California Zephyr (original) (raw)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Amtrak service between Chicago, IL and Emeryville, CA

California Zephyr

The eastbound California Zephyr near Green River, Utah, in 2023
Overview
Service type	Inter-city rail
Locale	Western United States
Predecessor	City of San Francisco (1936–1971) California Zephyr (1949–1970) San Francisco Chief (1954–1971) Rio Grande Zephyr (1970–1983) Denver Zephyr (1971–1973) San Francisco Zephyr (1972–1983)
First service	July 16, 1983 (1983-07-16)
Current operator	Amtrak
Annual ridership	351,155 (FY 24) 6.9%[a][1]
Route
Termini	Chicago, IllinoisEmeryville, California
Stops	33
Distance travelled	2,438 miles (3,924 km)
Average journey time	52 hours, 14 minutes (eastbound)[2] 52 hours, 57 minutes (westbound)[2]
Service frequency	Daily
Train numbers	5 (westbound)6 (eastbound)
On-board services
Classes	Coach ClassFirst Class Sleeper Service
Disabled access	Train lower level, most stations
Sleeping arrangements	Roomette (2 beds)Bedroom (2 beds)Bedroom Suite (4 beds)Accessible Bedroom (2 beds)Family Bedroom (4 beds)
Catering facilities	Dining car, Café
Observation facilities	Sightseer lounge car
Baggage facilities	Overhead racks, checked baggage available at selected stations
Technical
Rolling stock	GE Genesis or Siemens Charger locomotivesSuperliner
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Operating speed	55 mph (89 km/h) (avg.)79 mph (127 km/h) (top)
Track owners	UP, BNSF
Route map Show interactive map Legend Empire Builderto Seattle and Portland Borealis to St. Paul Hiawatha to Milwaukee 0 Chicago [](/wiki/Chicago%5F%22L%22 "Chicago "L"") Other Amtrak routesto east, south, southeast 28 mi45 km Naperville 38 mi61 km Aurora bypassed1983 104 mi167 km Princeton 162 mi261 km Galesburg IL Zephyr & Carl Sandburgto Quincy Southwest Chiefto Los Angeles 179 mi288 km Monmouth closed1984 IL IA Mississippi River 205 mi330 km Burlington 233 mi375 km Mount Pleasant 279 mi449 km Ottumwa 359 mi578 km Osceola 392 mi631 km Creston IA NE Missouri River 500 mi805 km Omaha 555 mi893 km Lincoln 652 mi1049 km Hastings 706 mi1136 km Holdrege 783 mi1260 km McCook Central Time Mountain Time NE CO 922 mi1484 km Akron closed1987 960 mi1545 km Fort Morgan 1038 mi1670 km Denver 1100 mi1770 km Fraser–Winter Park 1113 mi1791 km Granby 1163 mi1872 km Bond closed1983 1223 mi1968 km Glenwood Springs 1246 mi2005 km Rifle closed1983 1311 mi2110 km Grand Junction CO UT 1387 mi2232 km Thompson Springs closed1997 1417 mi2280 km Green River 1488 mi2395 km Helper 1563 mi2515 km Provo 1608 mi2588 km Salt Lake City 1641 mi2641 km Ogden bypassed1983 UT NV Mountain Time Pacific Time 1871 mi3011 km Elko 1890 mi3042 km Carlin closed1983 2013 mi3240 km Winnemucca 2101 mi3381 km Lovelock closed1997 2199 mi3539 km Sparks closed2009 2202 mi3544 km Reno NV CA 2237 mi3600 km Truckee 2301 mi3703 km Colfax 2336 mi3759 km Roseville San Joaquins to Bakersfield Coast Starlight to Seattle 2353 mi3787 km Sacramento 2367 mi3809 km Davis 2395 mi3854 km Suisun–Fairfield bypassed1998 San Joaquinsto Bakersfield 2411 mi3880 km Martinez 2430 mi3911 km Richmond 2438 mi3924 km Emeryville Oakland closed1994 Oakland–Jack London Square 1995 to1997 Capitol Corridor to San Jose Coast Starlight to Los Angeles This diagram: view talk edit Show route diagram map

