The ''Ak-Sar-Ben Zephyr'' was a

streamlined Streamlines, streaklines and pathlines are field lines in a fluid flow. They differ only when the flow changes with time, that is, when the flow is not steady. Considering a velocity vector field in three-dimensional space in the framework of ...

passenger train A passenger train is a train used to transport people along a railroad line. These trains may consist of unpowered passenger railroad cars (also known as coaches or carriages) hauled by one or more locomotives, or may be self-propelled; self pr ...

operated by the

Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad was a railroad that operated in the Midwestern United States. Commonly referred to as the Burlington Route, the Burlington, or as the Q, it operated extensive trackage in the states of Colorado, Illin ...

(CB&Q) between

Lincoln, Nebraska Lincoln is the capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Lancaster County. The city covers with a population of 292,657 in 2021. It is the second-most populous city in Nebraska and the 73rd-largest in the United Sta ...

and

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The first version operated from 1940 to 1947; a revived service operated from 1953 to 1970. The "Ak-Sar-Ben" portion of name was created by spelling

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

(Neb-ras-ka) backwards and taken from a fraternal organization of the same name. "Zephyr" was a name applied by the CB&Q to many of its trains, beginning with the ''

Pioneer Zephyr The ''Pioneer Zephyr'' is a diesel-powered trainset built by the Budd Company in 1934 for the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad (CB&Q), commonly known as the Burlington Route. The trainset was the second internal combustion-powered streamli ...

'' in 1934. The name derived from "

Zephyrus In ancient Greek religion and myth, the Anemoi (Greek: , 'Winds') were wind gods who were each ascribed a cardinal direction from which their respective winds came (see Classical compass winds), and were each associated with various seasons and ...

", the Greek god of the

west wind A west wind is a wind that originates in the west and blows in an eastward direction. Mythology and Literature In European tradition, it has usually been considered the mildest and most favorable of the directional winds. In Greek mythology, ...

History

The first ''Ak-Sar-Ben Zephyr'' was an eastbound-only daylight service between

and

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. The journey took nine hours. The train's consist included new lightweight equipment and traditional heavyweight cars. The "Ak-Sar-Ben" portion of name was created by spelling

(Neb-ras-ka) backwards; a fraternal organization (the

Knights of Ak-Sar-Ben The Knights of Ak-Sar-Ben Foundation is a 501(c)(3) civic and philanthropic organization in Omaha, Nebraska. History The organization was formed in 1895 in an attempt to keep the Nebraska State Fair in Omaha after receiving an ultimatum to provide ...

) and an arena and horse racing facility in Omaha have also used the name. The ''

Advance Flyer Advance commonly refers to: *Advance, an offensive push in sports, games, thoughts, military combat, or sexual or romantic pursuits *Advance payment for goods or services *Advance against royalties, a payment to be offset against future royalty pay ...

'' provided westward service. The new service began on December 11, 1940. The CB&Q ended this service in 1947; replacing it with the new ''

Nebraska Zephyr The ''Nebraska Zephyr'' was a streamlined passenger train operated by the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad (CB&Q, commonly known by the shorter name of "Burlington") between Chicago, Illinois; Omaha, Nebraska; and Lincoln, Nebraska, from ...

''. The second ''Ak-Sar-Ben Zephyr'' was an overnight service between Chicago and Lincoln which used a mixture of 1940s equipment and new cars which it pooled with the ''

California Zephyr The ''California Zephyr'' is a passenger train operated by Amtrak between Chicago and the San Francisco Bay Area (at Emeryville), via Omaha, Denver, Salt Lake City, and Reno. At , it is Amtrak's longest daily route, and second-longest overal ...

'', including a "Vista-Dome"

dome car A dome car is a type of railway passenger car that has a glass dome on the top of the car where passengers can ride and see in all directions around the train. It also can include features of a coach, lounge car, dining car, sleeping car or obse ...

. Although gradually downgraded during the 1960s the train survived into the

Burlington Northern The Burlington Northern Railroad was a United States-based railroad company formed from a merger of four major U.S. railroads. Burlington Northern operated between 1970 and 1996. Its historical lineage begins in the earliest days of railroadin ...

era before being discontinued in August 1970.

Route

The westbound, as of April 26, 1964, was: *

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

– departed at 10:00 p.m. *

La Grange, Illinois ''(the barn)'' , nickname = , motto = ''Tradition & Pride – Moving Forward'' , anthem = ''My La Grange'' by Jimmy Dunne , image_map = File:Cook County Illinois Incorporated and Unincorporated areas La Grange Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 26 ...

Aurora, Illinois Aurora is a city in the Chicago metropolitan area located partially in DuPage County, Illinois, DuPage, Kane County, Illinois, Kane, Kendall County, Illinois, Kendall, and Will County, Illinois, Will counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. Locat ...

Mendota, Illinois Mendota is a city in LaSalle County, Illinois, United States, in the state's north-central region. The population was 7,061 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Ottawa, IL Micropolitan Statistical Area. Mendota is located approximately 85 miles w ...

Kewanee, Illinois Kewanee () is a city in Henry County, Illinois, United States. "Kewanee" is the Winnebago word for greater prairie chicken, which lived there. The population was 12,509 at the 2020 census, down from 12,944 in 2000. Geography According to the ...

Galesburg, Illinois Galesburg is a city in Knox County, Illinois, United States. The city is northwest of Peoria. At the 2010 census, its population was 32,195. It is the county seat of Knox County and the principal city of the Galesburg Micropolitan Statistical ...

Monmouth, Illinois Monmouth is a city in and the county seat of Warren County, Illinois, United States. The population was 8,902 at the 2020 census, down from 9,444 in 2010. It is the home of Monmouth College and contains Monmouth Park, Harmon Park, North Park, Warf ...

