The California Zephyr, Legendary Passenger Train of the West

Other trains may have been more luxurious and for the well-to-do but none could compare to what the California Zephyr offered in the way of friendly service and breathtaking scenery. Operated jointly by the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy (the Burlington Route), Denver & Rio Grande Western, and Western Pacific the train traveled through some of the most spectacular scenery in the country and it was not surprising that it continued to do well even when train travel by the 1960s and 1970s was waning with the public. The train would eventually be operated only by the Rio Grande (which was then renamed as the Rio Grande Zephyr) and after it relinquished the train to Amtrak in the 1980s it was not only retained but also returned to its original name and today the CZ remains one of the most popular long distance trains in the country.

The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy, better remembered as The Burlington Route, is best remembered for its Zephyr lightweight streamlined trainsets which were revolutionary and very successful when they debuted in 1934. Perhaps less recognized is the company itself, which because of sound business practices throughout its history was never in financial distress. The Burlington was also quite close with the communities it served making it beloved like few other railroads. Its legend continues to live on today in its passenger trains and Chicago main line which sees hundreds of successor, BNSF Railway, freight trains daily.

The Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad, also known as simply the Rio Grande, is one our country’s most famous railroads. Its speed-lettering herald is likewise one of the most recognized of all time and people continue to flock to its scenic routes to travel trains such as the California Zephyr, now operated by Amtrak, and the Durango & Silverton, perhaps the most famous tourist line in the country which operates several miles of the D&RGW’s former narrow-gauge trackage in southern Colorado and northern New Mexico. While the railroad officially became a fallen flag in 1996 when the Union Pacific took over the Southern Pacific the railroad’s identity had mostly disappeared before that when its parent company Rio Grande Industries purchased the SP in 1988 and began consolidating D&RGW operations into the much larger railroad.

The Western Pacific was perhaps a railroad that should have never been built and had Collis P. Huntington and the railroad magnates of California had their way it certainly would not have! The WP was the longtime dream of Arthur Keddie who wanted to construct a railroad through the Feather River Canyon of Northern California. For nearly 80 years the WP moved freight through its well engineered, albeit high maintenance, main line between San Francisco/Oakland and Salt Lake City although its small size (just over 1,000 of total mileage) and being surrounded by giants ultimately cost it its independence (the railroad, however, was a tenacious fighter).

While the California Zephyr, or CZ for short, was another product of the Burlington’s very successful fleet of Zephyr passenger trains the success of the CZ could never happened without the partnership of the Rio Grande and Western Pacific, whose scenic lines through Colorado, Utah, and northern California was a big reason why the train was so cherished by passengers.

After the initial success of the Burlington’s original Zephyr 9900 and its subsequent sister trains the railroad came to the WP and D&RGW with the idea of operating a Chicago-San Francisco train in direct competition to others already out there like the Union Pacific-Chicago & North Western (at the time, until the Milwaukee began carrying UP’s trains in 1955) City of San Francisco and Santa Fe’s Super Chief. In 1945 all three agreed on the new train dubbed the California Zephyr and while it did not begin operations until 1949 (very late for a long distance, heavily marketed streamliner as most began by the late 1930s and/or early 1940s) it quickly made up for any lost time.

What made the CZ so successful was its uniqueness. While the train intended to get you to your destination in a timely fashion, it also was expressly marketed as a sightseeing journey and above all passengers were treated warmly no matter if you were just a vacationer or a well-known celebrity (although the “rich and famous” tended to take other trains like the Super Chief and City of Los Angeles or San Francisco. A big reason why the services on board became legendary was the CZ’s “Zephyrettes,” whom were courtesy, friendly, and just plain nice young women that made a lasting impression on thousands of passengers.

As for the train’s other key attraction, the scenery; to allow for maximum sightseeing opportunities the owning railroads purchased an entire fleet of Vista-Dome cars. During the CZ’s “Golden Years” between 1949 and 1970 each train was equipped with no less than five of these cars, very uncommon for even the most popular trains of the day. For even better sightseeing these Vista-Domes were setup in everything from diners to sleepers. What’s more, the train’s timetable was setup in such a way that it always traveled through the most scenic parts of the trip (west through Colorado) during the day so passengers didn’t miss a thing at night or while sleeping.

The downfall of the original California Zephyr is an interesting story. While passenger traffic remained incredibly high through the mid-1960s costs to operate the train were increasing so much that even with sustained high levels of demand during the end of the privately operated passenger train era it was becoming increasingly unprofitable to operate the CZ by the late 1960s. No less than two times did the train’s original route attempt to be downsized, first by the WP in 1966 and then the Rio Grande in 1969. Amazingly, the ICC would not allow either to do so on the basis of the train’s immense popularity.

By 1970, however, that had all changed and both were granted permission to discontinue their portions of the train. On March 20th of that year the original California Zephyr left Chicago for the final time, at least under private ownership. After this, regional versions of the train continued to operate under the three railroads by different names with the most popular the Rio Grande’s Rio Grande Zephyr. Interestingly, while Amtrak had been setup in 1971 to operate all intercity passenger trains in the country, the Rio Grande would not relinquish control of its Rio Grande Zephyr until the early 1980s.

It was at this time, in 1983, that Amtrak, due to the train’s popularity, decided to reinstate the train, operating virtually the entire same route as the original California Zephyr! While the reborn CZ may no longer feature “Zephyrettes” or Vista-Domes it remains a very popular and respected train under Amtrak.

For more information on the California Zephyr please click here to visit the website of the train's official museum.

For more reading on streamliners like the California Zephyr you might want to also consider the book Streamliners: History of a Railroad Icon from renowned author Mike Schafer who covers in detail most of the well known and remembered “classic” passenger trains to operate in the country. If you have any interest in such you should very much enjoy Mr. Schafer’s book.

Also, to learn more about the Burlington's large fleet of Zephyr passenger trains consider the book Way of the Zephyrs by author Geoffrey H Doughty which gives a fine history of the trains' final years from World War II through the end with the creation of Burlington Northern.