Colorado Railroad Museum
Colorado Railroad Museum
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About this organization
Mission
The mission of the Colorado Railroad Museum is to preserve and convey the rich history of railroading in the Rocky Mountain region through acquisition, research, exhibition, and education. --Mission statement approved by Board of Trustees on April 12, 2013
About
THE MUSEUM REPRESENTS RAILROADING HISTORY IN A HANDS-ON AND THREE DIMENSIONAL FASHION BY PRESERVING AND MAKING ACCESSIBLE IMPORTANT HISTORIC ARTIFACTS, ARTWORK AND DOCUMENTS, AND BY OFFERING OUTSTANDING EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS TO THE COMMUNITY. THE MUSEUM HAS SYSTEMATICALLY ACQUIRED A COLLECTION OF OVER 100 PIECES OF RAILROAD STOCK, INCLUDING RAIL CARS AND LOCOMOTIVES DATING FROM 1879 TO THE PRESENT. BY SEEKING OUT RECORDS, MAPS, AND OTHER MATERIALS FROM RAILROADS AS THEY CLOSED THEIR OPERATIONS, THE MUSEUM HAS BECOME ONE OF THE LARGEST ARCHIVES OF RAILROAD PRINT MATERIALS IN THE UNITED STATES. IT IS DEDICATED TO THE COLLECTION, PRESERVATION, RESTORATION, AND CATALOGUING OF ARTIFACTS ASSOCIATED WITH RAILROADING, PARTICULARLY THOSE ASSOCIATED WITH COLORADO AND INTERMOUNTAIN RAILROADING. THE MUSEUM'S RESEARCH LIBRARY IS THE SECOND LARGEST OF ITS KIND, AND THE LIBRARY VOLUNTEERS ARE RECOGNIZED FOR THEIR IN-DEPTH KNOWLEDGE OF WESTERN RAILROADS AND THEIR LINES. AUTHORS OF ALL GENRES MAY BE FOUND RESEARCHING TIMETABLES, PAYROLL RECORDS AND PHOTOGRAPHS FOR THEIR PROJECTS. THE MUSEUM LIBRARY IS ALSO HOME TO AN EXTENSIVE COLLECTION OF RAILROAD RELATED ART, SOME OF IT PAINTED BY WORLD-FAMOUS ARTISTS, AND DONATED TO THE MUSEUM BY DEDICATED COLLECTORS. THIS COLLECTION IS SOMETIMES LOANED TO OTHER INSTITUTIONS IN COLLABORATIVE EFFORTS. SINCE 1961 THE MUSEUM HAS PUBLISHED OVER 50 SCHOLARLY BOOKS AND PAMPHLETS ON THE RAILROADS OF COLORADO AND THE WEST THAT ARE INTERNATIONALLY RECOGNIZED BY HISTORIANS. THE COLORADO RAILROAD MUSEUM HAS BEEN RANKED AMONG THE TOP 25 DENVER AREA ATTRACTIONS BY DENVER BUSINESS JOURNAL AND AS ONE OF THE TOP TEN PAID ATTRACTIONS BY VISIT DENVER.THE COLORADO RAILROAD MUSEUM HAS A ROBUST RESTORATION PROGRAM, OVERSEEN BY OUR CHIEF MECHANICAL OFFICER / CURATOR OF ROLLING STOCK AND HIS BAND OF SKILLED VOLUNTEERS, MANY OF WHOM ARE FORMER RAILROAD EMPLOYEES AND MECHANICS. THE IMPORTANCE OF RESTORATION AND MAINTENANCE OF OUR ROLLING STOCK CANNOT BE OVERSTATED. BY ENSURING THAT OUR VISITORS ARE ABLE TO VIEW AND SOMETIMES RIDE ON CARS THAT HAVE BEEN PAINSTAKINGLY RESTORED, WE ARE ABLE TO BRING HISTORY TO LIFE AND TO TEACH OUR GUESTS ABOUT A TRANSFORMATIONAL PERIOD IN THE HISTORY OF OUR STATE AND OUR COUNTRY. OUR DOCENTS ARE ABLE TO SPEAK ABOUT HOW DIFFERENT IT WAS TO TRAVEL BY RAIL IF ONE "HAD MEANS, OR IF ONE WERE TRAVELING IN THIRD CLASS, IF ONE WERE A RAILROAD EMPLOYEE, OR EVEN IF ONE HAD HOPPED ON A FREIGHT CAR WITH OTHER HOBOS. TOUR HOSTS CAN ADDRESS THE WAYS IN WHICH RAILROADS CONTRIBUTED TO THE DYNAMIC ECONOMIC, SOCIAL, AND AGRICULTURAL GROWTH OF THE AMERICAN WEST, AND WHICH INDIVIDUALS SPEARHEADED THAT GROWTH.IN 2018, WORK CONTINUED ON OUR OLDEST ARTIFACT, THE B-8 PASSENGER CAR. BRINGING THE B-8 BACK TO HER FORMER GLORY FOLLOWING HER ERSTWHILE USE AS A CHICKEN HOUSE HAS BEEN A LABOR OF INFINITE LOVE AND LOTS OF DEDICATED EFFORT. WIELDING DENTAL TOOLS TO PICK PAINT FROM THE GRAIN OF THE ORIGINAL MAHOGANY PANELING, AND SEARCHING ANTIQUE SHOPS FOR LIGHT FIXTURES AND FURNITURE, OUR CREW HAS MADE STEADY PROGRESS TOWARD COMPLETION OF THIS BEAUTIFUL EXAMPLE OF HIGH CLASS RAIL TRAVEL IN THE 1880S.THE B-8 NOW CARRIES THE MUSEUM'S FIRST CLASS POLAR EXPRESS PASSENGERS IN NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER, SO YOU CAN IMAGINE HOW MUCH WORK THAT RESTORATION ENTAILED!ONE OF THE MORE UNIQUE CARS IN OUR COLLECTION IS THE UINTAH NO. 50, WHICH IS UNDERGOING ITS OWN MAGICAL