As a service to all fans of rail travel — “Railfans” —, we list a number of Web sites of other rail lines, rail services, and rail museums, arranged according to geographic region. Please let us know of any rail sites we haven’t listed, and we’ll include them here.
Metro Denver, Colorado
Here are some links to other Railfan sites in the Metro Denver area. Please let us know of any sites that we haven’t included, and we’ll do our best to include them here.
Aurora History Museum
The Museum has a permanent exhibit titled Growing Home, which features the fully-restored 1913 Trolley Trailer No. 610.
Interurban Car No. 25
The Denver Tramway Company's Car No. 25 was restored by the Rocky Mountain Railroad Club and is now preserved by the City of Lakewood. The public can view and ride Car No. 25 in August during an annual open house.
Caboose Hobbies
10800 West Alameda Avenue *** NEW location ***
Lakewood, CO 80226
303-777-6766
This store is probably the largest hobby shop in the United States devoted exclusively to railroading, real and model. Well worth a visit.
Colorado Railroad Museum
17155 West 44th Avenue
Golden, CO
303-279-5491
This museum offers an outstanding collection of narrow and standard gauge rolling stock, historical displays, and a research library.
Denver HO Gauge Club
17155 W. 44th Ave.
Golden, CO 80402-1244
One of the oldest and largest model railroad clubs in the Rocky Mountains. The club is housed in the lower level of the Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden, Colorado. The layout features HO, HOn3 and Traction to replicate Colorado mountain railroading.
Denver Rails
Denver Rails is a website dedicated to capturing images of the railroads of Denver and the West. In addition, I have compiled a database of railroad things to ride, see, and visit throughout the U.S. I hope it will be a tool for planning vacations, finding attractions and making memories.
Forney Museum of Transportation
4303 Brighton Blvd.
Denver, CO 80202
303-433-3643
The Forney Museum is in its new location and is well worth a visit. Their collection of trains even includes a Union Pacific Big Boy.
Regional Transportation District
Denver, CO
1-303-299-6000
Along with over 1,000 buses, RTD operates a 34.8-mile light rail system throughout central and souther Denver and the SW and SE suburbs. The closet light rail station to the Platte River Trolley is the relatively new stop on the northwest side of Union Station, only 6 blocks (½ mile) from our stop at 15th St. at the South Platte River. Pedestrians can typically walk from Union Station to our Trolley in less than 15 minutes!
Colorado, outside of Metro Denver
Colorado Live Steamers
PO Box 106
Littleton, CO 80160-0106
Contact: Mark Adcock 303-459-0349 or Woody Lewis 719-548-8329
We are a large scale live steam railroad club with a planned 2½ mile mainline for realistic railroad operation. We are currently building a turntable and steam-up bay facilities. Our railroad is located 40 miles east of Denver adjacent to I-70 in Byers, CO.
Cripple Creek & Victor Narrow Gauge Railroad (CC&VRR)
5th & Bennett Ave.
Cripple Creek, CO 80813
719-689-2640
The CC&VRR provides a rare look into the exciting history of the gold rush to the Rocky Mountain West over a century ago.
Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad
Hidden away in a little-known corner of the southern Rocky Mountains is a precious historic artifact of the American West that time forgot. Built in 1880 and little changed since, the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad is one of the finest and most spectacular examples of steam era mountain railroading in North America. Its equipment, structures and vast landscape exist today as if frozen in the first half of the twentieth century.
Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad
Durango, CO
Established in 1881, the line was constructed to haul silver and gold ore from the San Juan Mountains, but passengers soon realized it was the view that was truly precious. This historic train has been in continuous operation for 126 years, carrying passengers behind vintage steam locomotives and rolling stock indigenous to the line.
Fort Collins Municipal Railway
Roosevelt St. and Oak St.
