The Forney Museum of Transportation is located in a large warehouse-type building in downtown Denver, right across the street from the Coliseum. The collection is mostly antique automobiles, with many bicycles and other things, and it includes a small number of well-preserved railroad cars and locomotives.
The most impressive item is of course the UP Big Boy 4005. The cab is fenced off, 
but you can look in and see the labels on many of the valves and controls.
There is also a UP rotary, a C&NW 4-6-0, and a Rio Grande dining car set up and well lit so you can see both the kitchen and dining areas.The Forney museum has exactly the opposite preservation philosophy from CRRM. Everything is stored inside a large climate-controlled building. Lighting is kept low so the upholstery won't fade. As a result, photography is difficult, especially of the railroad equipment. (I should have brought a tripod!) But the artifacts should last forever. Of course, most groups don't have the funding to be able to afford a building like this.
One amusing thing is the large number of wax figures displayed in and around the cars. This happened because a Denver wax museum went out of business and gave their entire collection to the Forney. I'm told there's still more down in the basement awaiting placement.
On the left is Denver Tramways #77, pretty much an empty shell. The cable grip, on the other hand, is complete and in excellent shape.
This museum is well worth a visit if you're in Denver.
What kind of passenger car is the green wooden car with the wax figure of the lady and a baby in it? Looks very plush on the inside!
ReplyDeleteThat is thought to be a c. 1905 Pullman chair car from the Colorado Midland, number unknown. There's another wooden coach with no interior (due to camp service) of unknown origin.
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