California Zephyr (1949–1970)

Template:Infobox Amtrak The California Zephyr is a 2,438-mile (3,924-km) long passenger train route operated by Amtrak in the Midwestern and Western United States. It runs from Chicago, Illinois in the east to Emeryville, California in the west, passing through the states of Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, and California. This route is one of the longest and most scenic routes run by Amtrak, with views of both the upper Colorado River valley in the Rocky Mountains, and the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

Prior to the formation of Amtrak, the California Zephyr (the CZ, or "Silver Lady") was a passenger train operated jointly by the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad (CB&Q), Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad (D&RGW) and Western Pacific Railroad (WP). The CB&Q, D&RGW and WP christened "The most talked about train in America" on March 19, 1949 with the first departure to happen the following day. It was purposely scheduled so that the train passed through the most spectacular scenery in the daylight.

The original CZ ceased operations in 1970. However, the D&RGW continued to operate its own passenger train service, named the Rio Grande Zephyr, between Salt Lake City and Denver using the original equipment until 1983.

Since 1983, the California Zephyr name has been applied to a Chicago-San Francisco Amtrak service, which operates daily and is a hybrid route between the route of the original CZ and the route of its former rival, the City of San Francisco.

The original California Zephyr

0 mi 0 km Chicago 28 mi 45 km Naperville 38 mi 61 km Aurora bypassed 1983 104 mi 167 km Princeton 162 mi 261 km Galesburg Illinois Zephyr and Carl Sandburg Southwest Chief to Los Angeles 179 mi 288 km Monmouth closed 1984 IL IA Mississippi River 205 mi 330 km Burlington 233 mi 375 km Mount Pleasant 279 mi 449 km Ottumwa 359 mi 578 km Osceola 392 mi 631 km Creston IA NE Missouri River 500 mi 805 km Omaha 555 mi 893 km Lincoln 652 mi 1049 km Hastings 706 mi 1136 km Holdrege 783 mi 1260 km McCook Central Time Mountain Time NE CO 922 mi 1484 km Akron closed 1987 960 mi 1545 km Fort Morgan 1038 mi 1670 km Denver 1100 mi 1770 km Fraser–Winter Park 1113 mi 1791 km Granby 1163 mi 1872 km Bond closed 1983 1223 mi 1968 km Glenwood Springs 1246 mi 2005 km Rifle closed 1983 1311 mi 2110 km Grand Junction CO UT 1387 mi 2232 km Thompson Springs closed 1997 1417 mi 2280 km Green River 1488 mi 2395 km Helper 1563 mi 2515 km Provo 1608 mi 2588 km Salt Lake City 1641 mi 2641 km Ogden bypassed 1983 UT NV Mountain Time Pacific Time 1871 mi 3011 km Elko 1890 mi 3042 km Carlin closed 1983 2013 mi 3240 km Winnemucca 2101 mi 3381 km Lovelock closed 1997 2199 mi 3539 km Sparks closed 2009 2202 mi 3544 km Reno NV CA 2237 mi 3600 km Truckee 2301 mi 3703 km Colfax 2336 mi 3759 km Roseville San Joaquins to Bakersfield Coast Starlight to Seattle 2353 mi 3787 km Sacramento 2367 mi 3809 km Davis 2395 mi 3854 km Suisun–Fairfield bypassed 1998 San Joaquins to Bakersfield 2411 mi 3880 km Martinez 2430 mi 3911 km Richmond 2438 mi 3924 km Emeryville Oakland closed 1994 Oakland– Jack London Square 1995 to 1997 Capitol Corridor to San Jose Coast Starlight to Los Angeles

Before Amtrak operated a train with this name, the California Zephyr was operated by the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad from Chicago to Denver, Colorado, the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad between Denver and Salt Lake City, Utah, and the Western Pacific Railroad from Salt Lake City to Oakland, California. Trains ran with cars of mixed ownership; cars cycled in and out of the consists for service, repairs, and varying passenger loads with the seasons.

