No. 10490 "Denver Zephyr" Streamlined Lightweight Passenger Train

Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad

The Budd Company, Philadelphia based, was long associated with lightweight passenger car construction. A unique design by Budd resulted from an order in June, 1933, from the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad (Burlington) for a lightweight stainless steel train powered by a diesel-electric engine capable of 100 mph with enough space for 25 tons of baggage and Railway Express and able to seat 70 passengers.

The revolutionary result was the 3-unit air-conditioned articulated consist Budd delivered to Burlington in April, 1934, a slope-browed, shovel-nosed sleek silvery slip of fluted stainless steel with a 600 horsepower General Motors Winton Engine Division diesel engine in the front power car (4-wheel power truck). The 197-foot long shotwelded train set featured a Railway Post Office and mail storage compartment in the power car, a baggage-coach, and a coach-parlor observation car, seating 72 in total. It was called the "Burlington Zephyr." The train weighed about 100 tons, just slightly more than a single traditional steel heavyweight passenger car.

This was America's first diesel-powered streamliner (Union Pacific's M-10000, introduced in February, 1934, was the first true streamliner, but it was powered by a Winton spark-ignition distillate fuel engine, which proved to be unsatisfactory compared to the diesel power plant see No. 10026). The "Zephyr" made its first test runs in April, 1934, reaching a top speed of 104 mph.

The train was truly an art form from head to tail, its exterior design largely the work of Albert Dean, an aeronautical engineer who worked for Budd. The smart interiors were designed by John Harbeson, a Philadelphia-based architect, and partner architect Paul Cret. That same April saw the "Zephyr" embark on a nationwide exhibition tour that would last into the fall season. In May, the "Zephyr" traveled nonstop between Denver and Chicago on a dawn-to-dusk run of 1034 miles, averaging 78 mph, breaking by far all existing speed records. In November, the celebrated train went into regular service on the 250-mile Lincoln-Omaha-Kansas City route, becoming America's first regularly scheduled diesel-powered stainless steel streamliner (one round trip per day).

Paul Cret, head of the School of Architecture at the University of Pennsylvania, was also associated with the Philadelphia design firm of Harbeson, Hough, Livingston & Larson. Cret is credited with giving Budd's "Zephyr" fleet its graceful fluted exteriors of strengthened stainless steel, and with heading up (with Harbeson) the interior design of all the "Zephyr" trains' cars, which featured fine woods in veneer form complemented by a variety of pastel colors with stainless steel trim.

Dramatic in appearance and half as costly to operate as a traditional steam- powered 3-car heavyweight train, the "Zephyr" was an immediate success. In June, 1935, a dinette-coach was added to the "Zephyr's" consist, upping the 4-car train seating to 112.  The little train's success spawned new similar articulated trains for Burlington, and late in 1935 the "Burlington Zephyr" was renamed "Pioneer Zephyr" to differentiate it from other "Zephyrs" being added to the fleet (see No. 10239).

In March and April, 1935, two new "Zephyr" trains sets made their appearances on Burlington's rails, the articulated "Twin Cities Zephyrs" (3-car sets, 88 seating capacity), operating once-a-day each-way (6 ½ hour schedule) between Chicago and Minneapolis/St. Paul (437 miles), increased in June to one round trip per day for each train. In October, a fourth articulated "Zephyr" train set was added, 4 cars, the 92-seat "Mark Twain Zephyr," on the 221-mile St. Louis-Burlington (Iowa) route. But, in December, 1936, the demand on the twin-city route was so great that new 224-seat "Twin Cities Zephyrs" were put into service, two articulated 8-car train sets, with the power plants increased to 1800 horsepower. Each of the "super-Zephyrs" had commodious coach accommodations for 120 passengers, luxurious parlor and parlor-lounge cars, spacious dining facilities, and a convivial cocktail lounge. Trip time was now 6 hours flat, with both trains making daily round trips.

The original 3-car "Twin Cities Zephyrs" were rechristened "Sam Houston Zephyr" (Dallas-Houston) and "Ozark State Zephyr" (Kansas City-St. Louis). Then came two more "Zephyr" sets - the Chicago-Omaha-Lincoln-Denver overnight "Denver Zephyrs," subject of this history, each with Electro-Motive power/booster locomotives generating 3000 horsepower, heading up 10-car Budd-built semi-articulated stainless steel trains, including four sleeping cars, dining car, mid-train cocktail bar, and end-of-train parlor-lounges. First class accommodations totaled 93 berths and 10 parlor seats; 102 could ride coach.  Additionally, there were 104 lounge and dining seats, for a total capacity of 309. With service starting in November, 1936, the two trains could make the 1034-mile trip in a little over 16 hours, top speeds peaking at 116 mph between Chicago and Denver (Motto: "Overnight, Everynight").

