The ''Exposition Flyer ''was a passenger train jointly operated by the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy (CB&Q), Denver & Rio Grande Western (D&RGW), and Western Pacific (WP) railroads between Chicago and Oakland, California, for a decade between 1939 and 1949, before being replaced by the famed ''

California Zephyr The ''California Zephyr'' is a Amtrak Long Distance, long-distance passenger train operated by Amtrak between Chicago, Illinois, Chicago and the San Francisco Bay Area (at Emeryville station, Emeryville), via Omaha, Nebraska, Omaha, Denver, Sa ...

''.

History

In 1939, the

Golden Gate International Exposition The Golden Gate International Exposition (GGIE) was a World's Fair held at Treasure Island in San Francisco, California, U.S. The exposition operated from February 18, 1939, through October 29, 1939, and from May 25, 1940, through September 29, ...

opened on

Treasure Island ''Treasure Island'' (originally titled ''The Sea Cook: A Story for Boys''Hammond, J. R. 1984. "Treasure Island." In ''A Robert Louis Stevenson Companion'', Palgrave Macmillan Literary Companions. London: Palgrave Macmillan. .) is an adventure a ...

San Francisco Bay San Francisco Bay (Chochenyo language, Chochenyo: 'ommu) is a large tidal estuary in the United States, U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the cities of San Francisco, California, San ...

. In response, the CB&Q, D&RGW and WP decided to operate a train that could take passengers to the event. Service on the ''Exposition Flyer'' began on June 10, 1939. In the beginning, the train used steam locomotives as motive power and consisted of the heavyweight Pullman standard cars. In later years, however, the train would operate using diesel power and in the final months of service, used

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 flow, steady. Considering a velocity vector field in three-dimensional space in the f ...

passenger cars. Initially, the train was supposed to be a temporary route, although, due to the train's popularity, which made it a significant rival to the '' City of San Francisco'', the Chicago-Oakland train operated jointly by the

Chicago & Northwestern 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 ...

Union Pacific The Union Pacific Railroad is a Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United States after BNSF, ...

and

Southern Pacific The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the names ...

, it remained in operation until 1949. In 1949, the CB&Q, D&RGW and WP replaced the ''Exposition Flyer'' with the all streamlined ''California Zephyr'', which operated over the same route.

Accidents

* On the night of September 22, 1941, the eastbound ''Exposition Flyer'' collided head-on with a steam locomotive near

Sunol, California Sunol () is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in Alameda County, California. Located in the Sunol Valley of the East Bay, the population was 922 at the 2020 census. It is best known as the location of the Sunol Water Temple an ...

. The steam locomotive engineer's watch was running slow, and he had failed to move his engine onto a siding. Three people, including the engineer and fireman on the ''Exposition Flyer'', were killed. * On April 3, 1946, the ''Exposition Flyer'' derailed in eastern Nevada after passing over a switch at , killing two passengers. * On April 25, 1946, the ''Exposition Flyer'' was involved in its deadliest accident. The westbound ''Advance Flyer'', another train operated by the CB&Q, made an emergency stop in the Chicago suburb of

Naperville, Illinois Naperville ( ) is a city in DuPage County, Illinois, DuPage and Will County, Illinois, Will counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is a southwestern suburb of Chicago located west of the city on the DuPage River. As of the 2020 United State ...

just short of the CB&Q depot. The ''Exposition Flyer'', travelling at around a short distance behind on the same track, rear-ended the ''Advance Flyer''. Forty-seven people were killed in the Naperville train disaster, including the ''Exposition Flyers fireman.

Route

Burlington officials at Moffat Tunnel Exposition Flyer planned

The ''Exposition Flyer ''operated over the CB&Q between Chicago and Denver, the D&RGW between Denver and Salt Lake City, and the WP between Salt Lake City and Oakland. The westbound train left Chicago Union Station at 12:35 pm, and after traversing Illinois, the train crossed the Mississippi River at Burlington, Iowa, continuing through southern Iowa to Denver via Omaha and Lincoln, Nebraska. The train made use of the -long Moffat Tunnel, and was the first through passenger train to make use of the Dotsero Cutoff, as opposed to the former route via

Colorado Springs Colorado Springs is the most populous city in El Paso County, Colorado, United States, and its county seat. The city had a population of 478,961 at the 2020 census, a 15.02% increase since 2010. Colorado Springs is the second-most populous c ...

Pueblo Pueblo refers to the settlements of the Pueblo peoples, Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, currently in New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas. The permanent communities, including some of the oldest continually occupied settlement ...

and the Royal Gorge. After traveling through northern Nevada, the ''Exposition Flyer'' traveled through

Feather River Canyon Feathers are epidermal growths that form a distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on both avian (bird) and some non-avian dinosaurs and other archosaurs. They are the most complex integumentary structures found in vertebrates and an exampl ...

, although only those on the westbound ''Exposition Flyer'' were able to see the canyon during daylight hours. The train would finally arrive in San Francisco (Oakland with ferry connection to SF) at 10:30 pm two days later. The eastbound ''Exposition Flyer'' left San Francisco at 9 pm and arrived in Chicago at 11:55 pm two days later. Some of the route was shared by the

Missouri Pacific Railroad The Missouri Pacific Railroad , commonly abbreviated as MoPac, was one of the first railroads in the United States west of the Mississippi River. MoPac was a Class I railroad growing from dozens of predecessors and mergers. In 1967, the railroad o ...

's ''Scenic Limited'', which ran between Kansas City and San Francisco. Beginning in 1946, a through

Pullman car Pullman is the term for railroad dining cars, lounge cars, and especially sleeping cars that were built and operated by the Pullman Company (founded by George Pullman) from 1867 to December 31, 1968. Railway dining cars in the U.S. and Europe w ...

to and from

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

was introduced, allowing passengers an uninterrupted coast-to-coast journey via trains operated by the

New York Central Railroad The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected New York metropolitan area, gr ...

and

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad ( reporting mark PRR), legal name as the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, also known as the "Pennsy," was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At its ...

on alternating days.

References

{{Authority control Named passenger trains of the United States Night trains of the United States Passenger trains of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad Passenger trains of the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad Passenger trains of the Western Pacific Railroad Passenger rail transportation in California Passenger rail transportation in Illinois Passenger rail transportation in Colorado Passenger rail transportation in Utah Passenger rail transportation in Iowa Passenger rail transportation in Nebraska Railway services introduced in 1939 Railway services discontinued in 1949