Pioneer Zephyr

File:Pioneer Zephyr full.jpg

The Pioneer Zephyr as it appeared in 1934.

The Pioneer Zephyr is a railroad trainset built by the Budd Company in 1934 for the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad (CBQ). The train was originally named Zephyr and meant as a promotional tool to advertise passenger rail service in the United States. On May 26 1934, this trainset set a speed record for travel time between Denver, Colorado, and Chicago, Illinois, when it made a 13 hour 5 minute "dawn-to-dusk" dash at an average speed of 77 miles per hour. For one section of the run, the train reached a speed of 112.5 miles per hour, just short of the then-current land speed record of 115 miles per hour. This train is generally regarded as the first streamliner on American railroads.

Construction and promotion - the "Dawn-to-Dusk" dash

Riding the train for this run were Ralph Budd, president of the CBQ, Edward G. Budd, founder and president of the Budd Company, H. L. Hamilton, president of the Winton Motor Company which built the motor (and later became part of General Motors Electro-Motive Division), a number of reporters, some lucky members of the public and Zeph, a burro that Ralph Budd brought along as a mascot for the train.

Regular revenue service

The Pioneer Zephyr's last revenue run was a trip from Lincoln, Nebraska, to Galesburg, Illinois, on March 20 1960.

Preservation and static display

On May 26 1960, the 26th anniversary of the "Dawn-to-Dusk" dash, the Pioneer Zephyr trainset was donated to the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry. The train is still on display at the museum just outside the main entrance from the underground parking area for the museum.

References

• (2000), American Experience / Streamliners / People & Events / Ralph Budd. Retrieved February 22 2005.
• Chicago Museum of Science and Industry, excerpts from the New York Times (May 27 1934), Pioneer Zephyr - A Legendary History. Retrieved February 24 2005.