CLICK ON IMAGES FOR LARGER VIEW

The California Zephyr (SL-1)

The California Zephyr was a luxurious streamliner running from Chicago to San Francisco through some of the most beautiful scenery available. The train was operated jointly by the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy, the Denver and Rio Grande Western, and the Western Pacific as train numbers 17 and 18. From 1949 to 1970, the Budd-built stainless-steel train traversed the rails of these three carriers. Five domes provided the perfect balcony for the show of vistas, canyons, and tunnels, numerous along the route. Whether flying at 80 miles per hour through Iowa's cornfields, climbing the Rockies for the plunge into Moffat tunnel, or snaking through the Feather River Canyon like a silver ribbon, the California Zephyr stood for the words "passenger train."

The scene above depicts train number 17, the California Zephyr, impatiently awaiting its departure time from the damp, cold confines of the Chicago Union Station. A few platform lights and the illuminated neon tailsign provide atmosphere to the scene. Some snow introduced by Lake Michigan has trickled through the trainshed onto the train and the icy platforms. One track over, the Burlington's Morning Zephyr with E5 9912 on the point, has just arrived in from the Twin Cities. A few more minutes will pass, and then the California Zephyr will slip out of the station beginning its 2352 mile journey west.

Rio Grande's California Zephyr (SA-8)

Snow is falling pretty hard on the front range of Colorado's Rocky Mountains and on the Rio Grande mainline. Soon, the silence heard during a snowfall is broken by the rumble and squeal of the eastbound California Zephyr dropping through Crescent on it's decent into Denver. This is the Rio Grande's Moffat Tunnel mainline, so some snow is nothing new to the train crew aboard F3 5521. But a cozy seat in one of those warm dome cars sure would feel good about now.

Skirting the Storm (SA-14)

On the high desert east of Portola, California, train number 18, the California Zephyr, highballs Eastward on the Western Pacific railroad.

A late afternoon thunderstorm livens up the evening sunset.

Soon, nightfall will be settling on the train and the passengers will have their beds turned down for the nocturnal crossing of Nevada.

A bright new day of crossing the Rocky Mountains will greet them at dawn.