“The Silver Lady”: The Historical California Zephyr

The California Zephyr is one of the most famous passenger trains of the 20th Century.

This service began on March 19th, 1949, heading eastbound to Chicago. It came to be known as the “best way to travel” between Chicago and San Francisco. The 2,532 mile run was also regarded as one of the most scenic routes across the United States. 

This train would run through the beautiful landscapes of the Rocky Mountains and Feather River during daylight hours. The scenic views would be the selling point of the journey, as the train ride duration was actually longer than the City of San Francisco. The California Zephyr was run as a shared effort between the CB&Q, D&RGW, and Western Pacific railroads, and as such was made up of a mix of cars provided by the three roads, and was pulled by different sets of locomotives through the three main legs of its journey. 

While the original California Zephyr ended service in 1970, Amtrak retained the iconic name when it launched a different route through portions of the western United States.