The depot operated as an important transfer point for passengers, mail, and freight traveling between Denver, Creede, Santa Fe and Durango.  Agricultural development in the valley made it essential for coordinating crop shipments.

At this site on August 15, 1870, the last spike was driven into the first continuous transcontinental railroad. 

This nationally significant narrow-gauge railroad segment exists as one of only two operating sections of what was once a state wide network of three foot gauge tracks built and operated by the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad. 

David H. Moffat, one of the most important financiers and industrialists in late 19th and early 20th century Colorado, was associated with the Denver, Northwestern and Pacific Railway which brought the first rail service over the Continental Divide from Denver to Middle Park. 

Built in 1908, the elevator is historically and visually the most significant structure associated with the agricultural history of the community.  

Longmont contractor Mark Boyd built the depot in 1885 utilizing native Lyons sandstone.  Used first by the narrow gauge Denver, Utah and Pacific Railroad, the depot served passengers and freight until declining traffic brought its closure in the 1940s. 

In 1881, the Greeley, Salt Lake and Pacific Railroad laid rails from Boulder west to the town of Sunset, and in the 1890s the successor Colorado and North Western completed the line to Ward. 

The Alpine Tunnel Historic District includes approximately 13 miles of the former Denver, South Park and Pacific Railroad railbed across the Continental Divide from Hancock to Quartz, as well as the Alpine Tunnel itself. 

Built in 1877 to haul silver ore, the Colorado Central Railroad also enjoyed popularity as a tourist attraction.

The 1884 Silver Plume Depot served as the western terminus of the Colorado Central Railroad route from Denver to the Clear Creek mining region. 

The 1880 Denver & Rio Grande Railroad (D&RG) Antonito Depot is an important and distinctive masonry example of a combination-type depot active in the San Luis Valley. 

This nationally significant narrow-gauge railroad segment exists as one of only two operating sections of what was once a state wide network of three foot gauge tracks built and operated by the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad.

La Jara traces its birth to the arrival of the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad in 1880.  Located on part of the San Juan Extension between Alamosa and Silverton, the 1911 depot served as a shipping point for area ranchers and farmers.

The Costilla Estates Development Company, a business organized to sell lands within the Sangre de Cristo Land Grant, built the 32-mile San Luis Valley Southern Railway.

The Westcliffe depot is significant for the period 1901-1938 for the role it played in the development of local commerce, community planning and development, and transportation.

The 1906 depot served as the Denver terminus of David Moffat’s railroad over Rollins Pass.  The Denver, Northwestern and Pacific never reached any farther west than Craig, but in doing so it helped to establish an eastern market for the ranches, coal mines and oil fields of northwestern Colorado. 

Denver’s Union Station consists of a Neo Classical central section, constructed in 1914, with flanking wings from the previous 1881 depot.  The station represents the consolidation of passenger and baggage facilities for most railroads serving Denver. 

The 1875 building is a rare example of a stone depot constructed by the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad.  Castle Rock quarries yielded the high quality rhyolite stone used in the depot’s construction. 

Constructed in 1906, the 140,000 gallon steel tank measures 24 feet in diameter and 43 feet in height.  Around 1900, railroads began using steel tanks to replace the elevated wood tanks that provided water for coal-fired steam locomotives.

The 1906 depot served the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad on its route between Kansas and Colorado Springs.  It is one of only three surviving depots of the Rock Island Railroad in Colorado remaining on their original sites. 

Chicago Architect E.A. Harrison designed the circa 1917 Jacobethan Revival style railroad depot.  The building once contained one of the famous Harvey House restaurants that provided meals to passengers across the AT&SF system. 

The Colorado Midland Railroad constructed the stone fourteen-stall roundhouse in 1889 for the maintenance of its steam locomotives. 

Completed in 1894, as one of numerous bridges constructed when the Florence and Cripple Creek Railroad extended its narrow gauge lines up Phantom Canyon into the Cripple Creek gold district, it features a multi-span trestle with a built-up steel deck girder.

David H. Moffat, one of the most important financiers and industrialists in late 19th and early 20th century Colorado, was associated with the Denver, Northwestern and Pacific Railway which brought the first rail service over the Continental Divide from Denver to Middle Park. 

David H. Moffat, one of the most important financiers and industrialists in late 19th and early 20th century Colorado, was associated with the Denver, Northwestern and Pacific Railway which brought the first rail service over the Continental Divide from Denver to Middle Park. 

Constructed in 1883, this combination passenger and freight depot remained in use until the 1954 abandonment of the Crested Butte narrow gauge branch line of the D&RG.

The Alpine Tunnel Historic District includes approximately 13 miles of the former Denver, South Park and Pacific Railroad railbed across the Continental Divide from Hancock to Quartz, as well as the Alpine Tunnel itself.

The simple L-shaped stuccoed stone depot dates to 1877.  The Denver and Rio Grande Railroad built it atop the 9,400 foot high La Veta Pass to serve passenger trains bound to and from the San Luis Valley to the west. 

Constructed by Eugene Emory Benjamin, the large wood frame facility is located adjacent the railroad tracks, at the southern end of Arvada’s historic downtown commercial area.  The building includes the main 2½-story gambrel roofed mill portion and a one-story dock area.  

The narrow gauge rail line, constructed between 1880 and 1882, connected the rich silver mines of the Silverton mining district with the smelters in Durango.  The line formed an important transportation link for moving ores to processing centers and supplying the high mountain community with the necessities and comforts of life. 

