What Is the Great Overland Station?
This railroad museum was once Topeka’s Union Pacific Railroad Passenger Depot!
What Makes It Historical?
The Union Pacific Railroad Company had lots of projects happening, even while they were working on the first Transcontinental Railroad. Their Eastern Division took on the Leavenworth, Pawnee, and Western Railroad in 1861 with the goal of tying together the new Kansas Territory! Over the next nine years, the rails would get renamed to Kansas Pacific Railway, then Union Pacific Railway, extending out of Kansas to Denver, then Cheyenne, where it met up with the main Transcontinental line!
The rails rolled into Topeka in 1866, and the city cycled through three different depots into the 20th Century! This one was part of a citywide investment in magnificent structures. They brought on the firm of Gilbert Stanley Underwood and Company, which created a depot combining Art Deco and Free Classical Revival elements! The freight station opened April 15, 1926, and the passenger station on January 27, 1927 with the first regular trains arriving on January 29th!
Trains used this depot regularly until 1971 when the rise of the automobile and the highway replaced a lot of train travel. In the 1980s, the station was remodeled into a customer service center then ultimately abandoned by Union Pacific in 1989. Today, the old depot is a railroad museum and conference center!
How Can I #HelpTheHelpers?
- Pay the entrance fee to help maintain trails, signs, structures, and other visitor services!
- Volunteer with the Kansas Historical Society!
- Become a member of the Kansas Historical Society!
- Be a responsible visitor! Please respect the signs and pathways, and treat all structures and artifacts with respect. They’ve endured a lot to survive into the present. They’ll need our help to make it into the future!
How Do I Get There?
200 NW Railroad St
Topeka, KS 66608
(Take Me There!)
When Should I Visit?
The Great Overland Station is open from 10:00 AM until 7:00 PM on Thursdays, 10:00 AM until 4:00 PM on Friday through Saturday, and 12:00 PM to 4:00 PM on Sundays!
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