Transit Museum/Car House
The Future – The Capital Expansion Plan
The need for maintenance and a museum
In order to continue and to improve trolley service, a significant capital improvement program must be undertaken. A maintenance building must be constructed in which to store and maintain the trolley. It has been stored and maintained outside for seventeen years and has suffered damage from the elements. Incorporated in the maintenance building should be a museum. It would preserve Denver mass transit artifacts and support an educational program. The facility would be called the Denver Transit Museum.We propose that the museum would be located on a parcel of city property just east of North Canosa Ct. on the south side of Old Colfax Avenue. The site is currently a parking lot for the nearby city maintenance facility. The parking lot and street will no longer be needed when the maintenance facility is removed to make room for construction of the West Corridor Light Rail line and Lakewood Gulch drainage improvement project. Procuring use of this city property is necessary. A lease or a purchase arrangement, perhaps including a donation from the city might be a way to make this happen. In return, trolley services could be provided for the public.
A new track must be constructed from the South Platte River, roughly following the old water course of Lakewood Gulch, west along Morrison Road to Decatur. Tracks to the museum and car house would switch off from this trackage. This alignment is explained in the map section of this document.
The Denver Transit Museum would be managed by members of the board of directors from the Denver Rail Heritage Society and members of the community and business establishments.
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