History of the California Zephyr

The California Zephyr's history actually goes back before the California Zephyr was inaugurated. Back in the 1930s, the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad, or CB&Q, ordered some all-new, diesel powered, all stainless steel passenger trains from the Budd Company. Boston & Maine had a similar trainset, more info on these trains here. To help promote this new service, they needed a new, modern name for these trains. Borrowing from Greek mythology, they used the name of Zephyrus, god of the west wind, and called their trains "Zephyrs." They liked the name so much they even stuck it to their other trains that didn't use the shiny new stuff.

After World War 2, the CB&Q launched a new Zephyr, the greatest Zephyr of them all. The California Zephyr was launched on March 20, 1949 and ran on CB&Q tracks from Chicago to Denver, where it was handed over to the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad (DRGW) which handled it from Denver to Salt Lake City, and there it was handed over once more, this time to the Western Pacific Railroad (WP) which brought the train to Oakland, with a ferry connection to San Francisco. The train's christening was no small ceremony, on March 19 the train was brought into San Francisco itself where the mayor of the city and the president of the Western Pacific Railroad attended the inauguration.

The train was billed as "the most talked about train in America" and "a vacation unto itself." It was also nicknamed "The Silver Lady" because of the stainless steel finish on the all-Budd consist. The ownership of the train's equipment was split by all three railroads and pooled together. One sleeper was owned the the Pennsylvania Railroad, because they operated a through sleeper off the California Zephyr to New York, so it was possible to travel from coast to coast without ever getting off your train. The California Zephyr ran a baggage car, three vista dome chair cars, a vista dome dormitory-buffet-lounge car, two 10-6 sleepers, a 48-seat diner, a 16 section sleeper, a 10-6 sleeper going to New York, and a vista dome dormitory-buffet-lounge-observation. The only change made to the consist was a 6-5 sleeper added in 1952. The train was short but did its job. It was billed as a "cruise train" and had no coach section. The train sported five domes for all the amazing scenery it goes through in Colorado and Feather River Canyon in California. Zephyrettes, special train hosts assigned specifically to the California Zephyr, served all the customer's needs while on board the train.

The California Zephyr, however, was short-lived. In March of 1970, the CB&Q, Northern Pacific, Great Northern, and Spokane Portland & Seattle Railroads merged to form Burlington Northern (BN). BN operated passenger trains, including the California Zephyr, until Amtrak took over 13 months later in 1971. However, WP had been petitioning with the ICC to stop running their end of the California Zephyr. ICC finally agreed , and the California Zephyr departed Oakland for the last time on March 20, 1970. BN only ran the train for three weeks. BN and DRGW continued to run their portions, but under a new name and only three times a week and without all the hype. BN called it California Service and DRGW called it Rio Grande Zephyr and extended their portion from Salt Lake City to Ogden, where it was scheduled to meet Southern Pacific's City of San Francisco. When Amtrak was formed in 1971, this operation was also killed off as BN gave up their passenger trains to Amtrak.

DRGW, however, held on to their passenger trains, one of only a few railroads that did. Amtrak inaugurated a new train, the San Francisco Zephyr, which ran over BN tracks from Chicago to Denver, Union Pacific's Overland Route through Wyoming instead of Colorado, and then Southern Pacific's route to California. This train ran three times a week. DRGW continued to run its Rio Grande Zephyr, still using original California Zephyr equipment, every day except Wednesday from Denver to Ogden. In 1983, the DRGW finally decided to give up their train, and two months later, Amtrak launched a new California Zephyr, which ran on the BN to Denver, the DRGW to Salt Lake City, WP to the middle of nowhere in Nevada where it crossed over to the SP to California, avoiding the original Feather River Canyon route. Amtrak even found one of the original Zephyrettes and invited her on board for the inaugural run. In October of 2000, Amtrak finally upgraded the California Zephyr to daily service, and it has remained unchanged since then.

