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Railroading and Fishing in Colorado

A black and white diagram of the Big Boy 4005, titled "Union Pacific Big Boy Steam Locomotive #4005" along side a Union Pacific shield logo.
Diagram of the Big Boy hanging in the Forney Transportation Museum

I love Colorado. I love the weather, I love the mountains, I love most of the people I come across. Weed is doing good things there. It's the top place I'd move if I could find a job there.

After seeing 4023 in Omaha, I drove across the Nebraska prairie to arrive in Denver late in the evening on Sunday 6/15/2025. I'd already gotten tickets to the UP Steam Shop to see 4014, Friday of the same week, so heading all the way to California was out of the question unless I extended the trip. I considered going out to Ogden, UT and Promontory Point, but in the end decided to spend a few days in the mountains. I have an awesome fishing spot north of Breckenridge (the exact location is a secret. Maybe I'll send the location to subscribers only.)

4 rainbow trout ona stringer. THere's grass and clear water in the background. The fish were delicious.
They were delicious

Forney Transportation Museum

I saw Big Boy #4005 on Monday at the Forney Transportation Museum. This is a great museum, especially if you're a car enthusiast. They have a whole range of antique vehicles going back to the early 1900s. Many examples of early cars like Model T, Model A, and some of the first fire trucks. They also have early electric cars like this 1916 Detroit Electric Opera Coupe:

A cream colored antique car. The hood is short while the cabin area has a vertical windshield. The doors are similar to stage coach doors (like on the Model A). The wheels are spoked and painted red. It has headlights separate from the body and mounted low in front of the fenders. In place of side mirrors like on a modern car, it has lanterns
1916 Detroit Electric Opera Coupe. Your great-grandpa's Model S

This type of car was advertised with an 80-mile range, but did 210 miles on a single charge in an endurance run. What might have been if we pursued this tech 100 years ago?

Another fun piece of the car collection is Amelia Earhart's roadster. They have stories of her driving very fast and scaring people. I think that probably tracks:

A yellow and black roadster style car with yellow spoked wheels and a chrome grill. Looking from the side you can see the wooden steering wheel
1923 Kissel Speedster (Gold Bug) owned by Amelia Earhart

Of course, the real reason for visiting the Forney Museum was to see #4005:

A Big Boy Steam locomotive front view. In the foreground the black cowcatcher with the Union Pacific shield reading 4005 in black and silver mounted above. Above the shield is the headlight in front fo the silver boiler with the bronze bell mounted over the top

4005 was the only Big Boy involved in an accident. On April 27, 1953, the engine and the first 18 cars derailed when a section gang through a switch incorrectly near Wamsutter, Wyoming. The track crew was trying to help a rancher move a large herd of sheep across the tracks. According to reports, the worker attempted to close the switch again, but was unable. The worker in charge of the switch had only been on the job for a bit over an hour. The foreman was later held partially responsible for putting an untrained man in the position.

More details on the Forney web page, Disaster on the Rails.

Colorado Model Railroad Museum

On Monday afternoon, I visited the Colorado Model Railroad Museum in Greeley, CO. 5500 square feet of HO scale railroad? Yes, please. The museum is located next to the UP Greeley Subdivision. When the real trains come by, the museum workers all run outside to watch them. These are my people.

A yellow and gray diesel locomotive with a white car in the foreground. There's a automated railroad crossing with flashing lights and a red and white gate across the road. In the background there are brick and metal industrial buildings
UP 7604 pulling a manifest freight through Greeley, CO

The layout itself is gorgeous. They have real working signaling throughout. Trains actually stop at reds and wait for other trains to pass, then go again when they receive a green. It appears 100% automated, with no operators.

A giant train layout from a bove. The picture shows two mountain areas with tracks wrapping aroudn them. In the background is a red caboose. Several lighted signs for various railroads including C&S, Rio Grande, and Santa Fe are on the walls
A model of Big Boy #4014 pictured from above. You can see the silver and black boiler rendered in plastic on an HO size track. There are trees and a wooden bridge in miniture in the background
It's 4014!

The coolest thing is many locomotives are equipped with cameras. Off to the side, they have a cab with working controls, and a first person view using the engine feed. Sadly, I didn't get a good picture of it, but Hyce has a great video.

