A closer look at the Union Pacific's Laramie, Wyoming depot. When Amtrak was first instituted it routed its San Francisco Zephyr via the UP's overland route through Cheyenne and Laramie due to the Denver & Rio Grande Western's decision not to join Amtrak. Once the Rio Grande had waited out the obligatory time period during which it was required to run its own passenger service in existence at the time of Amtrak's inception, it became possible to move the Zephyr to Rio Grande rails (in the process renaming it the California Zephyr) for the portion between Denver and Salt Lake City, which it did in 1983, leaving Laramie and Cheyenne without passenger service.