Some California Zephyr cars still exist today. Many were handed over to Amtrak in 1971, but Amtrak has replaced them with Superliners. Most of the cars were scrapped but some found their ways to museums and private collections. Five still operate as private cars today, dome-observation "Silver Solarium," dome-coach "Silver Lariat," sleepers "Silver Rapids" and "Silver Quail," and a dome-lounge that has been renamed "Sierra Hotel." I have never seen these cars, but three of them often operate together.

Unfortunately, I'm having trouble with the vintage photos I want to share, so to see them please click here go to this article on the website.

Route Profile: California Zephyr

The California Zephyr is a long distance train run by Amtrak between Chicago and Emeryville, near San Francisco. The entire trip covers 2438 miles and takes about 48 hours to complete. Destinations along the way include Burlington, Omaha, Lincoln, Denver, Winter Park, Grand Junction, Salt Lake City, Reno, Sacramento, and San Francisco. This train operates daily in both directions.

The train leaves Chicago on BNSF tracks and crosses Illinois at a pretty good speed. You stop in a few small towns along the way, but the scenery is mostly cornfields. After Galesburg, the train crosses the Mississippi River on a long bridge. Immediately after the bridge, the train makes a tight turn to the right and enters the station at Burlington. The rest of the day is spent crossing Iowa, which you entered while crossing the Mississippi River. The sun will set before reaching Omaha.

You will wake up the next morning east of Denver. Because of the way Denver Union Station is set up, the train has to enter and leave the station from the same end. The two railroad lines that Amtrak uses to enter and leave Denver both come into the station at the same end. The train will go around a wye and back into Denver station. This is a normal operation, so don't be alarmed. This is where the train takes on water and supplies and a fresh crew, so the train stops in Denver for the better part of an hour. Normally the train uses the original Denver Union Station, but right now Amtrak is using a nearby temporary station because Union Station is undergoing construction for Denver's transit system.

Amtrak leaves Denver on Union Pacific tracks, which it will follow all the way to Emeryville. This is where the ride really becomes cool. Immediately after leaving Denver, the train starts climbing the foothills to the Rocky Mountains. The mountains just rise up out of the plains like a wall standing thousands of feet tall. It's really incredible. The train twists and turns its way up to the mountains, all the while Denver gets smaller and smaller as the train climbs higher and higher above the mile high city. The train disappears into a tunnel, and Denver and the plains disappear out of sight. This area is known as the tunnel district, as there are 28 tunnels in about 50 miles. The longest tunnel is the Moffat Tunnel, which is 6.2 miles long. This is where the train crosses the Continental Divide, and at 9,270 feet above sea level, it is by far the highest of the four transcontinental routes. The Moffat Tunnel was built to reroute trains around Rollins Pass, which was an additional 30 miles and climbed to over 11,000 feet above sea level.

During the summer, a National Park Service representative gets on the train in Denver to narrate the trip in the lounge car. You will spend most of the day crossing Colorado, and the lounge car is the place to be for this. Even with the huge windows going all the way to the ceiling, it is hard to see some of the peaks because they are so high! You will pass through many scenic areas, such as Gore Canyon and Glenwood Canyon. In Glenwood Canyon, if both trains are running on time, you will pass the eastbound California Zephyr. The train parallels I-70 through Glenwood Canyon. Normally an interstate highway might be considered an eyesore, but here it is actually really cool to see how it was built through that canyon.

The National Park Service representative gets off the train at Grand Junction, but that does not mean the scenery is over. After Grand Junction, Colorado gives you one last hurrah as you pass through Ruby Canyon, which is named because of the way the rocks glow red in the sunlight. In Ruby Canyon, you will cross into Utah. The state line is actually painted on the wall of the canyon, so keep your eyes open for that! It is easy to miss, I have only seen it once.

In Utah the scenery gets a little dry, literally. The train turns away from the Colorado River, which it has been following almost since the Continental Divide, and crosses the desert to Salt Lake City. By this time it is evening, and you will sleep across Utah. But it's okay, there's not much to see there except an empty desert. Salt Lake Valley is about the only thing worth mentioning. You go through there in the middle of the night, so you don't really see anything, but it is a cool place to visit.