(

Flag Stop In public transport, a request stop, flag stop, or whistle stop is a stop or station at which buses or trains, respectively, stop only on request; that is, only if there are passengers or freight to be picked up or dropped off. In this way, st ...

) *

Burlington, Iowa Burlington is a city in, and the county seat of, Des Moines County, Iowa, United States. The population was 23,982 in the 2020 census, a decline from the 26,839 population in 2000. Burlington is the center of a micropolitan area, which includes ...

Mount Pleasant, Iowa Mount Pleasant is a city in and the county seat of Henry County, Iowa. The population was 9,274 in the 2020 census, an increase from 8,668 in the 2010 census. It was founded in 1835 by pioneer Presley Saunders. History The first permanent s ...

Fairfield, Iowa Fairfield is a city in, and the county seat of, Jefferson County, Iowa. It has a population of 9,416 people, according to the 2020 census. The median family income is $46,138, with 10% of families below the poverty line. The city is typical o ...

Ottumwa, Iowa Ottumwa ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Wapello County, Iowa, United States. The population was 25,529 at the time of the 2020 U.S. Census. Located in the state's southeastern section, the city is split into northern and southern halves b ...

Albia, Iowa Albia is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County, in southern Iowa, United States. The population was 3,721 at the 2020 census. The city of Albia is known for its historic square and city-wide Victorian Architecture. Albia is also known ...

Chariton, Iowa Chariton is a city in, and the county seat of, Lucas County, Iowa, United States. The population was 4,193 at the 2020 census. Lucas is the primary distribution center for and the former corporate headquarters of the Hy-Vee supermarket chain. H ...

Osceola, Iowa Osceola is a city in Clarke County, Iowa, Clarke County, Iowa, United States. The population was 5,160 at the time of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. It is the county seat of Clarke County. History Osceola was named after a Seminol ...

Creston, Iowa Creston is a city in and the county seat of Union County, Iowa. The population was 7,536 at the time of the 2020 Census. History Creston was originally settled in 1868 as a survey camp for the Burlington and Missouri Railroad. It was named ...

Corning, Iowa Corning is a city in Quincy Township, Adams County, Iowa, Quincy Township, Adams County, Iowa, Adams County, Iowa, United States. The population was 1,564 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. It is the county seat of Adams County. Cornin ...

(Flag Stop) *

Villisca, Iowa Villisca is a city in Montgomery County, Iowa, United States. The population was 1,132 at the time of the 2020 census. It is most notable for the unsolved axe mass murder that took place in the town during the summer of 1912. Geography Villis ...

(Flag Stop) *

Red Oak, Iowa Red Oak is a city in, and the county seat of, Montgomery County, Iowa, Montgomery County, Iowa, United States, located along the Nishnabotna River, East Nishnabotna River. The population was 5,362 in the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, a d ...

Council Bluffs, Iowa Council Bluffs is a city in and the county seat of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, Pottawattamie County, Iowa, United States. The city is the most populous in Southwest Iowa, and is the third largest and a primary city of the Omaha–Council Bluffs ...

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...

– arrived at 9:15 a.m. The eastbound train departed Lincoln at 9:00 p.m., arriving at

Chicago Union Station Chicago Union Station is an intercity and commuter rail terminal located in the Near West Side neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. The station is Amtrak's flagship station in the Midwest. While serving long-distance passenger trains, it is also ...

the following morning at 7:50 a.m.

Equipment

In 1938–1940 the

Budd Company The Budd Company was a 20th-century metal fabricator, a major supplier of body components to the automobile industry, and a manufacturer of stainless steel passenger rail cars, airframes, missile and space vehicles, and various defense products ...

constructed a fleet of lightweight cars for the CB&Q for use on various routes. This fleet included

baggage car A passenger railroad car or passenger car (United States), also called a passenger carriage, passenger coach (United Kingdom and International Union of Railways), or passenger bogie (India) is a railroad car that is designed to carry passen ...

dining car A dining car (American English) or a restaurant car (British English), also a diner, is a railroad passenger car that serves meals in the manner of a full-service, sit-down restaurant. It is distinct from other railroad food service cars that ...

s (48 seats), dining-parlor-

observation car An observation car/carriage/coach (in US English, often abbreviated to simply observation or obs) is a type of railroad passenger car, generally operated in a passenger train as the rearmost carriage, with windows or a platform on the rear of th ...

s, and coaches. Each of these carried a name starting with "Silver", as had become the custom with the CB&Q's ''Zephyrs''. The lightweight equipment for the 1940 ''Ak-Sar-Ben Zephyr'' came from this pool. The 1953 ''Ak-Sar-Ben Zephyr'' used both pre-

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

coaches and new equipment manufactured in 1952 for the ''

''. The coaches were part of the pool used for the 1940 iteration, among other trains. The westbound ''Ak-Sar-Ben'' would use the following cars off the arriving eastbound ''California Zephyr'': * 48-seat dining car * 10-roomette 6-double bedroom

sleeping car The sleeping car or sleeper (often ) is a railway passenger car (rail), passenger car that can accommodate all passengers in beds of one kind or another, for the purpose of sleeping. George Pullman was the American innovator of the sleeper car. ...

* 10-roomette 6-double bedroom sleeping car * 16-section sleeping car * 1-drawing room 3-double bedroom Vista-Dome dome-buffet-lounge-

The cars off the eastbound ''Ak-Sar-Ben Zephyr'' would in turn be used by that day's westbound ''California Zephyr''.

References

{{CBQ named trains Passenger trains of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad Named passenger trains of the United States Night trains of the United States Railway services introduced in 1940 Railway services introduced in 1953 Railway services discontinued in 1947 Railway services discontinued in 1970