Fred Klein,
2010, 2016
The Pioneer Zephyr was the first successful streamliner in America. The Budd Company built it from stainless steel for the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad in 1934. The Burlington wanted a flashy train to get a depression weary public interested in travelling again. It was the first of many successful zephyrs. The Pioneer Zephyr had four (initially three) cars permanently articulated together on shared trucks. It was introduced to the public on a 13 hour, 1000 mile record-setting speed run from Denver to the Century of Progress fair in Chicago. Extensive preparations were made for top speed on the run by diverting other trains and restricting grade crossings. The Pioneer Zephyr entered regular service in November 1934 between Kansas City, Missouri and Lincoln, Nebraska. The train had a distinctive “shovel nose” that was the progenitor of 8 other Burlington Zephyrs, until the slant and “bull dog” noses appeared on later EMC locomotives and CBQ Zephyrs. The 9900 had a 26-year active lifespan serving a number of routes in the Burlington system. It was retired in 1960 when it was doing the St. Joseph to Lincoln Nebraska run. It is now in the museum of science and industry in Chicago. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pioneer_Zephyr.
The Pioneer Zephyr posing near Gretna, Nebraska in 1935. Photo by Louis Bostwick, page 43 of Burlington’s Zephyrs by Karl Zimmerman.
The 9900 Pioneer Zephyr train on October 15, 1949 near Speer Wyoming, seven miles south of Cheyene providing a Cheyene connection to the Denver Zephyr. Photo from page 65 of Burlington Route Color Pictorial volume 1 by Alfred Holck, Four Ways West, 1994.
The initial 1934 3-car train.
The cover of the booklet handed out to visitors at the 1934 Chicago Century of Progress fair, at which the train made a grand appearance.
The lead car had the engineer’s cab, 600 horsepower engine, and 30’ railway post office. The second car had a small baggage compartment and a 20-seat coach section. The coach behind the baggage-coach was added in 1935. The last car has a 40-seat coach section and a 12-seat observation section. The gold shading on the model is a sunlight reflection. The model is made by Con cor, is lighted and runs nicely right out of the box.
Holck, Alfred. Burlington Route Color Pictorial volume 1, Four Ways West, 1994.
Wilson, Jeff. The Pioneer Zephyr, Model Railroader, January 1999.
Zimmerman, Karl. Burlington’s Zephyrs MBI Publishing, 2004.
Zimmerman, Karl. The story of the California Zephyr, Quadrant Press, 1972.
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