You'll wake up the next morning in Nevada. The train only makes three stops across the whole state of Nevada, if that gives you an idea of how empty it is. Shortly after waking up, however, the train finds its way into Reno, the biggest little city in the world. A few years ago, Reno dug a big trench and put the railroad tracks in it. This was because the town was built around the railroad tracks, and with today's massive trains, a single train can shut down the town for a while. The trench allowed the railroad to pass through the town without blocking any crossings, because now the roads simply go over the trench. Because of the trench, you can't really see Reno very well.

After Reno the train starts to climb again, this time into Donner Pass. Donner Pass is famous for two separate winter incidents, which I will talk about more in Thursday's post. Donner Pass is in the Sierra Nevada Range, and while in these mountains you will cross into California. After descending the other side of Donner Pass, the train will stop in Sacramento. Sacramento is where the Amtrak California service starts, and the Coast Starlight stops here as well. Only a few shot stops later, you find yourself at Richmond, and then Emeryville. At Richmond, you can detrain and get on BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) to get into San Francisco, or you can get off at Emeryville and take a bus run by Amtrak into San Francisco. The bus would probably be easier. Once in San Francisco, there is an endless list of things you can do there.

If you are thinking of going on a vacation, I would highly recommend this train. It is by far my favorite of the Amtrak routes, and can be a vacation by itself. But it brings you to San Francisco, which is probably my favorite of the cities I've been to. You could really make an unforgettable vacation by spending, say, a week in San Francisco and getting there and back by rail. Don't forget to check out the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento as well!

Prototype Information: Amtrak Equipment

Today I am going to stray from the ordinary Wednesday posts a bit and talk about Amtrak equipment.  As some of you may have noticed, yesterday we launched our new series profiling Amtrak routes, and we thought it would be a good idea to talk about the different equipment Amtrak uses and the amenities offered by each.  We will not be talking about the specifics of every piece of equipment here, because there are some cars that are very route specific, such as the Pacific Parlour.  For such route specific cars, we will talk about them when we profile their route.  Today we just want to talk about the different equipment, and the differences between a cafe car and a dining car, for example.

Amfleet cars in Huntington, WV, on the Cardinal.
Photos by James Ogden, unless otherwise noted.

Amtrak has two general types of equipment they use, depending on the route.  Typically eastern routes, which serve New York, use single level equipment.  This is due to restrictions imposed by the tunnels leading into Penn Station in New York.  Most of these single level cars are called Amfleet cars, and are easily distinguishable by their tube shape.  Amfleet cars include coaches and cafe cars.  For single level sleepers, Amtrak uses newer cars, called Viewliners.  On long distance trains, these can usually be found with Amfleet cars, and are distinguishable by their boxy shape and two rows of windows.  Single level dining cars are typically much older than Amtrak, and are known as Heritage equipment.  Some Amtrak diners were built as long ago as 1948.

Superliners in Glenwood Springs, CO, on the California Zephyr.

On western routes, where the New York tunnel restrictions have no influence, Amtrak typically uses bilevel equipment, called Superliners.  Superliners come in coaches, sleepers, cafe/lounge cars, and dining cars, and a transition sleeper, which is typically used as the crew quarters.  From the exterior, Superliners are easily distinguished because they have two levels, and just one center door, in the lower level of the car.  Some California routes use bilevel cars modeled after the Superliners, which look very similar.  Those can be distinguished from Superliners by the paint scheme usually, and because they typically have two sets of doors, at either end of the lower level.

On the Northeast Corridor, which runs from Boston to Washington, DC, Amtrak has electric trains.  The regional trains on that route use Amfleet cars, hauled by electric locomotives.  The high speed trains, known as the Acela trains, are trainsets with an aerodynamic locomotive at each end and single level high speed rail cars between them.  We will talk more about the specifics of the Acela equipment when we talk about the northeast corridor routes.  Outside of the electrified Northeast Corridor, Amtrak pulls the trains with diesel locomotives.

Interior of an Amfleet coach, on the Cardinal.

