The ''Twin Zephyrs'', also known as the ''Twin Cities Zephyrs'', were a pair of
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 trains on 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), running between Chicago and the
Twin Cities
Twin cities are a special case of two neighboring cities or urban centres that grow into a single conurbation – or narrowly separated urban areas – over time. There are no formal criteria, but twin cities are generally comparable in statu ...
of
Minneapolis
Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...
and
Saint Paul
Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...
in
Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
. It was the second ''Zephyr'' service introduced by CB&Q after the record-setting
Denver
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
–
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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, coordinates =
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, subdivision_name ...
"dawn to dusk dash" of 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 ...
'' trainset.
The train competed with the
Chicago and North Western
The Chicago and North Western was a Class I railroad in the Midwestern United States. It was also known as the "North Western". The railroad operated more than of track at the turn of the 20th century, and over of track in seven states befor ...
's ''
Twin Cities 400
The ''400''Chicago & North Western Railway Route of the "400" The Streamliners and the Challengers ime Table Rand McNally, January 15, 1939. Chicago, IL (later named the ''Twin Cities 400''Chicago & North Western Railway Through Passenger Schedu ...
'' which ceased operation in 1963, and the
Milwaukee Road
The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (CMStP&P), often referred to as the "Milwaukee Road" , was a Class I railroad that operated in the Midwestern United States, Midwest and Pacific Northwest, Northwest of the United States fr ...
's ''
Twin Cities Hiawatha
The ''Twin Cities Hiawatha'', often just ''Hiawatha'', was a named passenger train operated by the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (also known as the Milwaukee Road), and traveled from Chicago to the Twin Cities. The original ...
'', which, like the ''Zephyr'', ended with the coming of
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
in 1971. The CB&Q trains went west from Chicago to the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...
and along that river to Saint Paul, while the North Western and Milwaukee Road trains traveled via
Milwaukee
Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...
.
History
![Twin Cities Zephyrs at station 1935](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/86/Twin_Cities_Zephyrs_at_station_1935.JPG)
Two three-car trainsets, numbered 9901 and 9902, were delivered in April 1935. On April 6 number 9901 made a demonstration run from Chicago to Saint Paul in 5 hours 31 minutes, at speeds up to 104 mph and an average between endpoints of 77.65 mph. These two trainsets proved too small so a second pair of six-car trains with matching locomotives were ordered as replacements. The new trainsets were put on display before they entered service.
The second pair of ''Twin Zephyrs'' entered service on December 18, 1936 as the ''Morning Zephyr'' and the ''Afternoon Zephyr''. On the first run the two trainsets departed
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
simultaneously on parallel tracks with 44 pairs of twins as a publicity stunt.
![Twin Cities Zephyr 9905-La Crosse WI 1939 summer](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/14/Twin_Cities_Zephyr_9905-La_Crosse_WI_1939_summer.jpg)
In 1935 Zephyrs were scheduled to cover between Chicago and St Paul in six and a half hours, later reduced to six hours and 15 minutes. At first each trainset made one one-way trip a day, but in July 1935 each was making a round trip a day, leaving each terminal at 8:00 AM CST and returning at 10:59 PM. In 1940 the westbound Twin Zephyr took six hours to travel from Chicago to Saint Paul, a start-to-stop average of 71 miles per hour, which is a faster average speed between endpoints than the
Acela
The ''Acela'' ( ; originally the ''Acela Express'' until September 2019) is Amtrak's flagship service along the Northeast Corridor (NEC) in the Northeastern United States between Washington, D.C. and Boston via 13 intermediate stops, includin ...
's average speeds in 2016 between Washington and Boston. According the Burlington, both trains had made the run in five and a half hours, an average of over 78 mph. For several years in the 1950s the schedules along the Mississippi from
East Dubuque, Illinois
East Dubuque is a city in Jo Daviess County, Illinois, Jo Daviess County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,505 at the 2020 census, down from 1,704 in 2010. East Dubuque is located alongside the Mississippi River. Across the river is t ...
to
Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin
Prairie du Chien () is a city in and the county seat of Crawford County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 5,506 at the 2020 census. Its ZIP Code is 53821.