Fort Collins, CO
Leadville, Colorado & Southern Railroad
326 East 7th Street
PO Box 916
Leadville, CO 80461
719-486-3936
1-866-386-3936
Operates from May 27 to October 1. The historic mining town of Leadville is tucked away in a magnificent alpine valley at the base of the state’s highest peak. Originating in “the highest incorporated city in North America,” the LC&S takes passengers along the old Denver, South Park & Pacific and Colorado & Southern lines to the Continental Divide.
The Narrow Gauge Circle is based on an early day travel package offered by the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad. The original “Around the Circle” tour was offered to bolster passenger revenues on the many narrow gauge lines in Colorado. The tour was an incredibly popular destination for many early day adventurers.
Pike’s Peak Historical Street Railway Foundation
Site address:
2333 Steel Drive
Colorado Springs, CO
Mailing address:
PO Box 544
Colorado Springs, CO 80901-0544
719-475-9508
Pueblo Railway Museum
201 West “B” Street, Suite 100
Pueblo, CO 81003
Adjacent to the Historic Pueblo Union Depot, south of the Riverwalk. Displays include an 4-8-4 AT&SF 2912, several cabooses, and other rolling stock. If you’re in the area, be sure to stop by. The museum is the primary program of the Pueblo Railway Foundation, which was formed in 2003 to continue and expand the collections and activities of the Pueblo Locomotive and Rail Historical Society (PLRHS).
Rio Grande Scenic Railroad
601 State Ave.
Alamosa, CO 81101
877-7CO-RAIL (877-726-7245)
Rich railroad history and non-stop scenic treasures await passengers on the newly re-awakened Rio Grande Scenic Railroad, with daily one-way and round-trip service from Alamosa to La Veta over legendary La Veta Pass, including exciting weekend and holiday excursions with our vintage steam engine.
United States
Here are some Railfan sites outside of Colorado, but still in the USA, listed alphabetically. Please let us know if you know of any sites that we haven’t included, and we’ll do our best to include them here. When we add one, we’ll make a post in our news blog, so make sure to subscribe to the news feed using the feed buttonon the right side of this page!
Central Electric Railfans Association
P.O. Box 503
Chicago IL 60690
The Central Electric Railfans Association was formed in 1938 to encourage study of the history, equipment and operation of urban, suburban and mainline electric railways. The Association is one of the leading publishers of books covering various aspects and histories of electric railways throughout the United States and Canada
Chicago North Shore & Milwaukee Railroad
Not only is this a site just about your Webmaster’s personal favorite, there are links to many other sites that we know you will find interesting!
East Troy Trolley Museum
East Troy, WI
414-548-6101
The East Troy Electric Railroad runs from Mukwonago to East Troy in southeast Wisconsin. Built in 1907 by the Milwaukee Electric Railway & Light Company, it continues in its 92nd year as both a living shortline as well as a museum. They operate the only electrically powered dinner train in the U.S.
Fox River Trolley Museum
South Elgin, IL
Visit the Fox River Trolley Museum for trip back to an era when the electric trolley car was a vital part of American life. Experience the sights and sounds of a genuine old-time trolley car on a three mile trip along the banks of the scenic Fox River.
Market Street Railway
San Francisco, CA
San Francisco is home to the most successful operation of historic rail transit in the world: the unique cable car system, and now the wildly popular “F-line” historic trolleys. San Francisco’s Municipal Railway operates the historic transit lines with lots of support from the non-profit organization, Market Street Railway.
Minnesota Streetcar Museum
Minneapolis, MN
The Minnesota Streetcar Museum focuses on the preservation of Minnesota’s electric railway history by acquiring, restoring, maintaining, and operating a fleet of eight historic Minnesota streetcars at the Como-Harriet Streetcar Line in Minneapolis and the Excelsior Streetcar Line in Excelsior. MSM also preserves artifacts, papers, and photographs that it uses to interpret Minnesota’s electric railway history.