The first train was christened in San Francisco by Eleanor Parker while California Lieutenant Governor Goodwin Knight, Mayor of San Francisco Leland Cutler, and WP President Harry A. Mitchell looked on. For the inaugural run in 1949, every female passenger on the train was given a corsage of "silver" and orange orchids that were specially flown in from Hilo, Hawaii. The women who worked as car hostesses on this train were known as "Zephyrettes."

The train traversed the route's 2,525 miles (4,064 km) in 2½ days.

Equipment used

The passenger cars used when the train was inaugurated in 1949 were as follows:

• Baggage
• Vista-Dome chair car
• Vista-Dome chair car (Conductor's Car)
• Vista-Dome chair car
• Vista-Dome dormitory-buffet-lounge car
• Sleeper (10 roomettes, 6 double bedrooms)
• Sleeper (10 roomettes, 6 double bedrooms)
• Diner (48 seats)
• Sleeper (16 sections)
• Sleeper (10 roomettes, 6 double bedrooms) — this was a run-through car to New York City
• Vista-Dome dormitory-buffet-lounge-observation (1 drawing room, 3 double bedrooms)

The forward section of the first Vista-Dome car was partitioned off and reserved for women and children only. There was a door in the corridor under the dome just behind the women's restroom that provided access to the reserved section. Early on however, this reserved section was opened up to all passengers and the door and partitions were removed. Like the train's operation, ownership of the cars was split between the three railroads almost evenly across all car types. Each car was owned by a single railroad, but the ownership of the cars on any specific day's run of the train depended more on what equipment was available at the terminals than whose railroad the train was operating over at the time.

Generally positioned as the second Vista Dome coach was the car referred to as the "Conductor's Car". This car was like the other Vista Dome coaches, except in the B end, was a small booth with a bench seat and desk for the Conductor's use.

In 1952 an additional Pullman sleeper (6 double bedrooms - 5 compartments) was added to regular service on this train. With the new cars delivered that year, cars arriving in Chicago on the California Zephyr were made available for use on the Ak-Sar-Ben Zephyr for an overnight round trip to Lincoln, Nebraska. When the cars returned from Lincoln the next day, they were placed back in the westbound California Zephyr's consist for the next train out of Chicago that afternoon.

"Zephyrettes"

The California Zephyr was marketed (especially to families) as "...a vacation unto itself." Train hostesses, while not new to the industry in the late 1940s, were nevertheless elevated to a new level on the CZ in the form of the "Zephyrette." The "Zephyrettes" functioned as social directors, tour guides, babysitters, nurses—in short, they filled just about any role required to ensure that the passengers had a memorable trip. A pool of approximately twelve women was assigned at any given time to the CZ in this capacity. In 1983 Amtrak revived the California Zephyr and invited one of the original "Zephyrettes" to host the first trip.

A pair of the Western Pacific's Budd Rail Diesel Cars (RDCs), operating as replacements for the discontinued Royal Gorge (trains No. 1 and 2) [1] between September 17, 1950 and October 2, 1960 also picked up the nickname "Zephyrette."

Amtrak era

As ridership fell during the 1960s, the Western Pacific repeatedly petitioned the ICC to drop its section of the train west of Salt Lake City without success. On February 13, 1970, the ICC released an order stating that "operation of the train [on the Western Pacific] was no longer required". The final train departed Oakland, California on March 20, 1970, terminating at Chicago, Illinois on March 22, 1970. The California Zephyr had operated for 21 years and 2 days. East of Salt Lake City, the train was reduced from a daily to a tri-weekly schedule, operating as California Service on the Burlington and as the Rio Grande Zephyr on the Rio Grande. The Rio Grande portion of the train was extended beyond Salt Lake to Ogden, Utah, allowing Nevada and California passengers to connect to the Southern Pacific Railroad's City of San Francisco passenger train. This arrangement existed until the creation of Amtrak on May 1, 1971.

With the establishment of Amtrak in 1971, the new system began operating its San Francisco Zephyr over the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy route to Denver, and Union Pacific's "Overland Route" through Wyoming instead of Colorado, then over the Southern Pacific tracks west of Ogden, Utah.

The Rio Grande railroad initially opted out of Amtrak and continued to operate its section of the former California Zephyr as the Rio Grande Zephyr. In 1983 the Rio Grande Railroad reversed its decision and joined Amtrak.

