Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden, Colorado

Written By Kelsey Cecil

Golden, Colorado · Updated October 19, 2026 · 14 min read

Railroad museumTrain ridesOpen Tuesday to Sunday, 9 am to 5 pm, year round

The Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden preserves the railroads of the Rocky Mountain region on a 15-acre railyard of more than 100 historic locomotives, passenger cars and cabooses, with a restoration roundhouse, an 1880s-style depot museum and train rides through much of the year.

  • More than 100 historic railcars
  • 15-acre railyard in Golden
  • Galloping Goose motorcar rides
  • Depot building completed in 1959
  • Roundhouse restoration and turntable
  • Open Tuesday to Sunday

Colorado Railroad Museum at a glance

Hours
9 am to 5 pm, Tuesday to Sunday; closed Mondays and major winter holidays
Admission
Adults $12, seniors 60+ $10, ages 2 to 17 $5, under 2 and members free (as of October 2026)
Train rides
Ride tickets $5 adults and seniors, $2 kids; Saturday rides most of the year, Thursday to Sunday in summer, Goose rides on select Sundays and Tuesdays
Seasonal events
THE POLAR EXPRESS Train Ride, Harvest Haunt Express, Day Out with Thomas, Colorado Crossings, Dinosaur Express Train, Colorado Railroad Heritage Week, Rails & Cocktails lectures, Steam-Up Events
Plan for
About 2 to 3 hours, longer with a train ride
Best for
Families with young kids and Colorado rail history fans
Best ages
Toddlers to age 12, plus older rail fans
Parking
On-site; parking fills on special event days, so arrive 30 minutes before your ride time
Accessibility
Diesel-pulled coach rides are wheelchair accessible; the Galloping Goose is not. Accessible social stories are posted on the website.

Hours and prices as the museum posts them, checked October 19, 2026. Confirm before you go.

Look inside the book

Taking the kids to Colorado Railroad Museum? Bring Rally along.

In Rally Takes the Train, a corgi's little legs can't manage the big train stairs, so Dad gives him a boost. It takes about five minutes to read, a good fit for the drive to Golden.

Page 1 of 8

Rally Takes the Train book cover: a watercolor corgi peeking from a red train

Like it so far? See the full book

25 hand-painted pages, paperback, $13.99 with fast shipping from Amazon.

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Every page is real watercolor on paper, painted by hand by Leslie Dunn. Nothing in this book was made with AI.

A Rocky Mountain railyard on the old Colorado and Southern line

The Colorado Railroad Museum is a nonprofit with a plain mission: to preserve and share the history of railroading in the Rocky Mountain region through collecting, research, exhibits and education. Its grounds sit on the former Colorado and Southern Railway line in Golden, at the point where Clear Creek runs between North and South Table Mountains, a few minutes from downtown Denver.

The heart of the place is the main museum building, finished in 1959 and designed to look like a small-town depot of the 1880s. It has the wide eaves that once kept waiting passengers dry and the big bay windows a station agent used to watch the platforms, and it is painted in the yellow and brown that the Denver & Rio Grande used on its own buildings. Around it, the railyard has grown into a collection of more than 100 locomotives, passenger cars and cabooses, many from the narrow gauge lines that once threaded Colorado's mountains, with Denver & Rio Grande Western equipment and exhibits throughout.

The museum's reach keeps widening. In 2025 the Rocky Mountain Railroad Club, founded in the late 1930s and known for decades of rail excursions, merged with the museum. The staff also revised and reissued Tin Feathers, Wooden Trestles and Iron Men, Stan Rhine's history of the Galloping Geese, and the museum hosts the Goose Fest gatherings that bring several of these motorcars together.

Much of what visitors see depends on the restoration crew in the roundhouse, who keep historic equipment running for rides and events, and on the guides, storytellers and craft leaders who turn a visit into an afternoon of learning. The museum also keeps a research library for anyone digging into Colorado rail history.

