way switch and tracks that can hold both narrow and standard gauge trains. There are over 100 historic locomotives and cars! The museum has a 1/3 mile (about 0.5 km) oval track. This track is used for train rides on days when the trains are running.

The museum's collection includes many famous trains. Here are some of the most notable ones:

Steam Locomotives: Giants of the Rails

Name Year Built Status What Makes It Special
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad No. 5629 1940 On Display This is a huge 4-8-4 "Northern" type steam locomotive. It's the largest steam engine at the museum. It was built in 1940 and is one of only four like it still existing.
Denver and Rio Grande Western No. 491 1928 Running This 2-8-2 "Mikado" type narrow-gauge steam locomotive was built by the D&RGW itself. It was restored and has been running at the museum since August 2014. It is still operational as of August 2025.
Denver and Rio Grande Western No. 346 July 1881 Being Repaired This 2-8-0 "Consolidation" type narrow-gauge steam locomotive was built in 1881. It is currently being rebuilt as of August 2025.
Golden Steam-locomotive-D&RGW-346 2012-10-18
Steam locomotive D&RGW #346 on the turntable, restored to its 20th-century look.
D&RG 400, which became GT&C 340
An early photo of a similar engine, showing how D&RGW #346 looked in the 1800s.
D&RG 406 (D&RG 346)(Class 70, C-19), west of Chama, ca. 1910. CRRM collection
D&RG 406 (later D&RG 346) west of Chama, New Mexico, around 1910.
D&RG 406 (D&RG 346)(C-19), Marshall Pass, summer 1881
D&RG 406 (later D&RG 346) at Marshall Pass, Colorado, in the summer of 1881, when it was new.
Denver & Rio Grande Railroad Class 70 (C-19) Engines (numbers 400-411)
Denver & Rio Grande Railroad Class 70 (C-19) Engines as they looked in the 1800s.
Denver and Rio Grande Western No. 318 1896 On Display This 2-8-0 "Consolidation" type narrow-gauge steam locomotive was built in 1896. It was originally for another railroad before joining the D&RG.
Manitou and Pikes Peak Cog Railway No. 1 1890 On Display This special 0-4-2 type steam locomotive worked on the Pikes Peak Cog Railway from 1891 into the 1960s.
Rio Grande Southern No. 20 1899 Running This 4-6-0 "Ten Wheeler" type narrow-gauge steam locomotive was built in 1899. It was fully restored and made its first public run at the museum in August 2020. It is still operational as of August 2025.
RGS-20Night
Rio Grande Southern No. 20 Steam Engine.
Denver Leadville & Gunnison No. 191 1880 On Display This 2-8-0 "Consolidation" type narrow-gauge steam locomotive is the oldest train in Colorado! It has a long history, being used by several different companies before coming to the museum in 1973. It's now displayed as a Denver Leadville & Gunnison Railroad engine.
Denver, Leadville & Gunnison RR 191 (which later became Thunder Lake Lumber Co. 7)
Denver, Leadville & Gunnison RR 191 near the end of its service life, before restoration.
Golden CO Colorado-Railroad-Museum DL&G-191 2012-10-18
Denver, Leadville & Gunnison RR 191, after restoration.
Denver & Rio Grande Western No. 683 1890 On Display This is a 2-8-0 "Consolidation" type standard-gauge steam locomotive. It started service when the Rio Grande completed its first standard-gauge line. It was retired in 1955 and is the last surviving standard-gauge locomotive from the Denver and Rio Grande Western.

Diesel Locomotives: Modern Power

  • Denver & Rio Grande Western Davenport 0-4-0 #50
  • Denver & Rio Grande Western EMD F9A #5771 & F9B #5762
  • Denver & Rio Grande Western EMD GP30 #3011
  • Denver & Rio Grande Western EMD SD40T-2 #5401 (Donated to the museum in 2018)

Passenger Cars: Travel in Style

  • Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe Observation Car Navajo
  • Chicago Burlington & Quincy Business Car No. 96
  • Colorado Midland Observation Car No. 111
  • Denver & Rio Grande Western Coach No. 284
  • Denver & Rio Grande Western Railway Post Office Car No. 60 (This car was used to sort mail while the train was moving!)
  • Union Pacific Coach No. 5442
  • Union Pacific Diner No. 4801
  • Uintah Combination Coach No. 50

Special Equipment: Unique Machines

  • Manitou & Pikes Peak Cog Railway #1 (A special locomotive that climbs steep hills using a cog wheel)
  • West Side Lumber Company #12 (Shay locomotive - a unique type of steam engine)
  • West Side Lumber Company #14 (Shay locomotive)
  • Chicago Burlington & Quincy snow plow No. 205065
  • Colorado & Southern rotary snow plow No. 99201 (These plows spin to clear deep snow from the tracks!)
  • Rio Grande Southern "Galloping Goose" No. 2
  • Rio Grande Southern "Galloping Goose" No. 6
  • Rio Grande Southern "Galloping Goose" No. 7
RGS Galloping Goose 2 2008
Rio Grande Southern Railroad Galloping Goose No. 2.

See Also

  • List of heritage railroads in the United States
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