Phoenix Trolley Museum (Arizona Street Railway Museum)
1218 N. Central Ave.
Phoenix, AZ 85004-1819
602-254-0307
The Phoenix Trolley project was started in 1975 with a group of individuals that purchased one of the last remaining bodies of an original Phoenix Streetcar. A Car Barn has been constructed and Streetcar #116 has been partially restored and made operational. Additional cars have been obtained by the Museum and we now have a Collection of 5 Streetcars in various stages of restoration. Our Flagship #116, its sister car #504 (#108), Old #44 and two former San Francisco Muni PCC cars.
Seashore Trolley Museum
PO Box A
Kennebunkport, ME 04046
207-967-2712
The museum includes the Town House Restoration Shop, where volunteers are hard at work bringing old trolleys back to life
World
Here are some Railfan sites outside of the USA, listed alphabetically. Please let us know if you know of any rail Web sites that we haven’t included, and we’ll do our best to include them here. When we add one, we’ll make a post in our news blog, so make sure to subscribe to the news feed using the feed buttonon the right side of this page!
Ballarat Vintage Tramway
Ballarat, Victoria, Australia
This is a really neat site from “Down Under” and shows that the love of Trolleys knows no geographic boundaries. Be sure to sign their guest book.
Darjeeling Himalayan Railway
West Bengal, India
Nicknamed the “Toy Train”, the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway is a 2 ft (610 mm) narrow-gauge railway in the Indian state of West Bengal. Built between 1879 and 1881, the train starts at about 100 m (328 ft) elevation at Siliguri and ascends to about 2,200 m (7,218 ft) at Darjeeling on the slopes of the Himalayas only 86 km (53 mi) away. It is still powered by a steam engine (a modern diesel engine is used for Darjeeling’s mail). The train has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1999. Wikipedia also has an excellent article on this railway. If you like your Darjeeling tea, this is the place it comes from!
General Information on Rail
There are a number of internet sites that provide history and information on rail. We are building this section so that people can learn more about rail and streetcars.
https://www.partsgeek.com/mmparts/transportation_history_the_trolley_tram_and_streetcar.html
(Thank you to Hannah, a friend of the Trolley, for finding this site while doing research on the history of transportation for a school project!)
Metro Denver, Colorado
Here are some links to other Railfan sites in the Metro Denver area. Please let us know of any sites that we haven’t included, and we’ll do our best to include them here.
Aurora History Museum
The Museum has a permanent exhibit titled Growing Home, which features the fully-restored 1913 Trolley Trailer No. 610.
Interurban Car No. 25
The Denver Tramway Company's Car No. 25 was restored by the Rocky Mountain Railroad Club and is now preserved by the City of Lakewood. The public can view and ride Car No. 25 in August during an annual open house.
Caboose Hobbies
10800 West Alameda Avenue *** NEW location ***
Lakewood, CO 80226
303-777-6766
This store is probably the largest hobby shop in the United States devoted exclusively to railroading, real and model. Well worth a visit.
Colorado Railroad Museum
17155 West 44th Avenue
Golden, CO
303-279-5491
This museum offers an outstanding collection of narrow and standard gauge rolling stock, historical displays, and a research library.
Denver HO Gauge Club
17155 W. 44th Ave.
Golden, CO 80402-1244
One of the oldest and largest model railroad clubs in the Rocky Mountains. The club is housed in the lower level of the Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden, Colorado. The layout features HO, HOn3 and Traction to replicate Colorado mountain railroading.
Denver Rails
Denver Rails is a website dedicated to capturing images of the railroads of Denver and the West. In addition, I have compiled a database of railroad things to ride, see, and visit throughout the U.S. I hope it will be a tool for planning vacations, finding attractions and making memories.
Forney Museum of Transportation
4303 Brighton Blvd.
Denver, CO 80202
303-433-3643
The Forney Museum is in its new location and is well worth a visit. Their collection of trains even includes a Union Pacific Big Boy.