From the depot galleries out to the roundhouse

Most visits start in the Depot Museum, which holds two changing galleries. The Upper Gallery shows videos the museum has produced, and the Lower Gallery is set up for hands-on activities and rotating exhibits, recently the bilingual Traqueros: Mexican Trackworkers and the American Railroad, which told the stories of Mexican and Mexican American laborers who built and kept up the nation's track. The main hallway and staircase hold winning images from the Center for Railroad Photography & Art contest into 2027. Look for the telegrapher's office diorama and the HO model railroad inside too.

Out the back door, the 15-acre railyard lets you walk among more than 100 historic locomotives, passenger cars and cabooses. At the roundhouse you can watch restoration work in progress, and the working turntable is part of the grounds. On ride days, coaches pulled by a diesel-electric locomotive, a steam locomotive on Steam-Up days, or a Galloping Goose motorcar depart every half hour. Finish at the Depot Store for rail-themed gifts and books.

Don’t miss

  1. The Galloping Goose motorcarsPart automobile and part railcar, these Rio Grande Southern motorcars were a Depression-era answer to keeping a struggling railroad alive. The museum gives rides on a Goose on scheduled Sundays and Tuesdays.
  2. The 1959 Depot MuseumBuilt to look like an 1880s small-town depot in Denver & Rio Grande yellow and brown, it holds the changing galleries, the HO model railroad and the telegrapher's office.
  3. The Roundhouse restoration shopThis is where the museum's crew repairs and rebuilds historic equipment, and visitors can watch the work as it happens.
  4. The working turntableA real turntable used to turn and move locomotives, a good chance for kids to see how engines got pointed the other way.
  5. The Center for Railroad Photography & Art exhibitSixteen prize-winning and honored photographs from the contest line the depot's hallway and stairs, included with admission through summer 2027.
  6. Research libraryThe museum keeps a respected rail history library, a resource for modelers, historians and families tracing a railroader in the family tree.

Train rides, Thomas, story time and a yard to explore

Kids can ride in historic coaches behind a diesel-electric locomotive on Saturdays through much of the year and Thursday to Sunday in summer, with rides leaving every 30 minutes from 10 am to 3 pm. Steam-Up days put a steam locomotive on the front, and Galloping Goose rides add a quirky small car that train fans love. The museum also runs Story Time and Craft programs, where a museum storyteller reads a train book and a craft leader helps kids make something to take home.

Big event days aimed at little ones include Day Out with Thomas, the Dinosaur Express Train in late May and the Harvest Haunt Express in October. The coaches pulled by diesel-electric locomotives are wheelchair accessible, though the Goose is not, and the museum publishes accessible social stories to help kids who like to know what to expect.

Plan your visit: tips for Colorado Railroad Museum

  • Buy special event tickets online: on-site purchases on event days cost $5 more per person.
  • Arrive 30 minutes before your train departure for parking and check-in.
  • Polar Express tickets have sold out in advance every year since 2020, so book early.
  • Join the Friday walking tours at 10:30 am or 1:30 pm for $3 to get a guided overview.
  • The museum is closed Mondays, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day.

Each November and December the museum stages THE POLAR EXPRESS Train Ride, a three-part evening that starts with cocoa, cookies and a re-enactment of the story in a heated pavilion, continues with a ride in vintage coaches behind a coal-fired steam locomotive, and ends with a visit with Santa and a silver bell for every guest. In October, the Harvest Haunt Express celebrates harvest season and spooky fun. See our guides to Christmas train rides in Colorado and Halloween train rides in Colorado for more options.

Members, guides and a roundhouse crew

The Colorado Railroad Museum is a nonprofit, kept going by its staff, restoration crew, guides and volunteers, and by members who get free general admission and discounted ride tickets. The museum's contact form takes inquiries about membership, volunteering, sponsorship and party planning, and every purchase at the Depot Store helps support the collection.

More rail stops around Denver and the Front Range

The Forney Museum of Transportation in Denver is about 12 miles away and makes an easy pairing on a cold day. Head about 28 miles up into the mountains for the Georgetown Loop Railroad, or drive about 52 miles north to the Colorado Model Railroad Museum in Greeley. You can plan more stops with our list of train museums across Colorado.

