California Zephyr: The Silver Lady |
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 Stan Kistler photo (Ken Rattenne collection) |
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The "Vista-domed" California Zephyr changed the face of rail travel forever. Introduced
in March 1949, the "CZ" enjoyed immense popularity with the traveling public, especially families,
well into the sixties. The train's designers envisioned it as a long-distance, sight-seeing
experience. Called "The Silver Lady" by some railroad observers, it covered the 2550 miles
between Chicago and the San Francisco Bay area in 52 hours, with passage through the Rocky
Mountains and High Sierras in daylight.
A tri-umvariate of the Western Pacific (WP), Denver & Rio Grande Western (D&RGW), and Chicago Burlington & Quincy (CB&Q) railroads built and operated the train until its demise in March 1970. EMD-built F-units and E-units were the typical locomotives assigned; however, Alco-built PA1s occasionally drew the assignment on the D&RGW in the early years. Image: Western Pacific 804A departs Oakland, CA (Mole) with Calizornia Zephyr circa 1958. Stan Kistler (Ken Rattenne collection) | |
