Pine Bluffs, WY.
After Pine Bluffs, we
traveled on I-80 west in Wyoming.
Archer Hill, near exit 370 on I-80.
From Archer Hill we continue west till we reached Cheyenne.
Once there we located the American Legion Post and their
Wyoming Merci car, a gift from France at the end of World War
I.
Our next stop was the UP Cheyenne station.
Chris wanted to take yard photos from the adjacent highway
bridge but I decided just to hang around the station.
Cheyenne was named for
the tribe of Plains Native Americans that once roamed
southeastern Wyoming. In 1867 Union Pacific Railroad chief
engineer Maj. Gen. Grenville M. Dodge built a depot on the
site, situated at the junction of several roads leading to
military camps.
Cheyenne Depot Museum is
housed in the restored Union Pacific Railroad Depot at 121
W. 15th St. Regional railroad history is depicted through
photographs, narratives, artifacts and a brief film
presentation. Exhibits focus on the impact that Union
Pacific Railroad operations had on the town and its
residents. The second floor baggage room houses the The
Union Central and Northern Model Railroad layout created by
Harry S. Brunk. He spent more than 30 years handcrafting
everything from the scenery to the roiling stock for this HO
scale of the narrow gauge Clear Creek Lines, which includes
the Colorado and Southern Railway.
Track side of the station where the platforms were located.
From the station we went to Lions Park, in an area where the
Cheyenne Frontier Days events are held.
Union Pacific 4-6-2, 1242.
From Lions Park we then drove to West Cheyenne to see the
Santa Fe bridge over Union Pacific tracks. It was a short wait
before we saw both tracks with traffic.
UP 8455.
From West Cheyenne we stayed on I-80, US 30 west and north to
Laramie. Along the way we stopped at Ames Monument.
Ames Monument is 17 miles
S.E. of Laramie on I-80, then 2 miles south on Ames Rd. The
60-foot granite pyramid honors Oliver and Oakes Ames, the
two promoters of the transcontinental railroad. Built in
1881-82, the monument marks the site of Sherman, a train
inspection point before it became a ghost town with the
relocation of the Union Pacific tracks.
Returning from the Ames Monument we stopped here and waited
for some action. After waiting with no action, we decided to
return to I-80.
Wyoming wild life.
Laramie, WY.
Railroad Heritage Park,
begin construction in 2009, bringing together four pieces
of railroad equipment that were scattered in various
places around Laramie, Wyoming. A snow plow, engine, bunk
car and caboose – a 1950s snow train assembled to
keep the rail lines open in the fierce Wyoming winters. It
is a tribute to the hard working men and women of Laramie
and the West who braved the elements to keep the other
trains running. The train not only serves a historical
function, but it also is “coherent," meaning that it could
have existed in the real world, operating in exactly this
assemblage.
UP 2-8-0 #535.
UP Snow Plow 900015 originally numbered 015.
Leaving Railroad Heritage Park in Laramie, we proceeded to
Motel 8, checked in, did our laundry, ate and turned in for
the night.