In July 1983, Amtrak ceased operation of the San Francisco Zephyr and launched operation of a new California Zephyr over the CB&Q and Rio Grande legs of the original train route. West of Salt Lake City, the route operates on the Western Pacific track (now part of the Union Pacific Railroad) to Wells, Nevada. From Wells to Winnemucca the CZ can operate on either the Western Pacific track or the Southern Pacific as directed by the modern owner of both tracks, the Union Pacific Railroad. West of Winnemucca the modern California Zephyr follows the route of the former City of San Francisco on SP track.

Timeline

File:OP-4806.jpg

Train No. 17, the California Zephyr, passes east of Derby, Colorado on July 15, 1951.

• March 12 1949: Public exhibition of equipment that will be used on the California Zephyr begins in Oakland, California. The exhibition travels through along the WP portion of the train's route to Salt Lake City, Utah before returning to San Francisco, California the following week for the inauguration.
• March 19, 1949: The inauguration ceremony for the California Zephyr is held in front of the Pier 3 Ferry building in San Francisco. This is the only time the train is moved into San Francisco, proper; the ceremony is attended by Pacific Opera Company soprano Evelyn Corvello (who sang the Star Spangled Banner to open the ceremony), San Francisco Mayor Leland Cutler, Western Pacific President Harry A. Mitchell, California Lieutenant Governor Goodwin Knight and Warner Brothers actress Eleanor Parker (who officially christened the train with a bottle of champagne).
• March 20, 1949: The first eastbound California Zephyr leaves San Francisco, California bound for Chicago, Illinois at 9:20 am.
• March 1 1955: The eastbound California Zephyr, while traveling through Ruby Canyon, sees its first on-train birth as Peter Zars is born.
• February 13 1970: The Interstate Commerce Commission approves the discontinuation of the California Zephyr.
• March 22, 1970: The last westbound California Zephyr through to the west coast leaves Chicago; the train terminates in Oakland. A remnant of the California Zephyr continues to operate Chicago to Ogden, Utah on the CB&Q and D&RGW on a tri-weekly schedule, with a cross platform transfer in Ogden to the City of San Francisco for through passengers to Oakland.
• 1983: The California Zephyr returns to service when the D&RGW agrees to join Amtrak.
• October 29 2000: Service on Amtrak's California Zephyr is upgraded to daily.

Route description

Heading westward from Chicago, there are many small towns along the right-of-way as the train crosses the great plains towards Denver.

The scenery changes dramatically at Denver as the train climbs the Rocky Mountains. After crossing the Continental Divide via the Moffat Tunnel, the tracks follow the Colorado River for several hours. Passengers can see the transition from a narrow, whitewater river (popular with rafters, who habitually moon the train as it passes) to a much wider stream past Glenwood Canyon and Grand Junction. The train finally departs the now much larger Colorado River after exiting Ruby Canyon which is also where the train enters Utah.

In Utah, the train follows the southern rim of the Book Cliffs to their end near Helper. The train then crosses the Wasatch Mountains, cresting at Soldier Summit. After passing the Wasatch the train arrives at the Wasatch Front where most of the population of Utah is located.

Once the train reaches Salt Lake City the train loosely follows Interstate 80 until the terminus of the train in California. Both the freeway and railroad pass along the south shore of the Great Salt Lake and across the Bonneville Salt Flats towards Nevada.

The Humboldt River provides the path across most of Nevada. However, before the train reaches the Humbolt river, it crosses through 2 mountain ranges, tunneling under the Pequop Mountains. Like all rivers in the Great Basin the Humboldt does not reach the ocean, but terminates in the desert. On the other side of this desert valley is the Truckee River which provides the train's path to Reno and up the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California.

In California, the train crests the Sierra Nevada at Donner Pass and descends following a ridge between the American and Yuba Rivers. Eventually, the California Zephyr reaches the lowland areas of the California Central Valley. The trip terminates in Emeryville, a suburb of Oakland, where a free shuttle bus connects passengers to the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system. Passengers continuing to San Francisco transfer from the train to a Thruway Motorcoach which will take passengers to downtown San Francisco.