Regional Transportation District
Denver, CO
1-303-299-6000
Along with over 1,000 buses, RTD operates a 34.8-mile light rail system throughout central and souther Denver and the SW and SE suburbs. The closet light rail station to the Platte River Trolley is the relatively new stop on the northwest side of Union Station, only 6 blocks (½ mile) from our stop at 15th St. at the South Platte River. Pedestrians can typically walk from Union Station to our Trolley in less than 15 minutes!
Colorado, outside of Metro Denver
Colorado Live Steamers
PO Box 106
Littleton, CO 80160-0106
Contact: Mark Adcock 303-459-0349 or Woody Lewis 719-548-8329
We are a large scale live steam railroad club with a planned 2½ mile mainline for realistic railroad operation. We are currently building a turntable and steam-up bay facilities. Our railroad is located 40 miles east of Denver adjacent to I-70 in Byers, CO.
Cripple Creek & Victor Narrow Gauge Railroad (CC&VRR)
5th & Bennett Ave.
Cripple Creek, CO 80813
719-689-2640
The CC&VRR provides a rare look into the exciting history of the gold rush to the Rocky Mountain West over a century ago.
Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad
Hidden away in a little-known corner of the southern Rocky Mountains is a precious historic artifact of the American West that time forgot. Built in 1880 and little changed since, the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad is one of the finest and most spectacular examples of steam era mountain railroading in North America. Its equipment, structures and vast landscape exist today as if frozen in the first half of the twentieth century.
Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad
Durango, CO
Established in 1881, the line was constructed to haul silver and gold ore from the San Juan Mountains, but passengers soon realized it was the view that was truly precious. This historic train has been in continuous operation for 126 years, carrying passengers behind vintage steam locomotives and rolling stock indigenous to the line.
Fort Collins Municipal Railway
Roosevelt St. and Oak St.
Fort Collins, CO
Leadville, Colorado & Southern Railroad
326 East 7th Street
PO Box 916
Leadville, CO 80461
719-486-3936
1-866-386-3936
Operates from May 27 to October 1. The historic mining town of Leadville is tucked away in a magnificent alpine valley at the base of the state’s highest peak. Originating in “the highest incorporated city in North America,” the LC&S takes passengers along the old Denver, South Park & Pacific and Colorado & Southern lines to the Continental Divide.
The Narrow Gauge Circle is based on an early day travel package offered by the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad. The original “Around the Circle” tour was offered to bolster passenger revenues on the many narrow gauge lines in Colorado. The tour was an incredibly popular destination for many early day adventurers.
Pike’s Peak Historical Street Railway Foundation
Site address:
2333 Steel Drive
Colorado Springs, CO
Mailing address:
PO Box 544
Colorado Springs, CO 80901-0544
719-475-9508
Pueblo Railway Museum
201 West “B” Street, Suite 100
Pueblo, CO 81003
Adjacent to the Historic Pueblo Union Depot, south of the Riverwalk. Displays include an 4-8-4 AT&SF 2912, several cabooses, and other rolling stock. If you’re in the area, be sure to stop by. The museum is the primary program of the Pueblo Railway Foundation, which was formed in 2003 to continue and expand the collections and activities of the Pueblo Locomotive and Rail Historical Society (PLRHS).
Rio Grande Scenic Railroad
601 State Ave.
Alamosa, CO 81101
877-7CO-RAIL (877-726-7245)
Rich railroad history and non-stop scenic treasures await passengers on the newly re-awakened Rio Grande Scenic Railroad, with daily one-way and round-trip service from Alamosa to La Veta over legendary La Veta Pass, including exciting weekend and holiday excursions with our vintage steam engine.
United States
Here are some Railfan sites outside of Colorado, but still in the USA, listed alphabetically. Please let us know if you know of any sites that we haven’t included, and we’ll do our best to include them here. When we add one, we’ll make a post in our news blog, so make sure to subscribe to the news feed using the feed buttonon the right side of this page!