Often referred to as Wisconsin's second oldest city, Prairie du Chien was esta ...
and from Prairie du Chien to
La Crosse
La Crosse is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of La Crosse County, Wisconsin, La Crosse County. Positioned alongside the Mississippi River, La Crosse is the largest city on Wisconsin's western border. La Crosse's populat ...
were the fastest in the world, and in 1964 the ''Morning Zephyr'' had the fastest station-to-station time in the United States between
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 ...
and
Rochelle, Illinois
Rochelle is a city in Ogle County, Illinois. The population was 9,446 at the 2020 census. Rochelle is approximately west of Chicago and south of Rockford.
History
Originally named Hickory Grove, the town sits at the intersection of two rail ...
. All three runs were made at over per hour from start to station stop. By 1964 the timing from Chicago to Saint Paul had relaxed by five to ten minutes, but by 1970, the last full year of service, the journey took seven hours.
![Prairie du Chien - Burlington Zephyr (1970)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b2/Prairie_du_Chien_-_Burlington_Zephyr_%281970%29.jpg)
The Burlington handled five passenger trains each way between Chicago and the Twin Cities, four of them in the daytime: the morning and afternoon Zephyrs and the premier trains of the Burlington's two owners, the
North Coast Limited
The ''North Coast Limited'' was a List of named passenger trains, named passenger train operated by the Northern Pacific Railway between Chicago and Seattle via Bismarck, North Dakota. It started on April 29, 1900, and continued as a Burlington ...
of the
Northern Pacific Railroad
The Northern Pacific Railway was a transcontinental railroad that operated across the northern tier of the western United States, from Minnesota to the Pacific Northwest. It was approved by 38th United States Congress, Congress in 1864 and given ...
and the
Empire Builder
The ''Empire Builder'' is an Amtrak long-distance passenger train that operates daily between Chicago and either Seattle or Portland via two sections west of Spokane. Introduced in 1929, it was the flagship passenger train of the Great Northe ...
of the
Great Northern Railway, both of which ran to the West Coast. Although the railroad's passenger service as a whole carried more passengers in 1964 than in 1949, by 1964 all four daytime Zephyrs along the Mississippi operated at a loss. To save money, trains were often consolidated in off-peak times starting in 1960, and eventually the four daytime trains were reduced to two, with the ''Afternoon Zephyr'' taking the ''Empire Builder'' and ''North Coast Limited'' to the Twin Cities, and the ''Morning Zephyr'' taking the two trains to Chicago.
The ''Twin Zephyr'' ran for 36 years until 1971 when
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
took over most intercity passenger trains in the United States.
Equipment
The first pair of three-car Twin Zephyr trainsets were very similar to the original ''
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 ...
'', and were
articulated
An articulated vehicle is a vehicle which has a permanent or semi-permanent pivot joint in its construction, allowing it to turn more sharply. There are many kinds, from heavy equipment to buses, trams and trains. Steam locomotives were someti ...
trains riding on four trucks. This pair, delivered in April 1935, quickly proved too small to cope with passenger loads, and a second pair of six-car trains (soon expanded to seven cars) was delivered in November 1936. These trainsets also were articulated. One train was called "
The Train of the Goddesses" and the cars were named Ceres, Diana, Juno, Minerva, Psyche, Venus, and Vesta. The other trainset was known as "
The Train of the Gods" and the cars were named for mythological figures Apollo, Cupid, Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, Neptune, and Vulcan. Motive power for the second pair of trains was originally shovelnose
diesel locomotive
A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine. Several types of diesel locomotives have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is conveyed to the driving whee ...
s
9904 (''Pegasus'') and 9905 (''Zephyrus'').
On its way into Chicago on the evening of April 3, 1947, the "Train of the Goddesses" travelling at per hour
was derailed in
Downers Grove, Illinois
Downers Grove is a village in DuPage County, Illinois, United States. It was founded in 1832 by Pierce Downer, whose surname serves as the eponym for the village. It is a south-west suburb of Chicago. The village is located between I-88 and I-55. ...
by a
tractor
A tractor is an engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort (or torque) at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a trailer or machinery such as that used in agriculture, mining or construction. Most common ...
that fell into its path from a freight train on a parallel track. Two of the Zephyr's cars smashed into an unoccupied brick railroad station. Many people were injured in the derailment and two passengers and the engineer lost their lives.
