It’s #ThrowbackThursday! In honor of the National Western Stock Show being in town, we’re looking back at the vital role railroads played in making this iconic event possible.
When the Stock Show first began in 1906, trains were crucial for transporting livestock. Stock cars carried cattle, sheep, and pigs from ranches across the West directly to Denver’s Stockyards.
The event’s location wasn’t a coincidence. It was strategically placed near three major rail lines with ample space for stock pens. Buyers from cities like Kansas City and Omaha arrived in style aboard Pullman cars, and by 1927, railroads were offering special fares to bring visitors from 13 states on 20 different lines.
As you enjoy the Stock Show this year, take a moment to think about how trains played a key role in bringing livestock and people together, making this event the Colorado tradition it is today!
Figure 1: View of Denver Union Stock Yards Company cattle pens and the Omaha and Grant smelter smokestack in the distance, circa 1915. (Louis Charles McClure/Denver Public Library/Western History Collection/MCC-4205)
Figure 2: Colorado Railroad Museum Collection, historical image of UP Stock Cars getting washed.
Figure 3: Colorado Railroad Museum Collection, historical image of loading sheep into stock cars along the D&RGW near Cimarron, Colorado, 1940.