The California Zephyr is a long-distance passenger train operated by Amtrak between Chicago and the San Francisco Bay Area (at Emeryville), via Omaha, Denver, Salt Lake City, and Reno. At 2,438 miles (3,924 km), it is Amtrak's longest daily route, and second-longest overall after the Texas Eagle's triweekly continuation from San Antonio to Los Angeles, with travel time between the termini taking approximately 521⁄2 hours.[3]Amtrak claims the route as one of its most scenic, with views of the upper Colorado River valley in the Rocky Mountains, and the Sierra Nevada.[4] The modern train is the second iteration of a train named California Zephyr; the original train was privately operated and ran on a different route through Nevada and California.

During fiscal year 2023, the California Zephyr carried 328,458 passengers, an increase of 13.1% over FY2022,[5] but down from its pre-COVID-19 pandemic ridership of 410,844 in FY2019.[6] The train had a total revenue of $51,950,998 in FY2016, the last year that route-specific revenue data was given.[7]

The eastbound California Zephyr on Altamont Pass in March 1970

Prior to the 1971 creation of Amtrak, three competing trains ran between Chicago and the East Bay, with bus connections to San Francisco:[8]: 136

The California Zephyr was operated by the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad (CB&Q), Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad (D&RGW), and Western Pacific Railroad (WP). It operated between Chicago and Oakland – along what is today called the Central Corridor and Feather River Route – via Omaha, Denver, Salt Lake City and Oroville. Amid much fanfare and publicity, the California Zephyr was inaugurated on March 20, 1949. It was discontinued in March 1970 – the only one of the three trains not still operating when Amtrak took over service.
The City of San Francisco was operated by the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (Milwaukee Road), Union Pacific Railroad (UP), and Southern Pacific Railroad (SP). It operated between Chicago and Oakland on the Overland Route via Omaha, Cheyenne, Ogden and Reno.
The San Francisco Chief was operated by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (AT&SF) via the more southerly Southern Transcon. It operated between Chicago and Richmond via Kansas City, Amarillo, and Bakersfield.

Railpax (renamed Amtrak in late April 1971) originally intended to revive the California Zephyr as part of its original route network, using the Burlington Northern (ex-CB&Q) east of Denver, the DRG&W between Denver and Ogden, Utah, and the WP west of Ogden. The California Zephyr route would serve more populated areas (including Denver and Salt Lake City) than the Overland Route, would run through rural communities that lacked good highway access, and could attract passengers to its scenic routes.[8]: 136

However, since the WP had shed the last of its money-losing passenger service by terminating the California Zephyr, it was not eligible to participate in Amtrak's formation. On April 12, 1971, the WP refused to cooperate with Railpax, and the SP route between Ogden and Oakland was chosen instead.[8]: 136

On April 26, the D&RGW elected not to join Amtrak. The contract specified that Amtrak could later increase service, and D&RGW feared that would crowd its single-track mainline that competed with the UP's double-track route. The D&RGW chose to operate the Denver–Ogden Rio Grande Zephyr. Amtrak scrambled to piece together a Denver–Cheyenne–Ogden routing on the UP.[8]: 137

An EMD FP7 and two EMD SDP40Fs pull the eastbound San Francisco Zephyr through the Yuba Gap in 1975.