Central Electric Railfans Association
P.O. Box 503
Chicago IL 60690
The Central Electric Railfans Association was formed in 1938 to encourage study of the history, equipment and operation of urban, suburban and mainline electric railways. The Association is one of the leading publishers of books covering various aspects and histories of electric railways throughout the United States and Canada
Chicago North Shore & Milwaukee Railroad
Not only is this a site just about your Webmaster’s personal favorite, there are links to many other sites that we know you will find interesting!
East Troy Trolley Museum
East Troy, WI
414-548-6101
The East Troy Electric Railroad runs from Mukwonago to East Troy in southeast Wisconsin. Built in 1907 by the Milwaukee Electric Railway & Light Company, it continues in its 92nd year as both a living shortline as well as a museum. They operate the only electrically powered dinner train in the U.S.
Fox River Trolley Museum
South Elgin, IL
Visit the Fox River Trolley Museum for trip back to an era when the electric trolley car was a vital part of American life. Experience the sights and sounds of a genuine old-time trolley car on a three mile trip along the banks of the scenic Fox River.
Market Street Railway
San Francisco, CA
San Francisco is home to the most successful operation of historic rail transit in the world: the unique cable car system, and now the wildly popular “F-line” historic trolleys. San Francisco’s Municipal Railway operates the historic transit lines with lots of support from the non-profit organization, Market Street Railway.
Minnesota Streetcar Museum
Minneapolis, MN
The Minnesota Streetcar Museum focuses on the preservation of Minnesota’s electric railway history by acquiring, restoring, maintaining, and operating a fleet of eight historic Minnesota streetcars at the Como-Harriet Streetcar Line in Minneapolis and the Excelsior Streetcar Line in Excelsior. MSM also preserves artifacts, papers, and photographs that it uses to interpret Minnesota’s electric railway history.
Phoenix Trolley Museum (Arizona Street Railway Museum)
1218 N. Central Ave.
Phoenix, AZ 85004-1819
602-254-0307
The Phoenix Trolley project was started in 1975 with a group of individuals that purchased one of the last remaining bodies of an original Phoenix Streetcar. A Car Barn has been constructed and Streetcar #116 has been partially restored and made operational. Additional cars have been obtained by the Museum and we now have a Collection of 5 Streetcars in various stages of restoration. Our Flagship #116, its sister car #504 (#108), Old #44 and two former San Francisco Muni PCC cars.
Seashore Trolley Museum
PO Box A
Kennebunkport, ME 04046
207-967-2712
The museum includes the Town House Restoration Shop, where volunteers are hard at work bringing old trolleys back to life
World
Here are some Railfan sites outside of the USA, listed alphabetically. Please let us know if you know of any rail Web sites that we haven’t included, and we’ll do our best to include them here. When we add one, we’ll make a post in our news blog, so make sure to subscribe to the news feed using the feed buttonon the right side of this page!
Ballarat Vintage Tramway
Ballarat, Victoria, Australia
This is a really neat site from “Down Under” and shows that the love of Trolleys knows no geographic boundaries. Be sure to sign their guest book.
Darjeeling Himalayan Railway
West Bengal, India
Nicknamed the “Toy Train”, the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway is a 2 ft (610 mm) narrow-gauge railway in the Indian state of West Bengal. Built between 1879 and 1881, the train starts at about 100 m (328 ft) elevation at Siliguri and ascends to about 2,200 m (7,218 ft) at Darjeeling on the slopes of the Himalayas only 86 km (53 mi) away. It is still powered by a steam engine (a modern diesel engine is used for Darjeeling’s mail). The train has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1999. Wikipedia also has an excellent article on this railway. If you like your Darjeeling tea, this is the place it comes from!
General Information on Rail
There are a number of internet sites that provide history and information on rail. We are building this section so that people can learn more about rail and streetcars.
https://www.partsgeek.com/mmparts/transportation_history_the_trolley_tram_and_streetcar.html
(Thank you to Hannah, a friend of the Trolley, for finding this site while doing research on the history of transportation for a school project!)