Picture 1) 5771 sits on the grounds of the Colorado Railroad Museum, completely refurbished in the four-stripe Rio Grande scheme.

The museum has a wealth of narrow gauge and standard gauge equipment alike on the 15 acre lot, all of which is accessible to the public 362 days a year (closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years). In addition to the railroad equipment they have on the lot, they also have an extensive library of books kept inside. This includes all of the current train magazines, books on your favorite railroad (which, as we all know, must be Rio Grande if you are here!), train movies on both VHS and DVD, and more!

During the course of a year, the museum will have special events on various days. These events range from Police K-9 demonstrations to narrow gauge train rides around the lot. Just some of the equipment they have onhand includes RGS Caboose #0404, Colorado Midland Parlor-Observation Car #111, Coors Refrigerator Car #5400, and D&RGW Coach #284. But that is just the start as the museum also has onhand a nice fleet of locomotives including D&RGW 2-8-0 #318 (operational), D&RGW 2-8-0 #346 (operational), CB&Q 4-8-4 #5629, and the classic D&RGW F9A 5771 (and F9B 5762). 5771 is certainly the most famous Rio Grande F-unit and perhaps the most famous Rio Grande locomotive period! This locomotive saw active service (albeit in maintenance of way) as recently as 1984.

5771 wad donated to the Colorado Railroad Museum by the Southern Pacific railroad the day prior to the merger between the Union Pacific and the Southern Pacific. One more day and the 5771 may have been recycled into car parts! Instead, the railroad got it and was able to completely refurbish the exterior (although the engine will not be running again anytime soon), repainting it into its original four-stripe paint scheme.

In the basement of the museum you will find the Denver HO Model Railroad Club. It is one of the oldest and largest model railroad clubs in the Rocky Mountains. The club meets every Thursday night from 7pm to 9pm and visitors are more than welcome. Operating night is on the first Thursday of each month. The layout features HO as well as HOn3. If the only can't make it to the museum on a Thursday night, the layout can be activated for 25 cents! This will send one train running around the layout as well as start an amusement park, complete with Ferris wheel!

If you are interested to learn more about the Colorado Railroad Museum, you can visit their website. The museum is 12 miles west of Denver at 17155 West 44th Avenue. It can be easily reached from I-70 on exit 265 (westbound) or exit 266 (eastbound). This is the Highway 58 exit. Directions can be found at this link. The museum is open daily from 9:00am to 5:00pm (the museum library and gift store is open until 9:00pm on Thursday). During June, July, and August, the museum is open daily until 6:00pm. For more information, you can call the museum at 1-800-365-6263 or 303-279-4591.

• Toy trains for the kids
• Hats and shirts and other clothing
• Athearn, Atlas, Bachmann, Life like, and Lionel ... this ranges from rail cars to scenery to locomotives
• As much brass as you could want
• BOOKS!!! An entire side of the store is devoted to books and magazines
• Accessories ... everything from anti-climbers to Z-scale couples!

For more about Caboose Hobbies, you can click here to view pictures and learn more about the store. If you are interested in going, the store is at 500 South Broadway in Denver. You can reach them by phone at 303-777-6766 and store hours are Monday through Friday 9:30am to 6:00pm, Saturday 9:00am to 5:30pm, and Sunday from 11:00am to 5:00pm. For a map of the store, you can click here.