Between the spring of 1971 and the summer of 1972, passengers traveling between Chicago and Oakland would have to travel on two different trains: the Denver Zephyr, which operated daily between Chicago and Denver, and the City of San Francisco, which operated three times a week, between Denver and the San Francisco Bay Area. Eventually, however, after several false starts, Amtrak consolidated the two trains into one, dubbed the San Francisco Zephyr, homage to both the California Zephyr and the San Francisco Chief, between Chicago and Oakland. The Rio Grande continued to operate the Rio Grande Zephyr between Denver and Ogden.[8]: 136–137 The San Francisco Zephyr and the Rio Grande Zephyr were scheduled as to facilitate a connection between them in Ogden, but not Denver.[9]

San Francisco Zephyr running with the new Superliner I cars in November 1980

In July 1980, the San Francisco Zephyr was outfitted with new bi-level Superliner I passenger cars built by Pullman-Standard – one of the last Amtrak's western long-distance trains to receive them – (already running with such cars were the Southwest Limited, Desert Wind and Empire Builder),[8]: 144 and began exchanging through cars at Ogden with the Seattle–Chicago Pioneer and the Los Angeles–Chicago Desert Wind. Between Ogden and Chicago, the Zephyr, Desert Wind, and Pioneer operated as a combined train.[8]: 138

The Rio Grande Zephyr arriving at Union Station in Denver, Colorado in 1983. In April of that same year, and after 12 years, the service ceased operations, being replaced by Amtrak's new California Zephyr.

In 1983, Rio Grande elected to join Amtrak, citing increasing losses in passenger operations. The company made the last run of its Rio Grande Zephyr on April 24 and delivered most of the rolling stock with which that service was provided, although Amtrak was already replacing with new Superliners to its Heritage Fleet and thus the ex-D&RGW cars did not make it to service on the new California Zephyr.[10][11] Amtrak re-routed the San Francisco Zephyr over the D&RGW's Moffat Subdivision between Denver and Salt Lake City, its original preference from 1971. The change was scheduled for April 25, but a mudslide at Thistle, Utah, closed the line and delayed the change until July 16. With the change of route, Amtrak renamed the train as the California Zephyr.[12][13] The modern California Zephyr uses mostly the same route as the original east of Winnemucca, Nevada. The train uses the route of the former City of San Francisco, along the Overland Route (First transcontinental railroad), west of Wells, Nevada. Across central Nevada, the two rail lines have been combined to use directional running. As such, the exact spot the train switches lines depends on the direction of travel.[14]

The California Zephyr rounds a curve along the Colorado River near McCoy, Colorado in 2016.

For most of the 1980s and 1990s, the California Zephyr operated in tandem with the Seattle-bound Pioneer and Los Angeles-bound Desert Wind. Since 1980, the Pioneer and Desert Wind had exchanged through coaches with the San Francisco Zephyr at Ogden. The exchange point was moved to Salt Lake City when the latter train became the California Zephyr.[8]: 143–144 This created a massive train of 16 Superliner cars running from Chicago to Utah, easily the longest train Amtrak had operated outside of the Auto Train. Amtrak required at least four EMD F40PH locomotives to pull this behemoth over the steep grades of the Moffat subdivision. To ease the load, Amtrak began splitting the Pioneer from the Zephyr and Desert Wind at Denver in 1991, while the Desert Wind continued splitting from the Zephyr at Salt Lake City.[8]: 148–150 The Pioneer and Desert Wind were both discontinued in 1997.

The western terminus of the train was cut back to Emeryville station when Oakland Central station closed on August 5, 1994. The California Zephyr was re-extended to Oakland with the opening of the Jack London Square station on May 12, 1995. However, this required a complicated reverse move along street running tracks to reach the wye at West Oakland. The train was cut back again to Emeryville on October 26, 1997.[15]

Service between Reno and Denver was suspended for about a month in April 2020, as part of a round of service reduction in response to the coronavirus pandemic.[16][17] Frequency was reduced to tri-weekly in October 2020,[18] but was restored to daily service on May 24, 2021, after additional Amtrak funding was included in the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.[19] A resurgence of the virus caused by the Omicron variant and associated staffing and equipment shortages caused Amtrak to reduce the train's service to a five days a week Tuesday through Saturday schedule from January 19 to May 23, 2022.[20] As of June 2022, daily service had resumed.[21]