On Northeast Corridor regional trains, and on long distance trains that serve New York, Amtrak uses single level equipment, because of restrictions imposed by the tunnels under the Hudson River and the East River, which allow for access to Penn Station, in Manhattan.  Amfleet cars can be found on all the Amtrak trains that serve New York.  Typically shorter distance, regional trains, including the Northeast Regional service, Empire Service, and Keystone Service, will all have several Amfleet coaches, an Amfleet cafe, and very often an Amfleet business class car.  The layout in a coach or business class car is similar.  There are rows of seats for the length of the car.  There are overhead luggage racks running the length of either side of the car, above the seats.  At one end there are a couple of restrooms and a larger luggage rack.  Doors at either end of the car allow for access to cars ahead and behind.  The doors to exit the cars at stations are located at either end of the car as well.  Coaches have two seats on either side of the aisle, while business class cars typically have two seats on one side of the aisle, and just one seat on the other side.  In both coach and business class, the seats are roomy.  They are wide and offer considerably more leg room than someone may be accustomed to if they fly a lot.  On coaches that are used on long distance routes, there is even more leg room available, as there are fewer seats in each coach.

Amfleet cafe car exterior.
Photo by Jeffery Tritthart.
Available on www.railworksamerica.com

On all single level trains, Amtrak also operates an Amfleet cafe car.  The cafe cars are distinguishable from the outside because they look like typical Amfleet cars, but they are missing a pair of windows on either side, right in the center of the car.  On the inside, this is where the food service counter is located.  There are a few configurations for cafe cars, but they all have a food service counter at the center of the car.  This is where you go to get your food.  They have hot and cold snacks and beverages available.  This food is what you might compare to airplane food.  The hot stuff is all frozen and the microwaved to order.  While the food is good, it would not be considered gourmet by most.  Also, on long distance trains, with a dining car, it is more expensive to eat an entire meal in the cafe car than in the dining car.

Food serving area in an Amfleet cafe car.
Photo from www.nationalcorridors.org.

Also inside the cafe car is a dining area.  Usually, on either end of the serving area there are tables, with seats that face each other across the table.  Each table can accommodate up to four people.  The tables are available to anybody, and a walk through the cafe car will often reveal that people also use the tables to play card games, write, or just socialize with other passengers, besides eating of course.  It is also not uncommon for the Conductor to make an office out of one table.  On some trains, where there are not enough business class passengers to necessitate an entire car, the cafe car will have a small business class section on one end.  Other cars, typically used on long distance routes, will have a small lounge, with an informal seating area and some smaller tables, in one end of the cafe car.  Of course, passengers do not have to stay in the cafe to eat and can bring food back to their coach seat or sleeper room as well.

Amfleet cafe and Viewliner sleeper, in Huntington, WV, on the Cardinal.

On long distance trains serving New York, you will also find sleeping cars and dining cars.  Single level sleeping cars are almost always Viewliner cars, which were built for Amtrak in 1995 and 1996.  The original intention was to build Viewliner coaches, sleepers, diners, and lounges, but due to limited funding, Amtrak was only able to order 50 sleeping cars.  They replaced many older, Heritage sleepers.  Viewliners are recognizable for their boxy shape and for having two rows of windows.  The two rows of windows allows passengers in the upper and lower berths in each room to have a window.  On every sleeping car there is a shower.  It is a community shower, so long, hot showers are usually frowned upon, as it wastes the water carried on the car, and it means fewer people get to use the shower.  There is also an attendant on each sleeper, who will configure the rooms for sleeping or for sitting, and who keeps the shower tidy and the snacks stocked.  As you might have guessed, there is also a small, self serve, snack counter on each sleeper.  Usually this is stocked with fresh fruit, cookies or crackers, juice, coffee, and tea.  In all sleeping car accommodations, meal service in the dining car is included in the ticket price.

Viewliner Roomette, in the night tine configuration,
seen from above, on the Lake Shore Limited.

