In many ways, Wyoming’s heritage lies on the shoulders of immigrants who built the transcontinental rail line traversing the southern portion of Wyoming and the multiple generations of laborers who have kept it running since. 

That heritage, and the stories of those laborers, deserves more recognition and is worthy of celebration, Wyoming artist Conor Mullen said. “The story of railroad labor in Wyoming is certainly one of those stories I think hasn’t really been told — at least not enough and in public view,” he said.

Mullen is part of a Laramie Public Art Coalition team that has been working to transform an old boxcar into an interactive art gallery and oral history experience dubbed High Iron. He joined five other local artists in creating depictions of Wyoming’s railroad history and the landscape it still shapes. The exhibit, currently located at the corner of 4th Street and Canby Street in Laramie, includes artwork that utilizes fabrics collected from families with deep histories in railroad work, and one using paint derived from Wyoming soils collected along the border-to-border rail line.

Visitors attend the opening celebration of “High Iron” on Sept. 27, 2024, in Laramie. (Elena Ricci)

The installation includes oral histories collected by Aubrey Edwards, a Laramie-based visual artist and public anthropologist. Eventually, the High Iron boxcar will travel to towns along the southern rail corridor where the team will continue to collect oral histories from locals. The exhibit will transform as each town’s rail heritage is incorporated.

“High Iron is a living monument to rail labor,” Laramie Public Art Executive Director Laura McDermit said. “Through the lens of art and personal histories, we reframe the narrative of Wyoming. The rich diversity of people who labored on the railroad has been hidden. High Iron uplifts their stories.”

High Iron is also part of the Monument Lab’s “Re:Generation 2024” project supported by the Mellon Foundation. It is also supported by Wyoming Humanities and the City of Laramie. The exhibit is open to the public on Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. through the end of October.

Dustin Bleizeffer covers energy and climate at WyoFile. He has worked as a coal miner, an oilfield mechanic, and for more than 25 years as a statewide reporter and editor primarily covering the energy...

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