Chicago's Lost California Zephyr

Unearth Chicago's Lost California Zephyr! Dive into the forgotten legacy of this iconic train route in our latest episode. Join us as we rediscover the allure of vintage rail travel, exploring its history and significance in shaping Chicago's transportation. Get ready for a nostalgic journey through the golden age of railways! #ChicagoHistory #CaliforniaZephyr #VintageRailTravel #ForgottenRailways

Chapters:

IT’S HISTORY - Weekly Tales of American Urban Decay as presented by your host Ryan Socash.

» CONTACT

» DISCLAIMER

» CREDIT
Scriptwriter - Gregory Back
Editor - Karolina Szwata
Host - Ryan Socash
Music/Sound Design: Dave Daddario

» NOTICE
Some images may be used for illustrative purposes only - always reflecting the accurate time frame and content. Events of factual error / mispronounced word/spelling mistakes - retractions will be published in this section.

[paulsmith]

I have ridden Amtrak's California Zephyr from Denver to Emeryville or vice versa three times. It is one of the world's best rail journeys. The best ride, in many respects, was during the winter. The snow scenery is spectacular.

[johndonlon]

Having lived my entire life along the CB&Q I can say I saw all of it--all the named trains, mainline steam, speeding mail trains, FT Graybacks pulling livestock trains. However, the California Zephyr was truly the jewel as it blasted through LaGrange Road. Very fond memories only found today on photos and grainy movie film.

[Razz-hp]

That last comment is very true. People are bent over their phones, scrolling, scrolling, hoping that something crops up. So very sad.

[Tanukipack]

You have the two Western Pacific Railroads confused; the first one that existed in the 1860s did plan to build from Sacramento to San Francisco, but was absorbed by the Central Pacific (who was later absorbed by Southern Pacific) before said line was even finished. The Western Pacific that ran the California Zephyr (the one with the Feather River Route) was a separate company established in the early 1900s to break Southern Pacific's monopoly over rail traffic from the Great Salt Lake to San Francisco.

[planetxlr]

I did it. From NYC to California. Everyone should experience it.

[MrNurserob]

I love taking the California Zephyr, I do it any chance I get. My favorite trip was when I went solo from San Francisco to Chicago, Chicago to DC, DC to Tampa to visit my mom in the surrounding area. The experience of having my own little roomette to sleep in was great, and waking up in the morning and in that first moment remembering I’m on a train and then looking out the window at the passing scenery of mountains in Utah when I’d gone to sleep in the flat deserts of Nevada east of the Sierra was a charming feeling I hadn’t expected, like I and everyone else on the train was on a real voyage together. The winter scenes through the mountains of the Sierra and then the Rockies was breathtaking, and seeing elk and a bald eagle in Gore canyon before entering Moffat Tunnel and the Continental Divide it represents and passes under was really something. The Chicago to DC Capital Limited was beautiful as well, with the beauty of rural Pennsylvania to Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia. But the Zephyr has a feel all its own. The staff are friendly and attentive, now that some time has passed since the tumult of the pandemic. It’s been a personal pleasure to physically put myself on the train each time and be counted as one American who cherishes the continued Zephyr service and isn’t willing to see it sacrificed in the name of some kind of ‘progress’.

[DavidEllis-dt]

Perfect timing! I'm riding the Zephyr tomorrow!

[mjrodriguez]

The California Zephyr was one of four silver Zephyr's that stopped in Creston, IA. The westward CZ stopped in Creston @10:30 pm and the eastward CZ made its stop in Creston at dawn before 7:30 am. The Denver Zephyr and the Ak-Sar-Ben Zephyr (to Lincoln) both stopped in Creston under the cover of darkness. The Nebraska Zephyr, an articulated train to Lincoln, stopped in Creston during the day.

[davidkarick]

I love travel by train, the best is looking out at night.

[Beangoeszoom]

I was an engineer on the Zephyr between Chicago and Ottumwa IA for about 6 months last year. It was always cool to picture the history of the line.

[crippleguy]

I rodeo the Zephyr from Chicago to Colorado when I was very young with Mom & my brother . Very very cool .

[ericcriteser]

Well done. I rode Amtrak's version in 1990 and it was a great trip.

[davidcoblentz]

My step son rode this train in the 90s he loved every minute of the round trip both ways.

[Rockstar_Supreme]

I rode that train from Chicago to Salt Lake City in 1983 and 84 ! It is to this day one of my best memories, my sister and I had a blast! Great staff and the pizza was good!

[Traingirl]

The Silver Bronco, Solarium and Lariat are some of the cars that have been restored. The Silver Solarium and Silver Lariat were sold from private charter services to the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad in Northeast Ohio in 2018, and are currently still in operation there! The Bronco and Solarium are being used on their Christmas train right now. CVSR also owns the Silver Rapids and Silver Peak, although those are hardly used.

[ernestyeagley]

The transcontinental railroad was not completed at the Great Salt Lake. It was completed in 1869 at Promontory Summit, Utah, (out in the middle of nowhere) about 80-90 miles north of the Great Salt Lake where the Central Pacific and the Union Pacific met and drove the golden spike symbolizing the completion of the transcontinental railroad.

[garycjohnson]

As a teen-ager of 13, my parents and I rode the California Zephyr in 1965 at the height of the train's popularity, from Chicago to Oakland, CA. Our accommodations were in a drawing room contained in the final, Silver Crescent observation car placed at the end of the train. I still have 16mm film of the trip that my father took while under way and it highlights such sights as the Rocky Mountains outside of Denver and the Feather River Canyon as well as the Great Salt Lake and the high Sierra Nevada mountains. A trip that still resonates with me, it was the apex of overland travel in these United States and perhaps the world. A unique and incomparable experience for anyone wishing to savor all this great land has to offer.

[am]

It's really shocking how there's no north-south railroads which connect Houston, Dallas, Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Omaha, and Billings, Montana. So much empty territory which could definitely benefit greatly from north-south passenger and freight transit.

[larryloveless]

This history of the California Zephyr is well done. I have ridden the full route under AMTRAK twice from Chicago to Emeryville in the Bay area. I rode all the AMTRAK rail in the early 2000s in five weekend to weekend trips originating from St. Louis to see The West. This California Zephyr route is very scenic in the Rockies and the Sierras.I do like the AMTRAK Superliner passenger cars used on its western routes.

[paulw.woodring]

Five CZ cars are owned by the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad that operates in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park between Suburban Cleveland and Akron, Ohio. Dome cars "Silver Lariat", "Silver Bronco", and round-end observation car "Silver Solarium", sleeper "Silver Rapids", and baggage car "Silver Peak" operate at times on regular and special trains of the railroad.