The California Zephyr uses Superliner equipment like Amtrak's other long-distance trains in the Western United States. As of 2024[update], a typical California Zephyr has:[22]

2 GE Genesis/Siemens ALC-42 locomotives[23]
Viewliner II baggage car
Superliner transition sleeper
2 Superliner sleepers
Superliner diner
Superliner Sightseer Lounge
1 Superliner coach
1 Superliner coach/baggage car
1 Superliner coach/cafe car

As of March 2025[update], Amtrak plans to add a third coach in May and a third sleeper in June to meet demand.[24] As with the other long-distance routes, Amtrak plans to fully replace the P42DCs with ALC-42 locomotives by 2027, and the Superliner cars with new long-distance cars by 2032.[25]

California Zephyr route map

The west-bound train is Amtrak number 5 (number 6 eastbound). Upon leaving Chicago Union Station, the train travels along the Metra BNSF Line, with an intermediate stop in Naperville, Illinois.

After passing through Aurora, Illinois, the train passes through the Illinois prairies, using the Burlington Rail Bridge to cross the Mississippi River in Burlington, Iowa. After running through southern Iowa, the Zephyr reaches the Missouri River between Council Bluffs, Iowa and Omaha, Nebraska. From Omaha, the train travels overnight through southern Nebraska and northeastern Colorado, making a morning arrival in Denver.

At Denver, the Zephyr switches over from BNSF to Union Pacific tracks. Westbound, the train is routed over the Central Corridor for the trip through the Tunnel District. The line crosses the Continental Divide via the 6.2 mile-long Moffat Tunnel under James Peak. Leaving the Moffat Tunnel, the tracks then follow the Colorado River from Winter Park Resort to Ruby Canyon, west of Grand Junction, which is also where the train enters Utah. The Colorado River portion of the trip is informally called "moon river", as whitewater rafters pull down their pants and moon the passengers.[26][27]

Between Denver and Fraser–Winter Park station, the Zephyr shares a route with the Winter Park Express, a service that runs only during the peak Winter season (mid-December through March) and is used primarily by tourists heading to the ski resorts located in Winter Park.[28][29]

California Zephyrs eastbound and westbound meeting in the Glenwood Canyon Siding

Also between Denver and Crescent Junction, Utah, the Zephyr shares the route with Rocky Mountaineer's Rockies to the Red Rocks passenger service.[30]

The westbound Zephyr stops at the station at Glenwood Springs, Colorado.

In Utah, the train follows the southern rim of the Book Cliffs to their end near Helper. The Zephyr crosses the Wasatch Mountains, cresting at Soldier Summit before descending into the Wasatch Front to arrive at Salt Lake City.

The westbound California Zephyr at Colfax in 2019

From Salt Lake City to Emeryville, the Zephyr route loosely follows Interstate 80, traveling along the south shore of the Great Salt Lake and across the Bonneville Salt Flats towards Nevada. After crossing into Nevada at Wendover, Utah/West Wendover, Nevada, the route passes the Toano Range, via Silver Zone Pass, across the Goshute Valley, tunnels under the Pequop Mountains and then skirts the northern edge of the Ruby Mountains.

The line first reaches the Humboldt River near Wells, which it loosely follows until the river's end in the Humboldt Sink near Lovelock. Here, the tracks cross the center of the Forty Mile Desert; on the other side of this desert valley is the Truckee River, which provides the line's path to Reno and up the Sierra Nevada in California.

In California, the tracks round Donner Lake, crest the Sierra Nevada at Donner Pass, and descend a high ridge between the American and Yuba Rivers, through Emigrant Gap. The line empties out into the California Central Valley, and then runs along the San Pablo Bay, with stops in Sacramento and Davis. It crosses the Benicia Bridge and has stops in Martinez and Richmond, where BART provides connections to Berkeley and Oakland. The trip ends in Emeryville, where Amtrak Thruway service provides connecting service to San Francisco.

