The ''Kansas City Zephyr'' was a
streamliner passenger train service operated by the
Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad (CB&Q) between
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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and
Kansas City.
Overview
The largest fleet of named streamliners in the United States were the Burlington's Zephyrs. Competing in markets against the famed Eagles, Chiefs, 400's, Cities and Hiawathas on almost every route, the polished Zephyrs covered almost every route on the mainline of the Burlington and for years held the speed/distance title in the record books.
The ''Kansas City Zephyr'' made its inaugural run on February 1, 1953, as an all-new daylight 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 two 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. A new modern station was built at West Quincy, Missouri (1953) and operated until 1993, when Mississippi River flooding (levee breached) destroyed the facility.
''Kansas City Zephyr'' (KCZ) #36 departed Kansas City at 12:01 pm, arriving in Chicago at 8:00 pm. Westbound counterpart #35 departed the Windy City at 12:30 pm, arriving in Kansas City at 8:45 pm. The original consist included two Vista-Domes, coaches, diner, and observation car, all built by Budd. The CB&Q simultaneously launched an overnight Chicago-Kansas City service on the same route under the banner of the ''
American Royal Zephyr.''
The ''Kansas City Zephyr'' never lived up to ridership expectations, and it was not long before equipment from the ''KCZ'' was being shuffled off to other trains. Intense competition came from the Santa Fe, which ran six daily streamliners in each direction between the city pair on a shorter schedule than CB&Q. On April 10, 1968, just over 15 years after its promising beginning, the ''KCZ'' was discontinued, becoming a nameless local train between Chicago and West Quincy, MO.
Budd car consist
The ''Kansas City Zephyr'' had two consists, a dorm-buffet-lounge car and a square-end parlor-observation car in each.
* 320 Silver Garden - dorm-buffet-lounge
* 321 Silver Patio - dorm-buffet-lounge
* 365 Silver Terrace - parlor-observation
* 366 Silver Tower - parlor-observation
Two of the original railcars from the ''Kansas City Zephyr'' are still in use today. The ''Silver Garden'', 1952 Budd Dome Lounge Coach and the ''Silver Terrace'', 1952 Budd Dome Observation cars current operate on the
Branson Scenic Railway in Branson, Missouri.
Subsequent service on the route
The ''
Illinois Zephyr
The ''Illinois Zephyr'' and ''Carl Sandburg'' are a pair of passenger trains operated by Amtrak on a route between Chicago and Quincy, Illinois. As ''Illinois Service'' trains, they are partially funded by the Illinois Department of Transpor ...
'' and ''
Carl Sandburg
Carl August Sandburg (January 6, 1878 – July 22, 1967) was an American poet, biographer, journalist, and editor. He won three Pulitzer Prizes: two for his poetry and one for his biography of Abraham Lincoln. During his lifetime, Sandburg ...
'',
passenger trains operated by
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada ...
that run 258 miles (415 km) between
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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and
Quincy, Illinois, are the descendants of the ''Kansas City Zephyr'' and ''
American Royal Zephyr'' passenger train routes operated by the
Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad until 1968 and 1971. The name ''
Zephyr'' is preserved in the current name of the ''Illinois Zephyr''.
Station stops
Original ''Kansas City 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
An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...
Old CB&Q station (abandoned and largely demolished)
*
Plano station
*
Mendota station
*
Princeton station
*
Kewanee station
*
Galesburg CB&Q Seminary Street station (demolished)
*
Bushnell Old CB&Q Station (No longer a stop) Relocated to the Western Illinois Threshers grounds in
Hamilton, Illinois
Hamilton is a city in Hancock County, Illinois, United States. The population was 2,951 at the 2010 census, a decline from 3,029 in 2000. The city is located directly across the Mississippi River from Keokuk, Iowa. Hamilton is the largest city in ...
.
*
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)
*
Brookfield (CB&Q station)
*
Kansas City station
References
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External links
Burlington Route Historical SocietyAmtrak's Illinois ServiceAmtrak's Southwest Chief
{{CBQ named trains
Named passenger trains of the United States
North American streamliner trains
Passenger trains of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad
Night trains of the United States
Passenger rail transportation in Illinois
Passenger rail transportation in Missouri
Railway services introduced in 1953
Railway services discontinued in 1968