California Zephyr

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Image:Z-6354.jpg Image:California Zephyr.jpg The California Zephyr is a 2,438-mile (3924-km) passenger train route operated by Amtrak in the Midwestern and Southwestern 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.

Before Amtrak commenced operation, 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), along almost the same route. The CB&Q, D&RGW and WP inaugurated "The most talked about train in America" on March 19, 1949. It was the first passenger train in regular operations in North America to use dome cars, and was purposely scheduled so that her patrons passed through the most spectacular scenery in the daylight.

1 The pre-Amtrak California Zephyr
- 1.1 Equipment used
2 Amtrak Era
3 Timeline
4 Communities served
- 4.1 Station stops
5 References
6 See also
7 External links

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The pre-Amtrak California Zephyr

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 San Francisco. 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.

This train was the first in the nation to use Vista Dome cars. The first train was christened in San Francisco by Eleanor Parker while California's Lieutenant Governor Goodwin Knight and WP's President Harry Mitchell watched. 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 (4064 km) in 2½ days.

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Equipment used

Image:Z-6358.jpg The passenger cars used when the train was inaugurated in 1949 were as follows:

Baggage
Vista-Dome chair car
Vista-Dome chair 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, New York
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. In later years, the 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.

In 1952 an additional Pullman sleeper (6 double bedrooms) 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.

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Amtrak Era

As ridership fell during the 1960's 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, "operation of the train was no longer required". Final operation of the train was made on March 22, 1970 with a west bound train terminating at Oakland, California. The California Zephyr had operated for 20 years and 2 days. The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy continued to operate the remaining train as California Service and the Rio Grande as the Rio Grande Zephyr until May 31, 1971, though the train terminated at Salt Lake City.

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" west of Denver where the train then ran 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 trains route. West of Salt Lake City the route operates on the Western Pacific track to where the WP meets the old Southern Pacific track near Wells, Nevada. From Wells to Winnemucca (where the 2 tracks meet again), Nevada the Zephyr uses WP track eastbound, Southern Pacific track westbound. West of Winnemucca the Zephyr uses SP track.

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Timeline

Image:OP-4806.jpg

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 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. The California Zephyr continues to operate Chicago to Ogden 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.