State	Municipality	Station	Connections
Illinois	Chicago	Chicago Union Station	Amtrak (long-distance): Cardinal, City of New Orleans, Empire Builder, Floridian, Lake Shore Limited, Southwest Chief, Texas Eagle Amtrak (intercity): Blue Water, Borealis, Hiawatha, Illini and Saluki, Illinois Zephyr and Carl Sandburg, Lincoln Service, Pere Marquette, Wolverine Metra: ■ BNSF, ■ Milwaukee District North, ■ Milwaukee District West, ■ North Central Service, ■ Heritage Corridor, ■ SouthWest Service[](/wiki/Chicago%5F%22L%22 "Chicago "L"") [Chicago "L"](/wiki/Chicago%5F%22L%22 "Chicago "L""): Blue (at Clinton) Brown Orange Pink Purple (at Quincy) Local buses: CTA, Pace Intercity buses: Amtrak Thruway, Greyhound, Megabus
Naperville	Naperville	Amtrak: Illinois Zephyr and Carl Sandburg, Southwest Chief Metra: ■ BNSF Pace
Princeton	Princeton	Amtrak: Illinois Zephyr and Carl Sandburg, Southwest Chief
Galesburg	Galesburg	Amtrak: Illinois Zephyr and Carl Sandburg, Southwest Chief Galesburg Transit
Iowa	Burlington	Burlington	Burlington Urban Service
Mount Pleasant	Mount Pleasant
Ottumwa	Ottumwa
Osceola	Osceola
Creston	Creston
Nebraska	Omaha	Omaha	Metro (Omaha)
Lincoln	Lincoln	StarTran
Hastings	Hastings
Holdrege	Holdrege
McCook	McCook
Colorado	Fort Morgan	Fort Morgan
Denver	Denver Union Station	Amtrak: Winter Park Express (winter only) Amtrak Thruway Rocky Mountaineer: Rockies to Red Rocks Denver RTD: A Line, B Line, G Line, N Line, E Line, W Line Greyhound Lines Burlington Trailways, Bustang, Express Arrow, RTD Flatiron Flyer RTD Bus
Fraser	Fraser–Winter Park	Amtrak: Winter Park Express
Granby	Granby
Glenwood Springs	Glenwood Springs	Rocky Mountaineer: Rockies to Red Rocks Greyhound Lines
Grand Junction	Grand Junction	Grand Valley Transit
Utah	Green River	Green River
Helper	Helper
Provo	Provo	FrontRunner Salt Lake Express UTA Bus
Salt Lake City	Salt Lake City	Amtrak Thruway FrontRunner TRAX Light Rail: Blue Line Greyhound Lines High Valley Transit, UTA Bus
Nevada	Elko	Elko
Winnemucca	Winnemucca
Reno	Reno	Amtrak Thruway: 20
California	Truckee	Truckee	Amtrak Thruway: 20 Greyhound Lines Tahoe Truckee Regional Transit
Colfax	Colfax	Amtrak Thruway: 20 Placer County Transit
Roseville	Roseville	Amtrak: Capitol Corridor Amtrak Thruway: 20
Sacramento	Sacramento	Amtrak: Coast Starlight, Capitol Corridor, San Joaquins Amtrak Thruway: 3, 20, 20C SacRT: Gold El Dorado Transit, SacRT
Davis	Davis	Amtrak: Coast Starlight, Capitol Corridor Amtrak Thruway: 3 Unitrans
Martinez	Martinez	Amtrak: Coast Starlight, Capitol Corridor, San Joaquins Amtrak Thruway: 7 County Connection, Tri Delta Transit, WestCAT
Richmond	Richmond	Amtrak: Capitol Corridor, San Joaquins BART: Orange Line, Red Line
Emeryville	Emeryville	Amtrak: Coast Starlight, Capitol Corridor, San Joaquins Amtrak Thruway: 99 AC Transit, Emery Go-Round