Zephyr Streamliners
The Burlington Route Historical Society in La Grange, Illinois is devoted to preserving the legacy of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad. The following gallery of Zephyr images is a sampling of the society's collection.
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The Burlington Zephyr (a.k.a. the Pioneer Zephyr)
Credit: Courtesy: Burlington Route Historical Society
Entered service November 11, 1934
Service between Lincoln, Omaha, and Kansas City -
The Twin Zephyrs (a.k.a. the Morning Zephyr and the Afternoon Zephyr)
Entered service April 21, 1935
Service between Chicago and Minneapolis-St. PaulShovelnose Twin Zephyrs 9901 and 9902 pace each other on this April 15th, 1935 publicity run between Aurora and Chicago, Illinois. To celebrate the trains' christening, the CB&Q loaded 44 sets of human twins on board, split between the two trains. The Twins were extremely popular and only one month after they entered service, the CB&Q ordered two six-car trainsets to replace them.
Credit: Courtesy: Burlington Route Historical -
The Sam Houston Zephyr
Entered service April 1935
Service between Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth
(Counterpart to the Texas Rocket)Idling at the Dallas Union Station in 1940, the nose of the original Twin 9901 wears a herald announcing its current service, the Sam Houston Zephyr. Four years later, the 9901 would be destroyed in disastrous fire in the power car, rendering the trainset irreparable.
Credit: Courtesy: Burlington Route Historical Society -
The Texas Rocket
Entered service April 1938
Service between Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth
(counterpart to the Sam Houston Zephyr)The trackage between Dallas/Ft. Worth and Houston was operated by the jointly owned Burlington-Rock Island Railroad, and streamlined passenger service reflected the trains of both parents. In 1938, the B-RI purchased Twin Zephyr 9902 from the Burlington and was run for the next seven years as the Texas Rocket.
Credit: Courtesy: Burlington Route Historical Society -
The Mark Twain Zephyr
Entered service October 28, 1935
Service between St. Louis and BurlingtonDeparting Burlington, Iowa, just minutes ahead of the eastbound Nebraska Zephyr, the four-car 9903 -- known as the Mark Twain Zephyr -- will hug the west bank of the Mississippi for a considerable portion of its 6 1/2-hour journey back to St. Louis. The Mark Twain was the first Burlington streamliner to have its cars named; the power car was Injun Joe, followed by Becky Thatcher, Tom Sawyer, and Huck Finn.
Credit: Courtesy: Burlington Route Historical Society -
The Denver Zephyrs
Entered service November 8, 1936
Service between Denver and ChicagoThe first long-distance, overnight streamliner for the Burlington was its Denver Zephyr, which made the "Overnight, Every Night" trip between Chicago & Denver. While the earlier Zephyrs had been fully articulated, the Denver Zephyrs were semi-articulated, to allow for ease of inclusion of additional cars to increase capacity. There were two, complete, 10-car train sets for this run, pulled by locomotive pairs, Silver King/Silver Queen or Silver Knight/Silver Princess. In keeping with the tradition started with the Mark Twain Zephyr, the cars were all named, this time with the Silver prefix.
Credit: Courtesy: Burlington Route Historical Society -
The Denver Zephyrs
Entered service November 8, 1936
Service between Denver and ChicagoBy 1956, the 20-year old equipment on the Denver Zephyr needed replacing, especially for what the Burlington considered to be its flagship train. This would be the last of the stainless-steel, streamliners purchased by the Burlington. This famous publicity photo, although fully representing equipment on the DZ, was actually a compilation of similar equipment from other Burlington trains.
Credit: Courtesy: Burlington Route Historical Society -
The General Pershing Zephyr
Entered service April 30, 1939
Service between Kansas City and St. LouisThe General Pershing Zephyr, shown here prior to entering revenue service in April 1939 on the Burlington's triple-track mainline near Lisle, Illinois, was the first streamlined Zephyr to be fully non-articulated. In keeping with the military theme, the locomotive, No. 9908, was named Silver Charger after General Pershing's horse, and the cars were named for military ranks, Silver Star, Eagle and Leaf.
Credit: Courtesy: Burlington Route Historical Society -
The Texas Zephyrs
Entered service August 22-23, 1940
Service between Denver and Fort Worth-DallasThe E5 powered Texas Zephyr consisted of five Budd stainless steel cars and three streamlined heavyweight Pullman sleepers. C&S owned one trainset and the FW&D the other. Here, on its inaugural run, August 23, 1940, C&S 9950A7B guide the sleek streamliner along the foothills of the Rockies near Tomah, Colorado. Having departed Denver at 1:00 pm, the train will arrive in Dallas at 8:30 am the next morning.
Credit: Courtesy: Burlington Route Historical Society -
The Silver Streak Zephyr
Entered service April 15, 1941
Service between Kansas City, Omaha, and LincolnThe Silver Streak Zephyr was the second non-articulated Zephyr streamliner. The train, led by stainless steel E5 No. 9909, is shown in this Burlington publicity photo with its original train set.
Credit: Courtesy: Burlington Route Historical Society -
The Zephyr 9902
Entered service 1947
Service between Chicago and Ottumwa, Iowa, then Chicago and Hannibal, MissouriStill resplendent, even in its declining years, Zephyr 9902 awaits departure from the Burlington, Iowa, depot on August 3, 1951, while running as Hannibal-Burlington-Chicago train 41-2. The little Zephyr operated uneventfully on this route from July 1947 until it was withdrawn from service in January 1954.
Credit: Courtesy: Burlington Route Historical Society -
The Nebraska Zephyr (a.k.a. "The Train of the Goddesses")
Entered service November 16, 1947
Service between Chicago and LincolnAfter being replaced in 1947 by new dome-equipped trains, the second Twin Zephyrs, then just 11-years old, were overhauled and reassigned to Chicago-Omaha-Lincoln service as trains 11-12, the Nebraska Zephyr. New baggage cars Argo and Olympus (named in keeping with the original cars' mythological monikers) were added to the trains. This photo was taken shortly after the Nebraska Zephyr's 12:45 p.m. departure from Chicago Union Station somewhere in Chicago suburban territory. The train was scheduled to arrive in Lincoln at 10:45 p.m. later that night.
Credit: Courtesy: Burlington Route Historical Society
