The Burlington Routes

The Burlington Routes. 1887 - Present. , Side A , Incorporated as the Cheyenne and Burlington Railroad in March 1887, the 30-mile long Wyoming segment was a part of the larger 145-mile long Chicago, Burlington and Quincy (CB&Q) Railroad line that ran from Midland, Nebraska, westward to Sterling, Colorado, and then northwestward into Cheyenne, Wyoming. Completed and opened for traffic to Cheyenne on December 11, 1887. the Wyoming portion, now vacated, ran from the Colorado-Wyoming State border in the vicinity of Carpenter, Wyoming into downtown Cheyenne with stations established in Carpenter, Arcola, Camp Stool, and Altvan. This line constructed of "light rail" was designed to haul agricultural products, some passengers, and industrial products needed in the growing west. , The Cheyenne and Burlington operated independently until February 1908 when it was purchased by the much larger CB&Q and passenger and mail service was suspended until the 1950s. The chief value of the line was hauling wheat which was the primary crop in the area. By 1970 the Wyoming segment was closed and much of the rail had been removed and salvaged. Today the route generally consists of an earthen railroad grade with cuts and fills to accommodate development of the land. Much of the 200 foot wide right-of-way is still listed as belonging to the current Burlington Northern and Santa Fe (BNSF) Railroad.

In 1887, Burlington purchased the Warren emporium (Mercantile) Building which had been originally constructed by F.E. Warren, Cheyenne prominent businessman, Rancher, First Governor, and U.S. Senator; to be their Burlington Depot. It was located in what is now Depot Plaza on the corner of what was then 16th Street (now Lincolnway) and Hill (now Capitol) Avenue. The building would later also serve the Colorado and Southern Railroad Line with trains coming north from Denver and Fort Collins.

Side B , Razed in 1927, the first terminal was replaced with a second smaller modern Spanish-style depot in 1929. This second depot lasted until 1955 when it too was torn down in favor of a parking lot. The Burlington would provide dedicated passenger ("Vestibule Trains") service between Denver, Cheyenne, Omaha, and Chicago from its beginning until 1893 (this was a service that was not possible on the Union Pacific at that time).

After the Panic of 1893 all lines had difficulties and Burlington changed their passenger service to "Accommodation Mixed Trains." Freight being the chief money maker for the Cheyenne to Sterling segment as the main passenger service was handled out of Denver direct. In 1908 the CB&Q would also buy out the Colorado and Southern (C&S) Line which provided service north through Cheyenne from Denver and Fort Collins, Colorado, and south from Casper and Douglas, Wyoming. Like the Cheyenne and Burlington, the C&S continued to provide service over segments of the line well into the 1950s and what they called their "Zephyr Connection" trains to and from Denver.

Burlington is now referred to as the BNSF Railroad as they continue to grow and expand their services. Their last Depot was built in the vicinity of West 27th Street and Cribbon Avenue. This was also the location of their roundhouse and main rail yard in Cheyenne. this depot building still exists but is used solely as an operations building even though a more modern operations building has been constructed on this same site. The Burlington track continues to run north and south through Denver into Texas and north to the Wyoming coal fields and connections into central Wyoming and on into the northwest through Montana.