The 1881 Greeley, Salt Lake and Pacific Railroad (GSL&P) - Stout Branch represents northern Colorado railroad operations, specifically the early efforts to connect the area with the transcontinental railroad by building a route through Poudre Canyon and west to Salt Lake City, and later use of the railroad to transport raw materials.  The branch railroad played a significant role in the commercial and industrial development of northeastern Colorado.  The rail line transported sandstone and limestone from quarries west of Fort Collins to building sites and sugar factories in Larimer Coun

Completed in 1902, this relatively small depot appears grand and sophisticated with its classical lines and details in the tradition of the Romanesque Revival style.

The 1902 building exhibits the Romanesque Revival style resulting in an impressive depot in keeping with the importance of Sterling on the Union Pacific system.

Designed by Henry J. Schlack and constructed in 1905 by the William Simpson Construction Company, this two-story brick depot, with terra cotta detailing, features elements of the Italian Renaissance. 

The 22.8-mile long Creede Branch originated significant rail traffic from the railroad’s nearby gold and silver mining operations. Although the complete rail line dates to 1891, the conversion of the branch from narrow to standard gauge dates from 1902.

First established as a resort community, the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad reached the area in 1883 with its narrow gauge tracks and constructed the wood frame depot. 

Bridge No. 239 formerly consisted of four spans on the Denver and Rio Grande narrow gauge line through the Black Canyon of the Gunnison.  

The Mission Revival style depot provided both passenger and freight services at this important rail junction.  The southern branch of the D&RG out of Montrose serviced Ouray and connected with the Rio Grande Southern at Ridgway.

The site contains the six-stall stone roundhouse, the I-plan two-story brick hotel, and the one-story frame depot.  The roundhouse and depot date to circa 1880 and the hotel to 1897. 

The circa 1880 depot, with Stick style architectural detailing, is a small well-preserved example of a wood frame combination depot.  Designed to handle passengers and freight, it remained in active use until 1937. 

The 1913 Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway provided the gateway for passengers traveling to and from the community during much of the 20th century.  Serving both as a freight and passenger depot, the Manzanola facility coordinated shipments to and from local merchants and producers. 

In 1887, the Colorado Midland Railroad and the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad raced to be the first to stretch their rail lines to the mining town of Aspen.

The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad built the brick second-generation depot in 1912. The Mission Revival style building was a combination-type depot, handling both passengers and freight.

Designed to handle both passengers and freight, the Santa Fe Railroad constructed this combination depot in 1913. 

The circa 1890 Richardsonian Romanesque Revival style depot was designed by the Chicago architectural firm of Sprague and Newell.  It is constructed of heavy rock faced red sandstone. 

The 22.8-mile long Creede Branch originated significant rail traffic from the railroad’s nearby gold and silver mining operations. Although the complete rail line dates to 1891, the conversion of the branch from narrow to standard gauge dates from 1902.

The 1881 tank provided water for countless steam locomotives from its construction in 1881 until the end of steam locomotive operations in 1956. Tanks of identical design, materials and construction were built throughout the D&RG system in the last two decades of the 19th century. 

The Denver and Salt Lake Railroad’s arrival in Hayden in 1913 ended the community’s isolation from eastern Colorado population centers and economic markets.  The railroad constructed the sturdy two story brick depot in 1918 to serve growing freight and passenger traffic.  

David Moffat’s Denver, Northwestern and Pacific Railway reached Steamboat Springs in 1909, thus opening up an important rail link between the community and Colorado’s Eastern Slope markets.  

The 1937 Denver & Rio Grande Western (D&RGW) water tank at Sargents is listed as a subtype defined in the 1998 Railroads in Colorado 1858-1948 Multiple Property Documentation Form.  The tank is significant under Criterion A in the area of Transportation for its association with the operations of the D&RGW Railroad on its Marshall Pass Route.  The tank provided water for a vast number of steam locomotives traveling the pass from its construction in 1937 through the closing of the line in 1955.

The narrow gauge rail line, constructed between 1880 and 1882, connected the rich silver mines of the Silverton mining district with the smelters in Durango.  The line formed an important transportation link for moving ores to processing centers and supplying the high mountain community with the necessities and comforts of life. 

A rare surviving example of a once common structure in Colorado’s railroad landscape, the tank provided water to countless steam locomotives on the Ridgway to Rico division of the Rio Grande Southern Railroad (RGS) from its construction in 1891 until the last RGS train ran the line in 1951. 

The 1930 Union Pacific Railroad depot in Julesburg played a critical role in the development and growth of Julesburg and of northeastern Colorado.  Rail service moved passengers, agricultural crops, cattle and locally manufactured items to points east and west of Julesburg.  The Denver branch allowed local citizens to travel to and from the city and area merchants to get their goods to market. 

The Midland Terminal Railroad was one of three that served this major mining district.  The railroad arrived in 1894, and the depot opened for passenger and freight service the following year.  The railroad brought ores down to Colorado Springs and Pueblo for processing and sustained the mining community by transporting necessities and luxuries.  

Architect Gilbert Stanley Underwood designed the 1929 Greeley depot.  Underwood is best known for the Rustic style buildings he designed for the Union Pacific and the National Park Service in Bryce Canyon, Zion, Yosemite, and Grand Canyon National Parks.