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Starting with the great migration along the Oregon Trail in the 1840s, central Wyoming has long been a transportation corridor of the western United States. Railroad tracks first worked their way into the region in 1886 with the arrival of the Fremont, Elkhorn & Missouri Valley Railroad, building westward from Douglas to Lander. In 1913, the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad, after successfully building through the Wind River Canyon, began construction south and east through Casper to connect with its existing line at Orin Junction. Connecting central Wyoming to the outside world brought goods and people and allowed for the development of the oil fields, agriculture, industry, and tourism.

Twenty years after Cheyenne was founded by Union Pacific, the city had outgrown its three-room board-and-batten depot and began to lobby for a new, grander building that better represented the lustrous community. Union Pacific agreed, and in 1886, construction began on the lavish three-story passenger depot and headquarters for the division. The Cheyenne Union Pacific Depot, designated a national historic landmark in 2006, endures proudly as a symbol of the Magic City and the lasting partnership between the city and the railroad that build it. It continues to serve as Cheyenne's gathering place, a center of activism, and an enduring symbol of the city itself. While the state capitol just down the street stands as a symbol for the state of Wyoming, the Union Pacific Depot belongs to Cheyenne alone.

On July 1, 1862, President Lincoln signed the Pacific Railway Act. This act created the Union Pacific Railroad and authorized government loans and land grants to aid in the construction of the nation's first transcontinental railroad, which would connect Omaha, Nebraska, to Sacramento, California. As the Union Pacific raced west across prairies, mountains, and basins in 1867 and 1868, the Territory of Wyoming and many of its southern towns and cities were founded, including Laramie. In 1869, the Union Pacific met the Central Pacific at Promontory Summit, Utah, and the transcontinental railroad was complete. This is the story of the railroads of Laramie, a fabled place along the Union Pacific's Overland Route.