The original California Zephyr used the Feather River Route as its path through the Sierra Nevadas. The rails are still in use for freight; however, anyone wishing to see this portion of the original route must now use State Route 70 which runs parallel to the old Western Pacific track.

Station stops

State	Town/City	Station	Connections
Illinois	Chicago	Chicago Union Station	Amtrak: Blue Water, Capitol Limited, Cardinal, Carl Sandburg, City of New Orleans, Empire Builder, Hiawatha Service, Hoosier State, Illini, Illinois Zephyr, Lake Shore Limited, Lincoln Service, Pere Marquette, Saluki, Southwest Chief, Texas Eagle, Wolverine, Thruway Motorcoach CTA Buses: 1, 7, 14, 19, 20, X20, X28, 56, 60, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 128, 129, 130, 151, 156, 157, 192 Megabus: M1, M2, M3, M4, M5, M6, M7 Metra: North Central Service, Milwaukee District/North Line, Milwaukee District/West Line, BNSF Railway Line, Heritage Corridor, SouthWest Service
	Naperville	Naperville	Amtrak: Carl Sandburg, Illinois Zephyr, Southwest Chief Metra: BNSF Railway Line Pace: 530, 676, 677, 678, 680, 681, 682, 683, 684, 685, 686, 687, 688, 689, 714, 781
	Princeton	Princeton	Amtrak: Carl Sandburg, Illinois Zephyr, Southwest Chief
	Galesburg	Galesburg	Amtrak: Carl Sandburg, Illinois Zephyr, Southwest Chief
Iowa	Burlington	Burlington	none
	Mount Pleasant	Mount Pleasant
	Ottumwa	Ottumwa
	Osceola	Osceola
	Creston	Creston
Nebraska	Omaha	Omaha
	Lincoln	Lincoln
	Hastings	Hastings
	Holdrege	Holdrege
	McCook	McCook
Colorado	Fort Morgan	Fort Morgan
	Denver	Denver Union Station	Amtrak: Thruway Motorcoach RTD Light Rail: C Line, E Line
	Fraser	Fraser-Winter Park	none
	Granby	Granby
	Glenwood Springs	Glenwood Springs	Greyhound Lines
	Grand Junction	Grand Junction	none
Utah	Green River	Green River
	Helper	Helper
	Provo	Provo
	Salt Lake City	Salt Lake Central Station	Greyhound Lines FrontRunner: FrontRunner North, FrontRunner South UTA Buses: 2, 3, 11, 205, 209, 220, 227, 240, 500, 520, 522, 550 UTA TRAX: University Line
Nevada	Elko	Elko	none
	Winnemucca	Winnemucca
	Reno	Reno
California	Truckee	Truckee
	Colfax	Colfax
	Roseville	Roseville
	Sacramento	Sacramento Valley Rail Station	Amtrak: Capitol Corridor, Coast Starlight, San Joaquin, Thruway Motorcoach Sacramento RT: Gold Line
	Davis	Davis	Amtrak: Capitol Corridor, Coast Starlight
	Martinez	Martinez	Amtrak: Capitol Corridor, Coast Starlight, San Joaquin Tri Delta Transit: 200 WestCAT: 108, 116, 118, 119, 200, 30Z, 308, 980
	Emeryville	Emeryville	AC Transit: 19 Amtrak: Capitol Corridor, Coast Starlight, San Joaquin, Thruway Motorcoach Emery Go Round: Bart Shopper, City Shopper, Hollis, Hollis North, Powell

Preservation and surviving equipment

Historic California Zephyr dome coach "Silver Lariat" en route to Oakland, being pulled by the Coast Starlight. -- San Luis Obispo (Amtrak_station).

Former California Zephyr dome car in service with the Inland Lakes Railway -- Mount Dora, Florida.

The high quality Budd built cars of the "California Zephyr" have proven to be popular with private car owners. Today, several former CZ cars operate in private charter service on Amtrak, including dome-observation car "Silver Solarium", dome-coach "Silver Lariat", sleepers "Silver Rapids" and "Silver Quail" and a dome-lounge now known as the "Sierra Hotel".