TRANSFORMATION IN OUR ROUNDHOUSE. THE COLORADO RAILROAD MUSEUM IS ONE OF ONLY THREE MUSEUMS IN THE COUNTRY TO HAVE UINTAH RAILWAY EQUIPMENT, AND THE ONLY ONE TO HAVE A COMBINATION BAGGAGE AND PASSENGER CAR. THE TINY UINTAH RAILWAY WAS CREATED SPECIFICALLY MINE AND HAUL GILSONITE, WHICH IS A PETROLEUM-BASED ORE STILL USED IN OVER 160 PRODUCTS. THE NO. 50, A FORMER PULLMAN CAR, HAS BEEN THROUGH SEVERAL ITERATIONS IN HER LIFE ON THE RAILS, AND IS A SHINING EXAMPLE OF OUR TEAM'S ATTENTION TO DETAIL. THIS HAS MEANT SCOURING THE INTERNET AND RAILROAD COLLECTIONS FOR THE PERFECT GAS LAMPS FOR THE SALON, AND GETTING THEM RE-CHROMED SO THEY SHINE LIKE THEY ONCE DID AND IT MEANT MAKING SURE THAT THE NEW SEATS ARE AS CLOSE AS THEY CAN GET TO THE ORIGINAL ONES. THIS HAS RESULTED IN AN EXHAUSTIVE SEARCH FOR FABRIC, AND COMMISSIONING SPECIALLY MADE SEAT SPRINGS, AS WELL AS MATCHING THE INTRICATE CARVINGS ON THE SEAT SIDES. AND FINALLY, IN THE COMING YEAR OR SO, THE MUSEUM ANTICIPATES THE RETURN OF THE RGS STEAM LOCOMOTIVE NO. 20. THE RIO GRANDE SOUTHERN NO. 20 IS ARGUABLY THE MOST POPULAR LOCOMOTIVE EVER OWNED BY THE RIO GRANDE SOUTHERN RAILROAD (RGS). BUILT IN 1899 BY THE SCHENECTADY LOCOMOTIVE WORKS TO HAUL FREIGHT, PASSENGERS AND GOLD FROM CRIPPLE CREEK AND VICTOR, COLORADO TO THE FRONT RANGE. FOR ABOUT 13 YEARS, NO. 20 CHUGGED UP AND DOWN PHANTOM CANYON, UNTIL THE FLOOD OF JULY, 1912 WASHED AWAY MUCH OF THE RIGHT OF WAY AND BROUGHT A HALT TO F&CC OPERATIONS. NO. 20 BECAME A STAR WHEN, IN 1949, IT WAS CAST IN THE MOVIE A TICKET TO TOMAHAWK, PRODUCED BY 20TH CENTURY FOX. THIS FICTIONAL FILM WAS A WESTERN COMEDY ABOUT THE TOMAHAWK & WESTERN RAILROAD AND CO-STARED DAN DAILY AND ANNE BAXTER. MARILYN MONROE HAD ONE OF HER FIRST BIG PARTS AS A DANCING GIRL IN THIS MOVIE. IN 1951, THE RGS WENT BANKRUPT AND NO. 20 WAS RETIRED. THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN RAILROAD CLUB PURCHASED NO. 20 FOR $2,400 AND MOVED IT TO ROBERT RICHARDSON'S NARROW GAUGE MOTEL IN ALAMOSA. ONCE RICHARDSON OPENED THE COLORADO RAILROAD MUSEUM IN GOLDEN, COLORADO, NO. 20 WAS MOVED TO THE NEW LOCATION. THE CLUB SPENT CONSIDERABLE AMOUNTS OF MONEY OVER THE YEARS TO KEEP IT IN TOP-NOTCH COSMETIC SHAPE, RESULTING IN ITS PLACEMENT ON THE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES IN 2000. THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN RAILROAD CLUB DONATED THE NO. 20 TO THE MUSEUM IN 2006. SINCE THEN, THE NO. 20 HAS BEEN UNDERGOING EXTENSIVE RENOVATIONS IN STRASBURG, PA. WE ANTICIPATE HER RETURN TO GOLDEN, COLORADO TO BE SOMETIME IN LATE 2018, AND FINAL RESTORATION TO BE COMPLETED IN THE COLORADO RAILROAD MUSEUM ROUNDHOUSE IN 2019, DOVETAILING WITH OUR 60 ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS.
Interesting data from their 2019 990 filing
The non-profit's mission is outlined in the filing as being “The mission of the colorado railroad historical foundation, inc. is to preserve and convey the rich history of railroading in the rocky mountain region through acquisition, research, exhibition, and education.”.
When outlining its responsibilities, they were referred to as: “Acquire, preserve, and exhibit locomotives, cars, artifacts and records pertaining to co railroads.”.
- The state in which the non-profit operates has been officially reported as CO.
- The filing reveals the non-profit's address in 2019 to be PO BOX 10, GOLDEN, CO, 80401.
- As per the non-profit's form for 2019, they have 22 employees on their payroll.
- Is not a private foundation.
- Expenses are greater than $1,000,000.
- Revenue is greater than $1,000,000.
- Revenue less expenses is $899,418.
- The organization has 12 independent voting members.
- The organization was formed in 1964.
- The organization pays $742,291 in salary, compensation, and benefits to its employees.
- The organization pays $149,265 in fundraising expenses.