Looking after Burlington's "guests" on the "Twin Cities Zephyrs" and "Denver Zephyrs" was a popular innovation, the "Zephyrettes," or train hostesses, who welcomed passengers on board, and generally made "Zephyr" travel more gracious and comfortable.

Then, in April, 1939, one more "Zephyr" would join the group, the 168-seat 3-car non-articulated St. Louis-Kansas City "General Pershing Zephyr," powered by a newly designed Electro-Motive 1000 horsepower diesel locomotive with a 6-wheel power truck (for improved stability over the 4-wheel power trucks used on earlier "Zephyrs"). The running time between the two cities was five hours for the 279-mile journey, the train making a daily round trip. The "General Pershing Zephyr" was the only prewar non- articulated "Zephyr" to be put into service.

These pre-war "Zephyr" trains remained in service until the late 1950s, when they were replaced with more modern Electro-Motive diesel locomotives and new Budd-built passenger car equipment, including Vista-Dome coaches. Service with "Zephyr" trains remained largely intact into the Amtrak era of the 1970s. The most notable post-war addition was the non-articulated "California Zephyr," Chicago to San Francisco (1949- 1970) (See No. 10251).

The original "Pioneer Zephyr" (3-cars) has been fully restored and can be seen today as a featured exhibit at Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry. The train ran for 26 years and millions of miles of service on various Burlington routes, making its last run in March, 1960, when it was retired and presented to the Museum of Science and Industry.

No. 10490 represents an accurate model of the 7-car "Denver Zephyr" in "0" gauge by Pride Lines as it would have been seen on its run between Chicago and Denver in the late 1930s to the 1950s.

NOTE: "Articulated" means the cars are permanently attached to one another and cannot be separated (a 4-car train is always a 4-car train). "Non-articulated" means each car is independent so that trains can be made longer or shorter depending on ridership demand.

Finally, let's review the concept of "streamlining" as an art form. Its origin as an international trend can be traced back to the 1925 Exposition des Arts Decoratifs et Industriels Modernes in Paris, which formally introduced Art Deco as a major decorative style, embracing every area of the decorative arts. This included furniture, jewelry, painting and graphics, bookbinding, glass, ceramics, and ushered in the newly established profession of Industrial Design.

As an international exhibition, it was intended to honor the Allies of World War I.  The new Soviet Union was invited, as were the new republics of Austria and Hungary, along with the many European countries that fought against Germany, which was not invited. Asian attendees included Japan and Indo-China, and North Africa and French West Africa had Pavilions. Britain, Spain, and Italy were represented, but, curiously, the United States declined to participate on the grounds that there was no modern art in America (President Herbert Hoover's explanation).

It was not a historical exhibition, celebrating achievements of the past, but a forward-looking one, emphasizing the theme "modern." This evolved into the "Moderne" and "Modernism" movements in the United States in the dark Depression days of the 1930s, when everyone was looking for something exciting to jump-start America's national pride and, of course, the economy.

The Century of Progress Exposition held in Chicago in 1933-34 bolstered America's optimism and helped popularize the emerging Art Deco-inspired movement that became known as "streamlining" - shapes were simple, clean, rounded, smooth, and chic, straight lines and graceful curves, with no clutter of excess ornamentation. Soon, newly established industrial designers were streamlining everything: toasters, refrigerators, vacuum cleaners, clocks, washing machines, automobiles, commercial and residential buildings, and, naturally, passenger trains. As a matter of fact, America's first two internal-combustion-powered lightweight streamlined trains were stars at the Century of Progress fair. Together, Union Pacific Railroad's M-10000 "The Streamliner" (see No. 10574) and Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad's "Zephyr" (see No. 10239) would revolutionize rail passenger travel, and a new era in land transportation would be off and running.

Following the two pioneering streamliners, introduced in 1934, other railroads were quick to follow with their own streamliners. In 1935, the Alton Railroad introduced the "Abraham Lincoln" (see No. 10728), the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad the "Royal Blue" (see No. 10258), the Boston & Maine Railroad the "Flying Yankee" (see No. 10036), the Gulf, Mobile & Northern Railroad the "Rebel" (see No. 10725), and the Milwaukee Road the "Hiawatha" (see No. 10734). In 1936, there were Illinois Central Railroad's "Green Diamond" (see No. 10032) and New York Central Railroad's "Mercury" (see No. 10200).  These were the early streamliners; soon no progressive railroad could be without one they were sleek, fast, clean, comfortable, and brightly colored, with beautifully designed exteriors and interiors, exciting to see and ride on. The streamlining era has been with us ever since, through World War II and the arrival of Amtrak in 1971. Even today, there's nothing like a thrilling ride on Amtrak's new streamlined "Acela Express" on the Northeast Corridor, at speeds of up to 150 miles per hour (see No. 10638).