COLORADO RAILROAD HERITAGE WEEK

What is Colorado Rail Heritage Week?

More than any other undertaking, railroads have transformed Colorado from a wild, isolated, sparsely populated and geographically challenging territory into a booming state filled with agriculture, extractive industries, manufacturing and large cities filled with arts and culture. To recognize this fact, the Colorado Railroad Museum is spearheading efforts each year to have Colorado’s Governor declare the last week of June to be Colorado Rail Heritage Week.

Why this week? The first train arrived in Denver on June 24, 1870, accompanied by great celebration. Within just a few decades more than 2,000 miles of railroad tracks had been constructed along gorges, across roaring rivers, through tunnels and over high mountain passes until they reached almost every corner of the state. In May 2022, Colorado was recognized by the readers of USA Today for having four of the top 10 most scenic rail roads in the nation (No 1, Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad; No. 2, Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad; No. 7, Georgetown Loop Railroad; and No. 10, Pikes Peak Cog Railroad).

“Few places in the world have as colorful a railroading history as Colorado, and this state has done a tremendous job of preserving that history for the enjoyment of residents and visitors,” said Paul Hammond, executive director of the Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden. “We hope Rail 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.” To learn more, Click Here. (link within page to Governor’s Proclamation and Event Press Release section)

2023 ACTIVITIES AND EVENTS – COMING SOON!

2022 ACTIVITIES AND EVENTS DURING COLORADO RAIL HERITAGE WEEK, JUNE 19-26, 2022

• Visit your favorite Colorado railroad or rail attraction for Father’s Day on June 19. Tickets still available for All Things Engine at the Colorado Railroad Museum.

37th National Garden Railway Convention, June 19-25, Crowne Plaza Hotel (Denver) and 40 locations.
This is one of the largest national model railroading conventions and will include clinics, a vendor hall, and opportunities to visit 40 huge indoor and outdoor garden railroads in metro Denver. Garden railroading typically uses G-gauge model trains that travel around backyards, across miniature bridges, through tunnels, over
“mountains” and past miniature towns and cities. These backyard railroads are typically not open to the public.

2023 Proclamation – COMING SOON!

2022 Proclamation:

COLORADO’S FIRST RAIL HERITAGE WEEK DECLARED, JUNE 19-26, 2022
Governor Polis Issues Proclamation to Honor Colorado’s Railroads, Rail Museums, and Rail Heritage Sites

DENVER, JUNE 15, 2022: More than any other undertaking, railroads have transformed Colorado from a wild, isolated, sparsely populated and geographically challenging territory into a booming state filled with agriculture, extractive industries, manufacturing and large cities filled with arts and culture. To recognize this fact, Colorado Governor Jared Polis has declared the week of June 19-26, 2022 to be Colorado Rail Heritage Week.

Read the full text of the 2022 Proclamation by Clicking Here.

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.