Colorado Railroad Museum

At my friend Travis's suggestion, I paid a quick visit to the Colorado Railroad Museum while I was on a reporting trip to the Colorado School of Mines. The museum has an eclectic collection of narrow- and standard-gauge equipment, including No. 491, one of a class of Denver and Rio Grande Western Mikados that were rebuilt from standard-gauge engines. Their boilers still look a little big. These pictures are from June, 2000.

No. 346, a 2-8-0, was built in 1881 for the Denver & Rio Grande,
and is said to be the oldest operable locomotive in Colorado.
In the background is one of the museum's three gasoline-powered
Galloping Geese, parked on the the main line -- a loop of three-foot track
that encircles the property.

What's not to love about a boxcar labeled like this?

The museum's trackage includes this rare three-way stub switch,
which is operated by a harp switchstand. Off to one side of
the property is a large collection of switchstands of all sorts.

Especially handsome is a pair of D&RGW F units, Nos. 5771 and 5762, dating from 1955.