Description

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Long before Wyoming was officially part of the union, the Wyoming Territory played a crucial role in westward expansion as the first transcontinental railroad was built into the area by Union Pacific in 1862, bound for a meeting with Central Pacific in Utah in 1869. Modernized, this "Overland Route" today bustles with traffic, as trains thunder across the state on main lines destined for California and Pacific Northwest. More recently, Wyoming’s expansive Powder River Basin has provided gargantuan amounts of coal tonnage for both UP/Chicago & North Western and Burlington Northern/BNSF. Even though it appears that this prodigious coal traffic has peaked, there is still plenty of trains to be seen moving out of the basin. Additionally, BNSF has a secondary main line that traverses through some extraordinary scenery as it heads north and west toward connections in Montana. All in all, railroads crossing the wonderful Rocky Mountains and High Plains of the Cowboy State are certainly a beholder’s delight.

About the Author

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Mike Danneman was art director for Trains Magazine from 1990 to 1995, and is the author of Painting Backdrops for Your Model Railroad and Locomotives of Western Canada. He lives in Colorado.