Six museums currently hold equipment once used on the CZ. The Illinois Railway Museum owns several Burlington locomotives that were used to pull the train on occasion. The Colorado Railroad Museum has two Rio Grande locomotives that also saw CZ and later Rio Grande Zephyr service.

The Gold Coast Railroad Museum in Florida owns two former Western Pacific Railroad CZ cars: baggage car "Silver Stag" and dome-observation car "Silver Crescent".

The Avon Park Depot Museum in Florida owns one former Western Pacific Railroad CZ car: Silver Palm originally a sleeper car, it is now a buffet dining car that the museum uses for dinner parties. The car was converted to its buffet car state by Auto-Train when they bought the car. More information about the Silver Palm can be found at http://www.hsaponline.org/diningcar.htm

The largest collection of preserved equipment can be found in Portola, California at the Western Pacific Railroad Museum. One locomotive and four cars are currently preserved there as part of the museum's Zephyr Project restoration program. Western Pacific 805-A is the last intact locomotive built specifically for the CZ. The cars are dome-lounge "Silver Hostel", dome-coaches "Silver Lodge" and "Silver Rifle" (on long term loan from the Golden Gate Railroad Museum) and the "Silver Plate", which is the last intact dining car left from the train's fleet.

Replicas

A non-functional replica of the California Zephyr is located at Disney's California Adventure theme park in Anaheim, California. The train serves as the location of Baker's Field Bakery and Bur-r-r Bank Ice Cream counter service cafes at the Sunshine Plaza main entrance area of the park.

Gallery

• Two California Zephyr express trains meet at a railroad siding (Grizzly) in Garfield County, Colorado beside the Colorado River on March 21, 1949. The Denver and Rio Grande Western locomotives and passenger cars travel in opposite directions on parallel tracks. Placards on the dome cars read "Silver Hostel" and "Silver Pony." The "Silver Hostel" is today preserved and under restoration at the Western Pacific Railroad Museum.
  Two California Zephyr express trains meet at a railroad siding (Grizzly) in Garfield County, Colorado beside the Colorado River on March 21, 1949. The Denver and Rio Grande Western locomotives and passenger cars travel in opposite directions on parallel tracks. Placards on the dome cars read "Silver Hostel" and "Silver Pony." The "Silver Hostel" is today preserved and under restoration at the Western Pacific Railroad Museum.
• 
  "Drumhead" logos such as this often adorned the ends of observation cars on the California Zephyr.
• This cover of a pre-inaugural brochure for the California Zephyr features a cutaway view of the train's famed "Vista Domes."
  This cover of a pre-inaugural brochure for the California Zephyr features a cutaway view of the train's famed "Vista Domes."
• 
  California Zephyr railcar located at the Amtrak station in Maricopa, Arizona the railcar reads "Silver Horizon".

See also

• CB&Q Denver Zephyr

References

• Kisor, Henry (1995). Zephyr: Tracking A Dream Across America. HarperCollins Publishers, New York, NY. ISBN 978-1558504776.
• Schafer, Mike and Joe Welsh (1997). Streamliners: History of a Railroad Icon. MBI Publishing Co., St. Paul, MN. ISBN 0-7603-1371-7.
• Wayner, Robert J., ed. (1972). Car names, numbers and consists. Wayner Publications, New York, NY. {{cite book}}: |author= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
• "The Zephyrettes". California Zephyr Virtual Museum. Retrieved May 28 2006. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |dateformat= ignored (help)

External links

• Amtrak - California Zephyr
• California Zephyr Virtual Museum
• California Zephyr Museum Online
• Western Pacific Railroad Museum - owns several pieces of CZ rolling stock
• California Zephyr restoration effort
• California Zephyr's 1949 schedule
• "Amtrak's California Zephyr: The Way West" August 11, 2005 article by Dan Zukowski, author of Why America Needs Amtrak: The Fight to Save Our Trains.
• Cars of the California Zephyr
• The "Zephyrettes" — Trains 1 & 2
• The California Zephyr, Legendary Passenger Train of the West
• Last Run of the D&RGW Portion of the California Zephyr