The ''American Royal 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 service operated by the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad between

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and Kansas City. This CB&Q ''Zephyr'' was named for the

American Royal The American Royal is a livestock show, horse show, rodeo, and barbecue competition held each year in September – November at various sites in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. The Future Farmers of America (now the National FFA Organiza ...

, one of the Midwest's largest and oldest livestock exhibition, professional rodeo, and horse show. The ''American Royal Zephyr'' made its inaugural run on February 1, 1953, as an all-new overnight streamliner between Chicago and Kansas City. The new train was prompted by the completion the previous October of the $16-million "Kansas City Shortcut", 49 miles of new track that made the route shorter, flatter, and straighter. The new alignment shaved 2 hours off of the previous shortest route, and made CB&Q optimistic that it could compete successfully against its entrenched rival, the AT&SF, on this busy route. ''American Royal Zephyr'' #56 departed Kansas City at 10:00 pm, arriving in Chicago at 7:30 am. Westbound counterpart #55 operated on a mirrored schedule, departing the Windy City at 10:00 pm and arriving in Kansas City at 7:30 am. Both trains covered the 466 mile route at an average pace of 49 mph. The original consist included two Vista-Domes (which provided meal service), two Chicago-KC sleepers, one Chicago - St. Joe sleeper, and coaches. The CB&Q simultaneously launched a daylight Chicago-Kansas City service on the same route under the banner of the ''

Kansas City Zephyr The ''Kansas City Zephyr'' was a streamliner passenger train service operated by the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad (CB&Q) between Chicago and Kansas City. Overview The largest fleet of named streamliners in the United States wer ...

.'' Like its daylight counterpart, the ''American Royal Zephyr'' never lived up to ridership expectations, and it was not long before equipment from the ''ARZ'' was being shuffled off to other trains. Intense competition came from the Santa Fe, which ran six daily streamliners in each direction through Kansas City on a shorter schedule than CB&Q, and an existing, dedicated overnight service called the '' Kansas City Chief''. The ''American Royal Zephyr'' was discontinued in 1971.

Station stops

Original ''American Royal Zephyr'', station stops: ;

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

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 ...

* La Grange Road station * Aurora old CB&Q station (abandoned, largely demolished) * Plano station * Mendota station * Princeton station * Kewanee station * Galesburg CB&Q Seminary Street station (demolished) * Macomb station * Quincy station ;

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

* West Quincy CB&Q station (entire town abandoned after the

Great Flood of 1993 The Great Flood of 1993 (or Great Mississippi and Missouri Rivers Flood of 1993) was a flood that occurred in the Midwestern United States, along the Mississippi and Missouri rivers and their tributaries, from April to October 1993. The flood wa ...

). * Macon (CB&Q station) * Chillicothe (CB&Q station) * Kansas City station

References

* * *
Burlington Route Historical Society

Amtrak's Illinois Service

Amtrak's ''Southwest Chief''
{{CBQ named trains Passenger trains of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad North American streamliner trains Night trains of the United States Railway services introduced in 1953 Railway services discontinued in 1971