Inside a Viewliner sleeping car, there are several room options available.  The smallest, and usually the cheapest, is called a roomette.  A roomette can accommodate up to two people.  The room is very small, but it is adequate for two people.  The daytime configuration has two wide seats which face each other.  At night, the two seats fold down to become the lower berth, and the upper berth pulls down, out of the ceiling.  Inside the room, there is also a toilet, sink, and luggage rack and wastebasket.  In the roomette, the toilet and sink are not in a separate room, so someone may have to leave the room if you are travelling with someone.

If you are looking for larger accommodations, a Viewliner Bedroom might be the way to go.  This is larger than a roomette, and usually costs a little more.  A bedroom can also accommodate two people, but gives everyone a little more space.  During the day, a bedroom has two seats next to each other.  These convert to the lower berth at night, and again, the upper berth pulls out of the wall.  The bedroom has the same features as a roomette, but also includes an in room shower.  A Bedroom Suite, which can accommodate up to four people, is created by combining two Bedrooms.  Since it is a combination, it has four berths, two upper and two lower, and two sinks, toilets, and showers.  An handicapped accessible bedroom is also available, which accommodates two people, and features the same amenities as a Viewliner Bedroom.  An accessible bedroom  is designed for easier access and more space inside, for easier mobility.  All rooms have 120 volt electrical outlets.

Amtrak Heritage dining car, with an Amfleet cafe on the left and a
Viewliner sleeper on the right.
Photo from www.railroadfan.com

Single level dining cars are some of the oldest passenger cars still running on the Amtrak system, and as such are known as Heritage cars.  They all date back to before Amtrak, some built as long ago as 1948.  They were all built in a time when passenger trains were operated by what we now know as freight railroads.  At one time, private railroad companies ran all the trains in the country, whether they were freight or passenger. Many Amtrak trains take their names from their previous, privately operated counterparts.  Amtrak serves three meals a day in the dining cars, provided that the train is running for all the meals.  The dining car offers sit down meal service, similar to a restaurant.  Due to limited seating, dinners are served by reservations.  Breakfast and lunch are served on a first come, first served basis, but if the dining car gets crowded, the attendants may take your name and call you when a table becomes available.  The tables each seat four people, and because of this limited seating, passengers travelling alone or in a group of less than four may be required to sit with other passengers on the train.  This is a great opportunity to meet and talk to some fellow travelers.  Meal service in the dining car is included in the ticket price for sleeping car passengers.  For coach passengers, meals are available at an additional cost, although it is typically cheaper to eat a full meal in the dining car than in the cafe car.

Superliner coach, during a snowstorm, in
Denver, CO, on the California Zephyr.

On western routes, and a few eastern routes that do not go to New York, Amtrak uses Superliner equipment.  Superliners are all bilevel cars, with the majority of the accommodations on the upper level of each car.  The functions of coaches, diners, sleepers, and cafe cars is basically the same, although the interior arrangements are a little different.  Boarding and disembarking the Superliner equipment is handled through a door at the center of the car, on the lower level.  Bathrooms, showers, changing rooms, and a luggage rack can also be found on the lower level of each Superliner.  There is a set of stairs in the center of the car for access to the upper level.  The upper level is where the majority of the accommodations are found. On the upper level there are doors on each end of the car for access to other cars on the train.

Superliner coaches have seating on a small part of the lower level, and on the entirety of the upper level.  Just like with the Amfleets, the coaches feature wide seats with ample legroom.  Coaches have two seats on each side of the aisle that runs the length of the car.  There are overhead luggage racks above the seats on either side, and a larger luggage rack at the bottom of the stairs, on the lower level.

Superliner dining car interior, on the California Zephyr.

Superliner dining cars have all the dining seating on the upper level.  This is the only car which passengers cannot access the lower level, as it is where the kitchen is located, and it is only accessible to crew members.  For passengers who cannot make it up the stairs to the upper level, the car attendant will bring meals from the dining car back to their seat or sleeper accommodation.  Just like on the Heritage diners, breakfast and lunch are served on a first come, first served basis, and dinner is served by reservation.  The dining car attendant will announce when he or she will be coming through the train to take reservations, and passengers should speak to him or her as they walk through if they want to have dinner in the dining car.  Just like on the Heritage diners, if the dining car fills up during breakfast or lunch, one of the attendants will take down names and call people back to the dining car as tables open up.  Again, due to limited seating, passengers traveling alone or in groups of less than four may be asked to share the table with other passengers.

