Denver and Intermountain Railroad Trolley No. 818 makes its way along Washington Avenue in Golden in 1941. The trip from downtown Golden to the end of the line in Denver, with 30 stops in between, took about 45 minutes.
A motorman waits for passengers to board Denver Tramway Trolley No. 75 at the 13th and Washington Depot in downtown Golden for the trip to Denver in 1906
Light Rail to Golden
As of April 26, 2013. you can catch a trolley all the way from Denver to the Jefferson County Courthouse in Golden for $4.00. From there, you can hop a shuttle bus that will take you into downtown Golden for no additional charge. The train ride only takes 40 minutes or so, the bus ride a few minutes more, so the entire trip can be done in less than an hour. Isn't modern technology amazing? . . . Maybe, not so much.
The RTD's brand new W Line follows the same route as Golden founding father William A.H. Loveland's Denver, Lakewood and Golden Railroad did in 1893. Steam locomotives served Golden until the line was electrified in 1909 when trolleys and streetcars took over. In those days, the streetcars ran from Denver, through Lakewood, around South Table Mountain and all the way into downtown Golden. The trip took about 45 minutes, and there were no transfers. After 1902, visitors could spend the day in Golden and return to Denver by a different route that ran through Arvada, perhaps even stopping on the way home for some evening entertainment at Lakeside Amusement Park after it opened in 1908. Here is a color video of that route taken sometime in the 1940's.
Rail service to Golden on the Denver Tramway interurban railroad ended in 1950. Golden is pleased to have its trains back, so "All aboard".
