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The Cheyenne Depot Museum, Heart of the City

The Cheyenne Depot Museum, also known as the Wyoming Transportation Museum, is located in the former Union Pacific depot in Cheyenne. The station itself dates back to the late 19th century and is one of the most stunning such structures in the country with its cut-stone design and massive clock tower. The museum was created as a means of preserving and presenting both the city of Cheyenne's railroading past and that of the Union Pacific, which has been operating through Cheyenne for well over a century. Throughout the year the museum hosts a number of events and because the city is the base of Union Pacific's heritage fleet it often works in conjunction with the Class I on special events such as train excursions. If you have the chance please take the opportunity to see this beautiful building it is certainly worth it.

The Cheyenne Depot Museum is one of, if not the biggest draws to the city’s downtown area as it looms almost everything else in the area and was recently named a National Historic Landmark. The former UP depot in which the museum is housed is a very ornate structure designed and built by the architect Henry Van Brunt.

To construct the building Union Pacific hired contractor John Coots from Kansas City, a gentleman who the company often called on for many of its construction projects. As for the materials used in the station itself the railroad decided upon local polychromatic sandstone cut from nearby Fort Collins, Colorado. With the UP having a line directly serving the town they could simply bring the stone in by rail and offload it onsite. The building of the station commenced in the spring of 1886 and architect Van Brunt chose to feature the in the structure Richardsonian Romanesque design with magnificent clock tower as its centerpiece. Today, only one other such distinctive railroad station designed by Van Brunt still stands, Union Station in Portland, Oregon.

By the summer of 1887 the Cheyenne station was open for business although interestingly Union Pacific waited more than three years before placing an actual clock in the tower. The new timepiece debuted in January 1890 and was constructed by master clock builders Seth Thomas Company (the clock still keeps time today). In 1922 UP further upgraded the building with a 114-foot long addition to the eastern side of the structure, which included a dining room and kitchen. Over the subsequent years the railroad changed and added various aspects to the building but in general its size did not change at 350 feet in length and 128 feet to the top of the clock tower. For a more detailed history of the building please click here.

The history of the Cheyenne Depot Museum began in 1993 when UP elected to donate the station to the city and county of Laramie. Soon after receiving the building the city went to work stabilizing and restoring the structure, and after this was completed the museum was created. Today, the first floor of the station houses the museum and restaurant while the upper floors are general offices for the city and its tourism department. Unfortunately, you can longer catch a train directly from the station as Amtrak does not call at the building. However, along with Cheyenne being the home of Union Pacific's heritage fleet (including its two fully operable steam locomotives, 4-6-6-4 #3985 and 4-8-4 #844) the railroad still operates a large maintenance facility and yard there (not to mention its main line which still runs right by the station).

Today, the Cheyenne Depot Museum hosts several events throughout the year although their most popular has to be the "Cheyenne Depot Days", held annually in late May. This event includes an entire weekend of activities such as free trolley rides, train layouts setup throughout the building, tours of UP's #3985 and #844, a miniature live steam railroad, and much more. While the idea of the event is to certainly entertain and have fun the real purpose is to tell the history of railroads and how they came to shape the city of Cheyenne, as well as the country itself. The Days have become very popular over the years and worth checking out if you have the chance.

Another hot attraction which the museums hosts in conjunction with the Rocky Mountain Railroad Club, Sherman Hill Model Railroad Club, and Union Pacific is the annual Steam Train Excursion pulled by UP #844 and the railroad's fleet of heritage passenger cars. This excursion usually runs in July each year (if it can be put together, as the event doesn't happen every year) and costs between $100 to near $200 depending on what package you are interested in. Finally, be sure to check out UP 4-8-8-4 "Big Boy" #4004, which is preserved on static display at Holliday Park near the station. All in all, for more information about visiting the Cheyenne Depot Museum please click here to visit their website.

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For more reading on the Union Pacific you might want to consider Union Pacific Railroad from noted author Joe Welsh. Of course, being that the Union Pacific is so well known and has been around for so many years, hundreds of publications (many quite good) have been written about it detailing various subjects of the railroad. However, this book will at least give you a general overview and history of the UP (filled with many, excellent, historical and colorful photographs) at which point you can decide if you are interested in further books of study on the railroad. Even if you are a historian of the UP and have not seen this book I'm sure you will enjoy it!

Also, for more information and reading about excursion trains and railroad museums you might want to consider picking up Tourist Trains Guidebook from the editors of Kalmbach Publishing's Trains magazine. The book lists and reviews over 400 excursions and museums found throughout the country and is an excellent resource, which has received superb reviews by readers, if you're looking for one to visit. In any event, if you're interested in perhaps purchasing either (or both) of these books please visit the links below which will take you to ordering information through Amazon.com, the trusted online shopping network.

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