Superliner lounge, on the California Zephyr.  On the lower
level is the cafe area.

Superliner cafe cars are a bit different than their Amfleet counterparts.  They have the same menu as the Amfleet cafe cars, but they are also the lounge cars, and as such, are easily recognizable by their large windows.  The lower level of the car is where the food service area is located.  Also on the lower level, there are tables and seats, similar to the dining car and Amfleet cafe cars.  Each table can seat four people, in seats that face each other across the table.  On the upper level of the cafe car is the lounge area.  The lounge features large windows, which curve up onto the roof of the car.  On the upper level, there are more tables at one end of the car.  The rest of the car is lounge seats, which face the windows, and small tables between them.  Some of the seats swivel, while others are fixed in place.  This is the car to be in on most western routes, as it affords the best views of the scenery.  Of course, as the train gets closer to scenic areas, the lounge car fills up, so it is best to get there early to grab a seat, if possible.

A Superliner Roomette, in the daytime configuration, on the Empire
Builder.

Sleeping car accommodations on Superliner equipment is similar to those of Viewliner sleepers.  The smallest room available, and usually the cheapest, is a roomette.  On Superliners, roomettes can accommodate two people.  Their daytime configuration has two wide seats that face each other.  At night, the seats fold down to make the lower berth, and the upper berth pulls out of the ceiling.  Superliner roomettes feature a small closet, wastebasket, and a small luggage rack.  There is a community bathroom on the upper level, and bathrooms and showers on the lower level of the car.

A little more space can be found by booking a Superliner Bedroom, which also accommodates two people. In addition to the features of a roomette, a bedroom also features an in room bathroom and shower.  The daytime configuration is two seats, side by side, and a chair across the room.  The seats fold down to become the lower berth at night, and the upper berth pulls out of the ceiling.  A Bedroom Suite is made by combining two Superliner Bedrooms, and can accommodate up to four people.  A bedroom suite features two bathrooms and two showers, as well as two upper and two lower berths.  It allows for a little more space for those travelling in a larger group together.

Superliner sleepers also have a Family Bedroom, which can accommodate up to four people, although two berths are smaller and designed for use by children.  A family bedroom does not have a bathroom or shower in the room, but they are available just down the hall, on the lower level.

Superliners also have a handicapped accessible bedroom, which can accommodate two people.  It has an entrance placed for easier access and a little more space inside for moving around.  The accessible bedroom is on the lower level, and it features an in room toilet, but the shower is located just down the hall from the room.

Each sleeper has an attendant who can reconfigure the rooms for daytime or night time use.  There is a community shower on the lower level of each Superliner sleeper, and bathrooms on both the upper and lower level.  Additionally, in the center of the upper level, there is a small, self serve snack bar, which usually has fresh fruit, cookies or crackers, juice, coffee and tea.  End doors on the upper level allow passage into adjoining cars on the train, and the center doors on the lower level allow boarding and disembarking.

For more information on Amtrak accommodations, visit www.amtrak.com.  They have a a "Plan" tab on their website, which has virtual tours of all the sleeping car accommodations, and other important travel planning information.  If you are thinking about travelling, try the train.  It is a quiet and relaxing way to go, and a pleasant change from the fast paced way of life so many of are so accustomed to.

Superliners getting ready to depart on a snowy morning in Salt Lake City, UT, before heading east, towards Chicago, on Amtrak's California Zephyr.

Photo of the Week: 8/19/2011

Today's photo comes to you from Grand Junction, Colorado. Amtrak's California Zephyr stops there on its run across the country between Chicago and the San Francisco Bay Area. It is about the biggest thing between Salt Lake City and Denver, although that isn't saying much. During the summer, Amtrak has some volunteers from the National Park Service get on some of the trains and narrate during some of the more scenic areas of the run. This is where the National Park Service people get on board going east and get off going west. Anyways, here is the photo:

The station building is still there but not used. It is to the left of the photo, behind the fence. It is currently up for sale, hopefully the buyer restores it to its original beauty. Amtrak uses a smaller, more modern building, also out of the photo. This is also a smoking stop, passengers are free to detrain and walk around or light up a cigarette. There is a small gift store on the platform as well, and Amtrak likes to send customers their way to keep them in business.

