Burlington's Zephyrs

ZEPHYR! The very word evokes speed and excitement, power and adventure. That it does can be credited to a railroad president’s decision nearly 90 years ago to name the first of a fleet of innovative trains after the Greek god of the west wind, Zephyrus. It was a fitting choice for the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy, whose slogan was “Everywhere West.” Yet in a way it missed the mark, for the ancient Greeks considered the west wind to be the gentlest of the four winds, and outside of railroading a zephyr is a soft, mild breeze. The Burlington Route’s Zephyrs were anything but soft and mild. Propelled by powerful diesel engines, constructed of lightweight but strong stainless steel, and designed with aerodynamic features that helped them achieve unprecedented velocities, they represented…

From March 1949 TRAINS magazine “Tomorrow at dawn we’ll be on our way!” With those words, spoken over a nationwide radio broadcast on the night of May 25, 1934, the president of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad not only announced a coming event but foretold the future. For with the heralded dawn-to-dusk nonstop run of the first Zephyr from Denver to Chicago, the Burlington Route was indeed “on its way” to a new high in passenger service. It was not without misgivings that boss Ralph Budd spoke those words into the microphone. For even as he said them, the Zephyr lay, a cripple, in the railroad’s shops in Denver. A last-minute checkup had revealed a cracked bearing in a motor armature — and the little train was a foreigner in a land…

If ever a manufacturer of railroad rolling stock became synonymous with both quality and durability, it was the Budd Company — or, as it was officially known until 1946, the Edward G. Budd Manufacturing Co., of Philadelphia. Incredibly, passenger cars built by Budd as long ago as 1946 remain in front-line service with VIA Rail Canada, while Amtrak’s oldest Amfleet cars soldier on into a sixth decade (seventh, if you include their 1960s Metroliner parentage). Even the youngest Amfleet II cars, completed by Budd in 1983, are now almost 40 years old. The secret to the enduring success of these shining examples of passenger-car engineering lies in their stainless-steel construction, embodying innovative production techniques developed by Budd engineers in the early 1930s. 19th century origins Born in Delaware in 1870, Edward Gowen Budd…

From November 1948 TRAINS magazine Twenty-six years ago the Electro-Motive Co. consisted of a man with a plan, a small staff, and a modest office in Cleveland, Ohio. That man was H. L. Hamilton, a one-time Southern Pacific fireman; his plan was a blueprint for a gas-electric railcar designed to slash costs of steam-powered passenger trains in areas of limited traffic. Hamilton gambled his life savings on the idea, farmed out construction contracts for two such units, and sold them in 1924 to the Chicago Great Western and Northern Pacific. A year ago, NP’s veteran railcar was brought back “home” — not to Cleveland, but to the vast La Grange (Ill.) plant of the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors Corp. She was there to play her part in celebrating her builder’s silver…

From September 1952 TRAINS magazine Plying a rural path between two mid-state Illinois cities is a stainless-steel grasshopper that gallops along, pausing at stations beside grain elevators and country stores to load and discharge everything from prosperous business folk to hogs. It’s an awkward-looking train, short and blunt and with a vestibule step so high that the brakeman employs a double-deck step box to bridge the gap between it and the platform. The entire train seats just 52 persons, about the capacity of a modern coach. It starts like a jackrabbit and stops like a streetcar. The austere lounge in its tail disgraces its counterpart on many a modern streamliner for rearward visibility. As of May 1952, this railbug had skittered 2,541,216 miles. And since that day, it has been adding 1,400 miles…

Edward Flynn, operating vice-president of the Burlington, went to the phone. It was the editor of Denver’s Rocky Mountain News. “Mr. Flynn? I have a Rocky Mountain canary that goes aboard the Zephyr to be taken to Chicago. When shall I bring it over?” “What’s a Rocky Mountain canary?” Flynn asked. “A burro.” “A what?” “A donkey — a small one.” Flynn’s response wreathed him in lightning and brought thunderclouds to the murky interior of the shop. “It’s a gift from the News to the Century of Progress. You’re supposed to carry it to Chicago on the Zephyr.” The critter’s name: Zeph. Flynn turned desperately to Ralph Budd, president of the Burlington. Budd looked at the little Zephyr, her nose up on jacks, disabled on the eve of what was to be her most spectacular…