Every train museum in Colorado

Bring Rally along: a train book for the drive

Watercolor of a conductor in a blue suit shaking Rally's paw on the train
From Rally Takes the Train, watercolor by Leslie Dunn.

At The Polar Express here, the Conductor calls out across the dark yard asking who would like to climb aboard. That is the moment I wanted for Rally too: Mr. Conductor in his blue uniform, holding out a hand to a short-legged corgi and his Mom and Dad. My kids are learning to read now, and that page is one they ask for again. You can print it from our coloring pages.

Free for train families

Print the Rally coloring pages before you go

Watercolor coloring pages from the book, free to print. Tuck a few in a folder with crayons for the drive or the wait for the next train.

Get the free coloring pages
Rally Takes the Train book cover: a watercolor corgi peeking from a red train

A train story for the ride homeRally Takes the Train is a five-minute rhyming picture book about a corgi's first train trip to see his grand-paw-rents. Hand-painted in real watercolor. $13.99 on Amazon, for ages 0 to 8.

Buy on Amazon (opens in a new tab)

More for train families

Work or volunteer at Colorado Railroad Museum?

We want this page to be the best introduction to your museum on the web. Send new hours, event dates, corrections or photos to kelsey@rallytakesthetrain.com and we will update it. You are welcome to share this page with your members.

Sources

Everything on this page comes from the museum’s own website and social pages and, for history, Wikipedia, checked October 19, 2026.

Colorado Railroad Museum: 20 questions families ask before a visit

Where is the Colorado Railroad Museum?

The Colorado Railroad Museum is at 17155 W. 44th Avenue in Golden, Colorado 80403, a few minutes from downtown Denver. It sits along the former Colorado and Southern Railway line where Clear Creek flows between North and South Table Mountains. Call (303) 279-4591 or (800) 365-6263 if you need directions.

What time does the Colorado Railroad Museum open?

As of October 2026, the museum opens at 9 am and closes at 5 pm, Tuesday through Sunday. It is closed on Mondays and on Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. Train rides and special events run on their own schedules, so check the online calendar before you go.

How much are Colorado Railroad Museum tickets?

As of October 2026, general admission is $12 for adults, $10 for seniors 60 and up, and $5 for ages 2 to 17. Members and children under 2 are free. A train ride adds $5 for adults and seniors and $2 for kids. These were the museum's first price increases in nearly a decade.

What does a Colorado Railroad Museum train ride cost on event days?

On busy special event days, such as Colorado Crossings, the Dinosaur Express Train and the Harvest Haunt Express, only combined admission and ride tickets are sold. As of October 2026 they cost $17 for adults, $15 for seniors and $7 for kids when bought online in advance, or $5 more per person if bought at the museum that day.

When does the Colorado Railroad Museum train ride run?

Diesel-pulled train rides run on Saturdays from mid-January through mid-May, in late August and in October, and Thursday through Sunday from mid-May through mid-August. Rides leave every 30 minutes from 10 am to 3 pm. Dates are posted on the museum's train rides page, and some fill up, so check before you go.

How long is the Colorado Railroad Museum train ride?

The museum does not post an exact ride length online. Departures leave every 30 minutes, which keeps each trip fairly short and easy for young children. Plan to arrive 30 minutes before your departure for parking and check-in, and call (303) 279-4591 if you need the ride time for planning naps or meals.

Can you ride the Galloping Goose at the Colorado Railroad Museum?

Yes. The museum offers rides aboard a Rio Grande Southern Galloping Goose motorcar on select Sundays and Tuesdays, and in summer 2026 Friday rides were on the Goose. Goose rides depart every 30 minutes from 10 am to 3 pm on scheduled dates. Note that the Goose is not wheelchair accessible, unlike the museum's coaches.

What is the Galloping Goose at the Colorado Railroad Museum?

A Galloping Goose is a part-car, part-railcar motorcar built for the Rio Grande Southern during the Depression, when the railroad needed a cheaper way to run its trains. The machines helped keep the line out of bankruptcy and became a famous part of Southwestern Colorado's history. The museum preserves and operates Geese and hosts Goose Fest gatherings.

