Museum
The Museum building is a replica of a 1880s-style depot. It 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.
Exhibits feature 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. Spectacular 1 inch = 1 foot locomotive and car models by Herb Votaw are also displayed. 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.
Be sure to visit the lower level, which is home to the Denver HO Society's “Denver and Western” large operating model train layout. Open to the public until 9:00 PM on the first Thursday of each month, it features HO, HOn3 and electrics that represent Colorado rail history in miniature.
The lower level of the Museum Depot is home to our Exhibition Hall, which features seasonal and traveling displays on all aspects of railroading history.
Depot General Store
And, don’t miss the opportunity to shop at our Depot General Store – our outstanding book and gift shop. Filled with hundreds of railroad books, DVDs, magazines, posters, and jewelry, it’s the best stop for Thomas the Tank Engine toys and railroad fan memorabilia. You can also visit the Store Online.
Museum Grounds
The Museum is located on 15 acres at a point where Clear Creek flows between North and South Table Mountains. All of the railroad equipment is displayed outdoors, with historic Table Mountain in the background . . . a popular site for railway photographers.
Visitors will find display tracks complete with a rare three-way stub switch, dual gauge track and switches, and century-old switch stands. These tracks hold over 100 historic narrow and standard-gauge locomotives and cars. Our 1/3-mile oval of 3-foot gauge track is used by trains on operating days.
The Museum grounds also include a shady picnic area, making a leisurely visit an easy choice for both rail fans and families alike.
Reference Library
The Robert W. Richardson Library houses over 10,000 railroad specific books. Full details of our world-renowned library can be found by visiting the Library section.
Roundhouse
The Cornelius W. Hauck Restoration Facility was dedicated July 15, 2000. The building's brick design was chosen to reflect a fairly prosperous railroad in a small division point during the late nineteenth century. Our visitors' gallery allows our guests to observe restoration work safely and is open during Museum hours.
The roundhouse area also includes a fascinating display of locomotives and cars on the roundhouse ”radial” tracks, as well as a fully functioning 90-foot, “Armstrong” turntable.
Denver Garden Railway Society G-Scale Exhibit
The Denver Garden Railway Society has its G-scale, garden railway exhibit on the grounds of the Museum. The club members operate the model railway on Saturday mornings throughout the year. Additionally, the railway is active on “steam-up” days when the Museum operates its 3-foot gauge equipment.
The Denver Garden Railway Society, founded in 1979, is a non-profit organization dedicated to education, promotion and enjoyment of all aspects of garden railroading. One of the first of such societies in the U.S., the Society initiated the annual National Garden Railway Conventions in 1985 and has hosted many of these events since with registrants from all over the world. For more information visit www.DenverGRS.org
The Denver HO Model Railroad Club
Located in the basement of the Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden, Colorado, the Denver HO Model Railroad Club is one of the oldest and largest model railroad clubs in the Rocky Mountains. The layout features HO, HOn3 and traction, which replicates the various types of Colorado mountain railroading.
For more information visit www.DenverHOModelRRClub..org
