{"id":22003,"date":"2024-03-23T06:36:47","date_gmt":"2024-03-22T20:36:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=22003"},"modified":"2024-03-23T06:36:47","modified_gmt":"2024-03-22T20:36:47","slug":"amtrak-celebrates-75th-anniversary-of-california-zephyrs-first-trip","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=22003","title":{"rendered":"Amtrak celebrates 75th anniversary of California Zephyr\u2019s first trip"},"content":{"rendered":"

In celebration of the 75th anniversary of the launch of the California Zephyr, running between between the San Francisco Bay Area and Chicago, Amtrak<\/a> has released a list of 25 facts about the iconic route, from here and now.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0California Zephyr\u00a0was named in San Francisco by actress Eleanor Parker on March 19, 1949.
\nThe first eastbound train from Oakland to Chicago happened on March 20, 1949.
\nThe California\u00a0Zephyr\u2019s\u00a0main draw was (and remains) the spectacular scenery along the route.
\nThose views \u2014 many captured in the below video \u2014 led to the\u00a0California Zephyr\u00a0becoming the first transcontinental train to regularly use dome cars.
\nThe names of all original\u00a0California Zephyr\u00a0cars began with the word \u201cSilver,\u201d followed by a theme.<\/p>\n

Animals for baggage cars \u2014\u00a0Silver Stag.
\nWild west themes for dome coaches \u2014\u00a0Silver Lariat.
\nDining car names had catering\/food service references \u2014\u00a0Silver Plate.
\nSleeping cars were named for trees (Silver Maple), birds (Silver Quail) and geographical features (Silver Canyon).
\nDome-buffet lounge cars had names associated with hospitality (Silver Chalet), while the dome-observation-lounge cars had names that invoked scenic vistas (Silver Horizon).<\/p>\n

Dubbed the \u201cCable Car Room\u201d in the 1950s, the buffet lounge paid homage to San Francisco in murals and memorabilia, including scale models of the iconic cable cars.
\nUntil 1958, a West Coast\u00a0California Zephyr\u00a0trip began and ended with a ferry ride between San Francisco\u2019s Transbay Terminal and Oakland Pier.
\nOn March 1, 1955, the first baby was born on the California Zephyr while it travelled through Colorado\u2019s Ruby Canyon.
\nIn 1969, the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) called the\u00a0California Zephyr\u00a0a unique national asset.
\nSome original\u00a0California Zephyr\u00a0cars were sold to other countries and private owners; a number still operate on tourist railroads.
\nThe largest collection of preserved original\u00a0California Zephyr\u00a0equipment can be found in Portola, California, at the\u00a0Western Pacific Railroad Museum<\/a>.
\nAmtrak<\/a> launched its\u00a0California Zephyr\u00a0service in July 1983.
\nThe\u00a0California Zephyr\u00a0travels 2,438 miles over three days and two nights.
\nThe\u00a0California Zephyr\u00a0passes through two mountain ranges: the Rockies and Sierra Nevada Range.
\nThe train reaches a maximum altitude of 9,270 feet above sea level passing through the 6.2-mile-long Moffat Tunnel in Colorado.
\nThe\u00a0California Zephyr\u00a0shares tracks with Amtrak\u2019s<\/a>\u00a0Winter Park Express,\u00a0a seasonal train carrying skiers between Denver and Winter Park Resort.
\nThe\u00a0California Zephyr\u00a0travels through the infamous Donner Pass, where a wagon train became stranded during the winter of 1846-47. Approximately half of the people survived.
\nThe\u00a0California Zephyr\u00a0uses bi-level Superliner rail cars. The train offers two classes of service: Coach and Private Rooms, which include Roomettes, Bedrooms, Bedroom Suites, Family Bedrooms and Accessible Bedrooms.
\nThe\u00a0California Zephyr\u00a0features the bi-level Sightseer-Lounge, offering panoramic views along the route upstairs and caf\u00e9 service with meals, snacks and beverages for sale downstairs.
\nFrom Salt Lake City to San Francisco Bay Area, the\u00a0California Zephyr\u00a0loosely follows Interstate 80 along the south shore of the Great Salt Lake, across the Bonneville Salt Flats towards Nevada.
\nThe\u00a0California Zephyr\u00a0is Amtrak\u2019s<\/a> longest route with daily operation.
\nThe\u00a0California Zephyr\u00a0departs Chicago at 2:00 p.m. (Central) and Emeryville, CA at 9:10 a.m. (Pacific).
\nThe\u00a0California Zephyr\u2019s schedule ensures passengers move through the most scenic parts of the route in Colorado, Utah and Nevada during daylight hours. The train stops at 37 stations in California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Nebraska, Iowa and Illinois.
\nIn many of the smaller communities it serves, the\u00a0California Zephyr\u00a0is the only option for intercity transportation.
\nIn 2018, the\u00a0California Zephyr\u00a0saw its highest yearly ridership: 418,203 passengers.<\/p>\n

\n

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In celebration of the 75th anniversary of the launch of the California Zephyr, running between between the San Francisco Bay Area and Chicago, Amtrak has […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":22004,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32,47,488],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22003","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-and-opinion","category-rail-news","category-railway-stations"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22003","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=22003"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22003\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/22004"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=22003"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=22003"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=22003"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}