Grand Junction was so named because it was the junction of the Grand and Green rivers. The Grand River has been known as the Colorado River since 1921, when the state of Colorado realized they don't have a river named after them, and that wouldn't do. Since the river flows through more states than just Colorado, the bill went to Washington and was approved in 1921. Some places, such as Grand Junction and the Grand Canyon, were named after this river but their names remain unchanged. Because of this, many people assume the Grand Canyon is named that way because it is big. It is big, but that's not how it got its name.

The Colorado River is a huge river. It starts near the Continental Divide, and the train follows it almost from its source to here, Grand Junction. It eventually makes its way into Mexico and empties into the Gulf of California. This river is the reason the southwest is habitable. The water in the river is used for generating electricity, irrigating crops, and of course, drinking and cooking and other household uses. The entire southwest depends on it, and so much water is used from this huge river that by the time it reaches the Gulf of California it is just a small trickle.

The car shown in the photo is a coach. The coaches on the long distance trains are usually in the back, but on this train they were up front. Behind the coaches were the lounge and the diner and then the sleepers. During the summer they usually add a coach and a sleeper to the trains, and every train I rode in July was completely sold out. In the winter the trains are shorter and seats are usually easier to get.

California Zephyr

After my trip to San Francisco, it was time to board the next train, the California Zephyr, in Davis. The California Zephyr currently has a service advisory on the Amtrak website. Due to trackwork in Glenwood Canyon and recent flooding in Omaha, the Zephyr was running late. The service advisory said 3 to 5 hours behind schedule. I was taking this train to Galesburg, IL where I would board the Southwest Chief. I had a 6 hour layover there, so I was a little concerned about missing that connection. When the Zephyr pulled into Davis 45 minutes late, before reaching either of the service advisory areas, I really started worrying. I decided to put off the worrying until two days later, when I would have to change trains. Before then, there was nothing I could do except enjoy the ride.

After boarding the train, I found my way to the lounge car. The large windows there provide great places to take photos, and the train was going across Donner Pass through the Sierra Nevadas. Donner Pass is famous for two reasons. First, it earned its name when the pioneers were going west across the mountains to Sacramento. Donner was the name of a man leading a wagon party across the mountains when an early winter hit and stranded them in the pass. Some daring people went ahead to Sacramento to get help, which did not arrive for another five months, in the early spring. During that time, only half the wagon party survived the winter. They made it to Sacramento and recovered from their injuries and frostbite. Much later, after the railroad was built, a Southern Pacific passenger train was going through the pass when an avalanche fell off a mountain and buried the train. The train was stuck there for several days. Of the hundreds of passengers and crew on board, all survived, but some of the members of the rescue effort perished saving other people's lives. Fortunately, my journey across this mountain range was uneventful. The mountains provided some spectacular scenery when the trees allowed. The trees there are enormous, and are constantly in the way, even when the train is perched on the edge of a cliff. As a result, I did not get many good photos from the Sierras, but I did enjoy the view.

After the Sierras, the train arrived in Reno, the biggest little city in the world. Reno recently completed a project that put the railroad tracks in a trench through town. The railroad has always gone right through the center of town, blocking up all the traffic, especially in recent times with the long unit trains. Reno remedied this by digging a 35 foot deep trench and putting the tracks in it. Where the railroad crossings used to be, there are now bridges over the trench. The depot has a staircase going down into the trench so passengers can board the train.

