Colorado Railroad HERITAGE WEEK

SOME COLORADO RAILROAD HERITAGE FACTS

Colorado currently boasts the following:
● 18 steam locomotives in operation, with five more undergoing restoration to operating condition, making it one of the top two states for steam locomotion in the U.S. today

● The highest and longest steam railroad in the Western Hemisphere (the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad)

● The highest cog railroad in the world (Broadmoor, Manitou & Pikes Peak Railway)

● The fourth longest railroad tunnel in North America (Moffat Tunnel, used by Amtrak’s California Zephyr and the Rocky Mountaineer’s “Rockies to the Red Rocks” train)

● Six out of the seven famed Galloping Geese, a rail fan favorite contraption that took early automobiles and fitted them with train wheels and room for passengers, mail and freight (Colorado Railroad Museum, Galloping Goose Historical Society, Ridgway Railroad Museum, Telluride Volunteer Fire Department)

● One of the largest model railroads by size in the U.S. (Colorado Model Railroad Museum in Greeley)

● Trains that have appeared in many movies, including Around the World in 80 Days and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (Durango & Silverton), Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (Cumbres & Toltec Scenic), and A Ticket to Tomahawk (Colorado Railroad Museum)

● A wide variety of restored railroad stations, locomotives, cars, operating trains, model trains, and rails to trails options that capture the romance and history of railroads in Colorado

“We hope Colorado Railroad Heritage Week will be a time for Coloradans to reflect on all that railroads have meant to our state, and make plans to ride an historic train or visit a rail heritage site or museum,” Hammond said. He noted that rail heritage sites can be found just about everywhere in Colorado – from the eastern plains of Julesburg, Hugo and Limon, to the San Luis Valley in the south, to Western Slope communities from Durango to Grand Junction to Winter Park, and along the Front Range from Fort Collins to Pueblo. A number of Colorado railroads and attractions are “on board” for Colorado Railroad Heritage Week, and will offer special events and even discounts!

The Musuem expects to receive the 2026 Proclamation in the coming weeks. See the 2025 Proclamation below. 

Offers, Events, Promotions and Exhibits Throughout Colorado:

ABOUT THE COLORADO RAILROAD MUSEUM:
Consistently ranked by Visit Denver as one of the top 10 attractions in the city, the Colorado Railroad Museum features the most comprehensive collection of railroad history in the state with more than 100 narrow- and standard-gauge steam and diesel locomotives, passenger cars, cabooses and freight cars. Located on a spectacular 15-acre site in Clear Creek Valley in Golden, CO, the museum has a half mile circle of operating track offering weekend train rides, along with a working roundhouse and turntable, railroad library, exhibition galleries, outdoor pavilion, and a huge indoor HO model railroad and outdoor G-scale garden railway. The Colorado Railroad Museum offers interactive family fun mixed with authentic Colorado railroad history.