After a third pair of trains were delivered in 1947, the second pair of trains was reassigned as the ''
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 ...
s''. The third sets (typically seven cars) were the first dome streamliner trains, after a company-built modified coach dome car was tested starting in 1945. The 1947 sets originally consisted of a baggage-refreshment car, four vista dome coaches, a dining car and a dome parlor observation car. They served as a prototype of the 1949 ''
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 ...
'' which had sleeping cars in addition.
In 1977 the "Train of the Gods" was refurbished and delivered to Saudi Arabia for use on the
Dammam–Riyadh line.
"Famed Burlington Zephyr Trains Begin a New Career in Saudi Arabia
. ''The New York Times'', May 1, 1977.
Route
The Twin Zephyr ran on the Burlington Route
The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad was a railroad that operated in the Midwest, Midwestern United States. Commonly referred to as the Burlington Route, the Burlington, or as the Q, it operated extensive trackage in the states of Colora ...
from Chicago to St. Paul.[''Burlington Route Timetables, December 1947''. Chicago: Poole Bros Inc.] Today these lines belong to the BNSF Railway
BNSF Railway is one of the largest freight railroads in North America. One of seven North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 35,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and nearly 8,000 locomotives. It has three transcontinental routes that ...
as these subdivisions of the BNSF Northern Transcon
The Northern Transcon, a route operated by the BNSF Railway, traverses the most northerly route of any railroad in the western United States. This route was originally part of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad, Northern Pacific Railwa ...
:
*Chicago Subdivision
The Chicago Subdivision or Chicago Sub is a railroad line in Illinois that runs about from Chicago to Aurora and hosts Metra's BNSF Railway Line commuter service. It is operated by BNSF Railway as the easternmost part of the railroad's Northern ...
- Chicago, Illinois to Aurora, Illinois
*Aurora Subdivision
The Aurora Subdivision or Aurora Sub is a railway line in Wisconsin and Illinois operated by BNSF Railway. It is part of BNSF's Chicago, Illinois, to Seattle, Washington, Northern Transcon. This segment runs about from the St. Croix Subdivision ...
- Aurora to La Crosse, Wisconsin
*St. Croix Subdivision
The St. Croix Subdivision or St. Croix Sub is an American rail line operated by the BNSF Railway. It runs approximately from La Crosse, Wisconsin to Saint Paul, Minnesota, following the Mississippi River. It runs through the communities of La Cro ...
- La Crosse to St. Croix Junction, Minnesota
* St. Paul Subdivision - St. Croix Junction to St. Paul and Minneapolis, Minnesota
The Morning and Afternoon Zephyr trains were limited stop runs. Because some stations were not in central downtown areas, connecting "Burlington Bus" service was provided at East Dubuque, Illinois, for Dubuque, Iowa
Dubuque (, ) is the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. At the time of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population of Dubuque was 59,667. The city lies at the junction of Iowa, Il ...
; North La Crosse for La Crosse, Wisconsin
La Crosse is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of La Crosse County. Positioned alongside the Mississippi River, La Crosse is the largest city on Wisconsin's western border. La Crosse's population as of the 2020 census w ...
, and Winona Junction, Wisconsin, for Winona, Minnesota
Winona is a city in and the county seat of Winona County, in the state of Minnesota. Located in bluff country on the Mississippi River, its most noticeable physical landmark is Sugar Loaf. The city is named after legendary figure Winona, who ...
. In 1947, the Morning and Afternoon Zephyrs left Chicago at 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., respectively. The times varied during the season, with the Morning Zephyr leaving at 8:00 a.m. and the Afternoon Zephyr at 4:30 p.m. from Chicago during the summer, with a 2:30 afternoon departure in the non-summer months.[''Burlington Route Timetables, May 1966''. Chicago: Poole Bros. Inc.]
Notes
References
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Further reading
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External links
*
{{Twin Cities Railroads
Named passenger trains of the United States
Passenger rail transportation in Illinois
Passenger rail transportation in Wisconsin
Passenger rail transportation in Minnesota
Passenger trains of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad
Railway services introduced in 1936
Articulated passenger trains
Night trains of the United States
Railway services discontinued in 1971