Does the Colorado Railroad Museum do The Polar Express?

Yes. THE POLAR EXPRESS Train Ride runs in November and December. Families start in a heated pavilion with carols, hot chocolate and a re-enactment of the story, then ride vintage coaches behind a coal-fired steam locomotive to the North Pole, receive a silver bell, and visit Santa at the end. Standard and First Class tickets are offered.

When do Colorado Railroad Museum Polar Express tickets go on sale?

For 2026, Polar Express tickets went on sale to museum members first and then to the public on Tuesday, September 29. The museum says the event has sold out in advance every year since 2020, so buy as early as you can. Members get early access, which is one reason families join before the season.

Does the Colorado Railroad Museum have a Halloween event?

Yes. The Harvest Haunt Express runs in October and celebrates both the harvest and the spooky season with train rides at the museum. It is a special event day, so tickets combine admission and a ride and are cheaper when bought online in advance. Check the museum's calendar for the dates and times this year.

Does the Colorado Railroad Museum host Day Out with Thomas?

Day Out with Thomas is one of the museum's best-known family events and has been held in September. The museum lists it among its train rides and events, so check the website for whether it is scheduled this year. The museum also runs Thomas-themed story times, such as a recent reading of Thomas's Brave Adventure with a craft.

What events are coming up at the Colorado Railroad Museum?

The museum's live calendar lists Friday walking tours, Saturday train rides, Sunday Goose rides and special events. Recurring highlights include Colorado Crossings in mid-May, the Dinosaur Express Train in late May, Colorado Railroad Heritage Week, the Harvest Haunt Express in October and The Polar Express in November and December, plus Rails & Cocktails evening lectures for adults.

How long should you spend at the Colorado Railroad Museum?

Most families should plan on two to three hours to see the depot galleries, walk the 15-acre railyard and visit the roundhouse. Add time if you take a train ride, join a Friday guided tour, or come on a busy special event day. Rail fans who want to look at every car can easily stay longer.

Is there parking at the Colorado Railroad Museum?

The museum has parking at its Golden site, but it fills on busy special event days. That is one reason it encourages buying tickets online ahead of time, and it asks riders to arrive 30 minutes before their departure for parking and check-in. Call (303) 279-4591 if you have questions about parking for a larger group.

Can you have a birthday party at the Colorado Railroad Museum?

The museum's contact form includes a Plan a Party option, so it does take party inquiries. It does not post package details or prices online. Fill out the form on the contact page or call (303) 279-4591 to ask about dates, train ride add-ons and group sizes before you send invitations.

How much is a Colorado Railroad Museum membership?

The museum does not list membership prices on the pages most visitors see first. Members get free general admission, discounted special event and ride tickets after registering their membership online, and early access to Polar Express tickets. Use the contact form's membership option or call (303) 279-4591 for current levels and prices.

Are there jobs or volunteer roles at the Colorado Railroad Museum?

The museum relies on staff, guides, a restoration crew and volunteers. It does not post job openings on its main visitor pages, but its contact form has a volunteer option for anyone who wants to help. Reach out through the form or call (303) 279-4591 to ask about current openings and volunteer roles.

Is the Colorado Railroad Museum the same as the Colorado Model Railroad Museum?

No. The Colorado Railroad Museum is in Golden and focuses on full-size locomotives and cars on a 15-acre railyard, though its depot does include an HO model railroad. The Colorado Model Railroad Museum is a separate museum in Greeley, about 52 miles north, built around a large model layout. Check each museum's own hours and tickets.

Is the Colorado Railroad Museum wheelchair accessible?

Train rides in the museum's historic coaches pulled by diesel-electric locomotives are wheelchair accessible, but the Galloping Goose motorcar is not. The museum also posts accessible social stories for the museum and for train rides to help visitors prepare. For specific needs on the railyard paths, call (303) 279-4591 before your visit.

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Kelsey Cecil
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