After Reno was a big desert. The train picked up speed here, as it was a straight and flat run across the desert. I had seen a desert once before, from the California Zephyr in southern Utah. However, it was raining that day, so for the past two years my mental image of a desert included rain. However, this time it was a typical cloudless, sunny day in the desert. I got some photos of the desert, including the sun setting over the distant mountains. After the sun went down, I went back to my coach to sleep. I did not sleep well that night. The air conditioning on the train worked too well, and I had not brought a jacket or a blanket, so I was cold all night. When I got up, the first thing I did was go to the cafe car and order a hot chocolate. That warmed me up nicely, and I went upstairs to sit in the lounge all day again. Again, the scenery was desert. If I had never been to Utah before, I would have thought that was all the train passed through all night. However, during the night the train passed through Salt Lake and Utah valleys, both of which are the big population centers of Utah. They are probably the greenest parts of Utah, but I think they still qualify as desert. But they certainly are not flat and empty like the area the train was going through now.

After the desert, the real scenery started. The train crossed into Colorado through Ruby Canyon, a long canyon carved by the Colorado River. This canyon is so named because of the way the rocks almost glow red in the sunlight. It is really incredible, one of my favorite spots on the California Zephyr run. After Ruby Canyon the train stopped in Grand Junction, the biggest place between Denver and Salt Lake City. Two people from the National Park Service got on the train there to narrate during the scenic run between Grand Junction and Denver. It was very interesting, they often ride portions of the long distance trains during the summer months. I sat in the lounge car to enjoy the scenery and hear what they had to say about it. They narrated as the train wound its way around mountains and through canyons, gorges, cuts, and more often than anything else, tunnels.

Glenwood Canyon is a scenic highlight on this trip. The canyon walls extend so high that in order to see the peaks, you have to look through the windows in the ceiling of the lounge car. Interstate 70 winds its way through the canyon as well, on the other side of the river. This is another spectacular canyon carved by the Colorado River. The interstate through this canyon was not completed until the early 1990s at a cost of $45 million per mile. The railroad had gotten the only route through the canyon over 100 years earlier, so the interstate is built almost entirely on bridges and tunnels through the canyon.

During the Rockies, I met two other people in the lounge car who I ended up sitting with for the rest of the ride to Illinois. One of them was traveling to Milwaukee, the other to Syracuse. We hung out in the lounge car all through the Rockies. When we got to Denver, one of them got off the train during the long station stop there, found a pizza joint, and bought a pizza and a few cold ones to share on the train. I declined the beer but had my fill of pizza. While we ate, I uploaded my photos from the past two days onto my laptop, and they were both interested in seeing the photos I had taken. After we left Denver, it had gotten dark, and a poker tournament was forming at one end of the lounge car while a cowboy with his guitar was playing music. I listened to the music for a while before going back to my coach to sleep. By this time the train was running about two hours late.

I woke up the next morning in Lincoln, NB. If the train is on schedule, it passes all the way through Nebraska during the night. It was light out, so I knew we had lost more time. I went to the lounge car and ate some breakfast while looking out the window. As we headed east, we saw the Platte and Missouri Rivers in the Omaha area. However, the conductor explained that the nearest river was actually about a mile away, and the water that we were seeing next to the track ballast was in fact floodwater burying crops and entire neighborhoods. In fact, we were not on the normal passenger route. BNSF had kept a freight line around Omaha open by raising it five feet and building levies on either side of the track. There were a few places where the track would have been submerged if it had not been for the levies. We bypassed Omaha, but it was the only line open in the area, so the train had no other choice. There was water on both sides of the track as far as we could see.

When we crossed into Iowa, we were running about three hours late. I was starting to be optomistic about meeting my train on time in Illinois, because we had passed both areas that had a service advisory. However, there was a medical emergency while we crossed Iowa, and we stopped in a town called Fairfield where an ambulance met the train to take the patient to a nearby hospital. I do not know what happened, but I certainly hope he is all right. After that incident, we ended up waiting for several freight trains, delaying us even more. We finally rolled into Galesburg five and a half hours late. Fortunately for me, the Southwest Chief was running about an hour late already, so I did not miss my train. I sat at the station in Galesburg and watched freight trains come and go before my train arrived. There are a lot of freight trains there, it is a great place to visit to go railfanning. I did end up making my train, and I am sitting on the Southwest Chief as I write this. On this new train, I have new adventures ahead and new people to meet. Let's see where this train takes me!