California Zephyr, 1948-1952, Kato cars

Fred Klein, 2005, 2010, 2016

The California Zephyr ran from Chicago to Oakland and was introduced in 1948.  The Budd Manufacturing Company made all of the cars.  The CZ ran over Chicago, Burlington and Quincy rails to Denver, then on Denver and Rio Grande Western track to Salt Lake City, then on the Western Pacific to Oakland.  Passengers then continued by ferry to San Francisco.  Six trainsets (plus some extra spare cars) ran the route to keep daily service.  The trainset did not change over the route: new motive power from each railroad was simply switched on in Denver and Salt Lake City.  The cars were owned by the individual railroads in numbers proportional to the mileage of each railroad along the route.  Cars were lettered “California Zephyr”, but each end of the car was labeled with its owner in small letters.  Cars were named “Silver …” and not numbered.  Originally it was thought that cars in CZ trains would stay together, but repeated car substitutions left the specific car assignments variable while the consists of car types was mostly unchanged. Information about the train with references can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Zephyr.

 

The California Zephyr in Napierville Illinois. The train is pulled by the F3 diesels that the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy railroad bought for this train.

 

The 1948 California Zephyr on a postcard of the time featuring Galesburg, Illinois. From page 152, The American Streamliner Postwar Years, Donald Heimberger and Carl Byron, Heimberger House Publishing, 2001.

 

This prototypically modeled train can be put on the layout or display shelf right out of the box.  Kato provides all of the cars, lettering and consist information in a set released in late 2004.  All the cars pictured here are from the Kato set.  The cars have correct-length letterboards, full-length skirts, correct windows, antennas and vents. 

 

Kato also makes some of the power units for the California Zephyr: CB&Q F3’s (A-B-A configuration, later replaced by two E7A or E8A units); DRG&W PA’s (A-B-A configuration, initially in the black and yellow “honeybee” paint scheme for the first few months after inauguration (models made by Life-like), then in the short-lived silver with orange nose scheme (models made by Kato), then in the final Grande gold and silver scheme with black stripes) and later DRG&W F3’s (A-B-B-A configuration in the Grande gold and silver scheme); and Western Pacific F3’s  (A-B-B configuration in the silver with orange stripe paint scheme).  Most of the DRG&W and WP F3’s were later replaced by F7’s. Each of the four CZ web pages in my series has different engines: Chicago, Burlington and Quincy; the Denver and Rio Grande Western for two different time periods, and the Western Pacific. These are the car names in the original Kato set which is pictured.

 

 

Power section

 

The power here is for Chicago, Burlington and Quincy’s portion of the trip.  In 1948 CB&Q pulled the CZ with an A-B-A set of EMD F3’s purchased in 1947 for the CZ.  The only F units purchased by the CB&Q were for the California Zephyr.  It did not use F units on any other passenger train, preferring E units instead.  The CB&Q F3 units pictured here are Kato F3’s custom painted by Ernie Giese of Model Railroad Customizing.  One baggage car (1948) began each consist.  It also carried express merchandise.  Names were Silver Bear (shown), Buffalo, Stag, Coyote, Antelope and Beaver. 

 

Coach section

 

Next came three dome coaches for which the model matches the 1948 Budd prototype.  There were very minor differences between the three coaches, each kept its place and there were small CZ-22, CZ-21, CZ-20 (un-modeled) numbers near the door.  The first coach had a child’s play area in the forward section, and the second coach had a conductor’s cubicle with its own window.  The names of the cars in the Kato model in the picture are Silver Bronco (D&RGW), Silver Ranch (CB&Q) and Silver Feather (WP).  The window from the conductor’s cubicle is modeled in the Silver Ranch coach.  The next dome car was a buffet-lounge-dormitory.  The square windows are the dormitory section, the buffet kitchen and lounge were under the dome, and the coffee shop tables were in the short section in front of the dome.  Names of the buffet cars are “Silver Club (shown), Lounge, Roundup, Shop, Chalet and Hostel”.

 

First sleeper section

 

The first two sleepers are 10 roomette/6 bedroom cars.  The car names pictured are “Silver Valley” (CB&Q) and “Silver Glacier” (D&RGW).  Budd built 19 of these cars, 6 for the CB&Q, 5 for the DRG&W, 7 for the WP, and 1 for the PRR for through service east of Chicago.  Next is the 40-seat diner “Silver Diner”.  Budd supplied six of these diners for the California Zephyr in 1948 (3 for the CB&Q, 2 for the WP and one for the D&RGW).  The diner ran kitchen-end forward (small window end). 

 

Second sleeper section

 

The next car in a 1948 CZ consist is a 16-section curtain sleeper.  The cars were named after trees, like the “Silver Aspen” (D&RGW) pictured.  These became unpopular and were withdrawn in 1952.  The 16-section sleepers were later made into coaches and placed back in the CZ in 1964.  The next sleeper is another 10 roomette/6 bedroom car, here “Silver Canyon” (WP).  This car is the sleeper switched through to New York via the Pennsylvania or New York Central.

 

The final car is the 3-bedroom /1-double-room /buffet-lounge dome car made in 1948.  This is the CZ signature car.  The small buffet section is under the dome.  Car names are “Silver Horizon, Solarium, Penthouse (CBQ), Sky (D&RGW, shown), Crescent and Planet (WP)”.

 

 

 

REFERENCES

MacGregor, Bruce, and Ted Benson, Portrait of a Silver Lady, The train they called the California Zephyr, Pruett Publishing, 1977.

Randall, David, From Zephyr to Amtrak, Prototype Publications, 1972.

Zimmerman, Karl, The story of the California Zephyr, Quadrant Press, 1972.

 

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