Colorado Railroad Museum

On Tuesday, I visited the Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden, CO. Unlike a lot of other museums with static displays only, this one has a 3ft gauge loop where they run live narrow gauge equipment. While I was there, they were running one of their Galloping Goose powered rail cars for a news crew.

A silver railcar with an old road car construction on the front with a black cow catcher. The cab looks like a semi truck and the backend is a box with a window. People are sitting inside.
Galloping Gooses (Geese?) were Pierce Arrow or Buick cars, mounted to rail wheels. The passenger compartment was a custom construction.

The Museum has their own steam shop to keep things running. They have a viewing area to get a look:

A locomotive shop. In the foreground is a tender on rails built into the floor. It has a logo on the side "Rio Grande Southern" in a stylized curve pattern that looks like a hill or mountain. The number 20 is printed on the backend behind a latter. In the background the locomotive itself is visible behind a table full of tools and materials
RGS #20 undergoing a rebuild

And you can't be in Golden without having a beer train:

A red diesel electric switching locomotive with the Coors beer logo on the cab
A white refrigerated box car with a large Coors beer logo and the city name Golden written in block gold letters underneath.

Aside from all the big train equipment, the museum also features a G-Scale garden railroad, and an HO scale layout.

A model railroad town with little hand built wooden buildings behind several tracks. Real trees and bushes are in the background
G-Scale town
A model city scene. There's a fire truck and fire fighters putting out flames in a building. The background is a painted mountain.
A city in HO

Inside they have several models of steam locomotives, including Big Boy #4019 and UP #844.

Models of steam locomotives inside a glass case. The main image is on Big Boy #4019. UP #844 is below it

In all, the Colorado Railroad Museum is well worth the time, especially for the operations.

Georgetown Loop Railroad

One fantastic thing about Colorado is the number of tourist trains and train history that seems to be everywhere. After spending a few hours at the Colorado Railroad Museum, I had plenty of time to stop off at the Georgetown Loop Railroad on my way into the mountains. Georgetown is not all that far from Denver, and is a bit longer ride than what you can get in Golden. The museum wasn't running trains for the public the day I was there, so I had the itch to get out on the rails.

A view from the first car behind a steam locomotive going over a bridge. Tracks the train had run on are visible under the bridge, with the pine trees of a mountain in the background.
The main "Loop" bridge

Like the name implies, the railroad runs in a large loop, passing over itself before continuing up the mountain from Georgetown to Silver Plume. The 4.5-mile journey takes a little more than an hour there and back. They also have a mine tour that you ride the train to access. I've never done the mine tour, even though I've done the railroad several times. I should really do that.

The railroad also features a small museum at the Silver Plume station, and tons of vintage narrow gauge equipment, both diesel and steam.

A small railroad yard in the mountains. A building with tracks going into it is in the background. There's several diesel switching locomotives. One black and yellow. One black with yellow stripes. One green and red pulling a green passenger car. The engine shed is red brick with a green roof
A view of the engine sheds and equipment in Silver Plume

Rocky Mountain National Park

Not train related. After spending time near Breckenridge catching fish, I made my way up to Fort Collins where I stayed Thursday night before going to Cheyenne on Friday. (Cheyenne had weirdly expensive hotels). Instead of taking the Interstate back through Denver, I made my way along CO-9 and US-40 through Byers Canyon and into the park on US-36.

Ok, somewhat train related: I missed seeing Amtrak in the canyon by about 10 minutes. I almost turned around to catch up and grab a few pictures but decided not to as I wanted to make sure I had plenty of charge to make it across the mountains. In the end, I had to wait to enter the park anyway, and with so much down hill, I actually gained more energy than I used going up.

Words can't describe the beauty of the park. The road climbs to over 13,000 feet, a truly spectacular view above the clouds. I couldn't find a parking spot at the summit, so I settled for taking pictures close by.

A panorama of mountains. In the foreground a wooden fence in front of some tundra beore a drop off and snowcapped mountains in the background under a blue sky with puffy clouds
Panorama near the summit at Rocky Mountain National Park
A middle-aged man taking a selfie like he's a kid. He's got sunglasses on, somewhat silver hair, and gray stubble. He's wearing a brown shirt. In the background is snowcapped mountains
Me, a bit unshaven, finding myself in the mountains

If you made it this far, thanks for reading. In the next few days I'll post 4004 and the account of the UP Steam Shop.

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Jamie Larson
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