Description:
The California Zephyr traversing the deserts of the Western Pacific Railroad under a dramatic sky. The streamlined train, which featured luxurious travel in its Vista-Dome cars, entered service in 1949 between Chicago and San Francisco and was owned and operated jointly by the Burlington, Rio Grande and Western Pacific railroads. The train ran until 1970, although Rio Grande's section continued to 1983 due to their refusal to join Amtrak, see record 1866. Today, Amtrak's California Zephyr operates over the same route. This photograph won first prize in a California Zephyr photo contest sponsored by the Budd Company, builders of the train's streamlined passenger cars. It also appears on p. 297 of "More Classic Trains" by Arthur Dubin (Kalmbach 1974).
