About the Colorado Railroad Museum
The Colorado Railroad Museum was established in 1959 to preserve a record of the railroads that opened Colorado's mountains to mining, settlement, and commerce. Its motto, "Still on Track," is literal: the museum is a working railroad as well as a collection. On a 15-acre railyard at 17155 W. 44th Avenue in Golden, more than 100 historic locomotives, passenger cars, and cabooses sit on narrow- and standard-gauge track, a Roundhouse restoration shop returns equipment to operating condition in public view, and a replica 1880s depot houses rotating exhibits and an HO-scale model railroad.
The collection is strongest in the narrow-gauge equipment that defined Colorado railroading. All three surviving Rio Grande Southern "Galloping Geese" motor cars (Nos. 2, 6, and 7) are here, along with Denver & Rio Grande Western No. 683, the only surviving standard-gauge steam locomotive from that railroad, Rio Grande Southern No. 20, returned to operation in 2022, and Chicago, Burlington & Quincy No. 5629, the largest steam locomotive on the property. Train rides behind a diesel-electric locomotive run on Saturdays from mid-January to mid-May and in late summer and October, with more frequent rides over the summer, and Goose rides are scheduled on select Sundays. Friday walking tours at 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. introduce the collection and the railroads' impact on the state.
Signature events include Day Out with Thomas, The Polar Express train ride, Colorado Railroad Heritage Week, Colorado Crossings in mid-May, and the Harvest Haunt Express in October. The museum is a Blue Star Museum and offers free admission days through the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District.
Collections and Research Services
The Robert W. Richardson Railroad Library, built in 1997, is one of the most comprehensive railroad reference libraries in the United States, focused on Colorado and the Rocky Mountain region. It holds timetables, maps, mechanical and engineering drawings, employee records, books, archives, audiovisual material, and more than 10,000 historic photographs. The library is non-circulating and open to museum visitors Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.; detailed research visits require at least two weeks' notice. Written requests are answered in the order received (allow three weeks). Requests needing under 30 minutes of staff time are free; members get the first hour free and then pay $20 per hour, and non-members pay $30 per hour, with the first hour due at the time of the request. Publication of reproductions requires written permission and may carry a fee.
Genealogists should know the museum has few employee records and no employee photographs. Before submitting a paid request, check the library's "Railway Employee Records for Colorado" list on its website; if a relative appears with a box number, a request is worthwhile, and if not, the museum recommends other repositories. Our guides to free family history research and old city directories cover those alternatives. Since the 1960s the museum has also published books on Colorado railroad history, many in its Colorado Rail Annual series.
Planning Your Visit
The museum is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday, and closed Mondays, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas, New Year's Eve, and New Year's Day. Admission (2026) is $12 for adults, $10 for seniors 60 and over, and $5 for ages 2 to 17; children under 2 and members are free. Train ride tickets are $5 for adults and seniors and $2 for children. On busy special-event days only combined admission-and-ride tickets are sold, priced lower online than at the gate, and general admission is not available during Day Out with Thomas dates or Polar Express evening performances. Field trips run Tuesday through Friday by reservation; groups should call (800) 365-6263. Current schedules and tickets are at coloradorailroadmuseum.org. In Denver, about 15 miles east, the Molly Brown House Museum and the Denver Public Library Western History Collection make natural companions for a railroad-history trip.
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