RAILFANNING WYOMING

The Laramie Union Pacific Depot was built in 1924. There is a small museum inside (which was closed when I drove through town). More information may be available from Rod Gadby at 307-399-3772. There is a walking and biking bridge over the yard that provides an excellent view of the trains passing through (and the yard is often quite busy).

The Medicine Bow Railroad Depot Museum is open from Memorial Day to Labor Day. The hours are 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM Monday through Saturday and 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM on Sunday. It was built in 1913 after the original depot burned. It has a small collection of railroad artifacts, but much more about the history of Medicine Bow and the local area. The is also a Union Pacific bay window caboose (#24506) with a fairly complete interior that is open for viewing.

Highway 287 from Laramie to Medicine Bow parallels the Union Pacific right of way fairly closely most of the way (approximately 60 miles). There is a good picture spot around mile marker #292 and probably at other spots as well.

Highway 20 between Orin Junction and Lusk (and beyond to Van Tassell) presents some excellent opportunities to see Union Pacific coal trains. Lusk also has preserved a wooden water tower from the original Fremont, Elkhorn & Missouri Valley RR. It is just off the main street and easy to spot.

The Wind River Canyon between Shoshoni and Thermopolis has some good spots for pictures (including some tunnels) if you can manage to catch a BNSF train traveling through.

Sheridan has C B & Q #5631 on static display at the corner of 5th and Broadway. It is a Class 0-5-A Mohawk 4-8-4 high speed locomotive. Directly across from it is the historic Sheridan Inn. The Burlington station and freight house are nearby. Sheridan also has quite a bit of rail traffic (often unit coal trains) through the yard.

The Highway 26 Rest Stop overlooks the BNSF yard at Guernsey. There are shade trees, picnic tables, rest rooms and lots of rail action that includes tankers, hoppers, open gondolas, double stacks, autoracks and more. There may be other good spots in and around Guernsey--use caution when parking and be careful about trespassing.

The Cheyenne Depot Museum housed in the former Union Pacific passenger station is certainly worth a look. In addition to an expanding collection of railroad memorabilia, it has a great HOn3 layout on the second floor and a nice area to watch trains in the UP yard up there as well. Check their web site for hours.

I80 across southern Wyoming has many spots where Union Pacific trains can be seen racing across the prairie.

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