Mark's MT Railroads: Depot Days 2016

We've been prepping for a yard sale, and nothing has happened in the train room this week. So, I'll share some thoughts and photos from the Cheyenne, WY Depot Days event that we attended last month.

Every year in May, the historic Cheyenne Depot hosts a railfan event called "Depot Days". During this weekend, attendees to the Depot have the opportunity to tour the Union Pacific Steam Shops and roundhouse, which are located just south of the Depot in the classification yard. The Depot also hosts vendors and model railroad exhibits. The west wing of the Depot houses the permanent Union Pacific Railroad museum, and the upstairs section of the building has more permanent exhibits and a highly detailed HOn3 model railroad layout. Outside, there are food vendors and a trolley bus station. Visitors can ride the trolley into the rail yard for tours of the steam shops and roundhouse, which are only open to the public during this one weekend every year.

The steam shops building and roundhouse are all that remains of a once gigantic locomotive facility, but they are still very impressive. The shops now contain modern equipment for servicing and repairing steam locomotives, but the mighty timbers that hold up the building have been witness to 1,000's of engines being fixed the old-fashioned way. Two steamers are currently being refit in the shops: #844, a 4-8-4 Northern class, and #4014, a 4-8-8-4 Big Boy class. 844 has plenty of steam excursion experience already, and in a few years 4014 will join it for special tourist events. It was a special treat to be able to see 4014 under repair and up close.

A half-block away is a 7-stall section of the original 48-stall roundhouse. The turntable is still present and functional, and many classic pieces of equipment are stored around it. There are many passenger cars from various railroads, a UP rotary snowplow, and CNW F7A business train engine #401. The lucky locos that get to live inside the roundhouse are #838, another 4-8-4 Northern, #5511, a 2-10-2 Santa Fe class, and #3985, a 4-6-6-4 Challenger class. There's also a Centennial class diesel inside. The 838 and 5511 are not going to be restored to functional condition, but seem to be getting a cosmetic touch up. I reckon that 838 is handy to have around as a source of replacement parts for 844. 3985 is in the northern-most stall and looks rather small after seeing 4014. Inside the building, I was again impressed with the feeling of vastness and admired the heavy duty construction that has allowed the structure to stand for a hundred years.

After visiting the depot, shops, and roundhouse, we headed over to Frontier Park (where the Cheyenne Frontier Days rodeo is held every year), and attended a model train show. While not a huge event, its the largest one I've been to in 9 years, so it was very fun and refreshing. Also, it was unexpected, so it was a happy surprise! There were several layouts on display and plenty of folks selling railroad stuff. I bought a brand new Lionel boxcar for under $40, which is kind of a miracle nowadays. In the parking lot of the Park was a Union Pacific kid's train, which looked great and would be a lot of fun to ride on.

It was a great railfan event, and I highly recommend a trip to the Depot just to see the museum, or to visit during Depot Days for a lot of extra adventures. Enjoy the photos below, and until next time, keep your rails shiny ~