The Budd Company manufactured six ten-car trainsets; three went to the Burlington, two to the Western Pacific and one to the Rio Grande. In line with the train's sightseeing schedule, each set included five of the new "Vista-Domes" (three coaches, a dormitory-lounge, and a sleeper-observation car). The California Zephyr was the first long-distance train to carry domes in regular service. In addition, each consist included a baggage car, a dining car, a 16-section sleeping car and three 10-roomette 6-double bedroom sleeping cars. The Pennsylvania Railroad owned a single 10-roomette 6-double bedroom sleeping car, the Silver Rapids, which was used for through service to New York City.

Each car was named: all names began with "Silver…" with each type of car having a different theme; the baggage cars were named after animals, the dome coaches had a western theme, the lounge and dining cars had a catering theme, the 16-section cars were named after trees, the 10-6 cars carried names associated with the suffixes used for types of Pullman sleeping cars, while the observation cars' names emphasized their domes.

The forward section of the first Vista-Dome car was partitioned off and reserved for women and children. A door was located in the corridor under the dome just behind the women's restroom to allow access to the reserved section. Early on, this reserved section was opened up to all passengers and the door and partitions were removed. Ownership of the cars was split between the three railroads almost evenly across all car types. Each car was owned by one railroad, but the ownership of the cars in any one day's train depended more on what was available at the terminals than whose railroad the train was operating over.

Generally positioned as the second Vista-Dome coach was the car referred to as the "Conductor's Car". This car was like the other Vista-Dome coaches, except a small booth with a bench seat and desk for the conductor was located in the B end.

In 1952 another type of Pullman sleeper (6-double bedrooms 5-compartments) was added to each consist; they ran as the leading sleeping car as line CZ16 and carried the names of birds as their "Silver…" theme. In addition, the Burlington bought another observation car, another 16-section car, and two 10-6 cars. With the new cars delivered that year, cars arriving in Chicago on the California Zephyr were made available for use on the Ak-Sar-Ben Zephyr for an overnight round trip to Lincoln, Nebraska. When the cars returned from Lincoln the next day, they were placed back in the westbound California Zephyr's consist for the next train out of Chicago that afternoon.

The Pennsylvania Railroad's transcontinental sleeping car to and from New York was eliminated in October 1957, owing to declining ridership.

During the winter 1963–1964 season, all seven 16-section cars were withdrawn and rebuilt as 48-seat (non-dome) coaches. They went back into service carrying the same names and were placed between the baggage car and the dome coaches as line CZ23. The Burlington renumbered their cars but the Rio Grande and Western Pacific retained the existing fleet numbers on their cars.

Preservation

thumb|The former California Zephyr dome coach Silver Lariat en route to Oakland on the [[Coast Starlight at San Luis Obispo]]

thumb|The former California Zephyr dome coach Silver Bridle in service with the Inland Lakes Railway at [[Plymouth, Florida]]

The high-quality Budd-built cars of the California Zephyr have proven to be popular with private car owners. Several operate in private charter service on Amtrak, including dome-observation car Silver Solarium, dome-coach Silver Lariat, sleepers Silver Rapids and Silver Quail and a dome lounge now known as the Sierra Hotel. In 2018, the Silver Lariat, Silver Solarium, Silver Rapids and the baggage car Silver Peak were sold to the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad outside Cleveland, Ohio and entered service there in September 2018.

Seven museums currently hold equipment once used on the California Zephyr:

  • The largest collection of preserved equipment can be found in Portola, California, at the Western Pacific Railroad Museum. One locomotive and four cars are currently preserved there as part of the museum's "Zephyr Project" restoration program. Western Pacific 805-A is the last intact locomotive built specifically for the California Zephyr. The cars include dome-lounge Silver Hostel, dome coaches Silver Lodge and Silver Rifle (on long-term loan from the Golden Gate Railroad Museum) and the diner Silver Plate.
  • The Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum in Calera, Alabama, owns the Silver Maple (ex-CB&Q 400 [sleeper], rebuilt 1963 to chair car configuration, CB&Q 4742) now numbered 4741. The Silver Maple is used in regular excursion service.
  • The Illinois Railway Museum owns several Burlington locomotives that were used to pull the train on occasion, Rio Grande dome coach Silver Pony, and WP baggage car Silver Beaver.
  • The Colorado Railroad Museum has two Rio Grande locomotives that also saw California Zephyr and later Rio Grande Zephyr service.
  • The Gold Coast Railroad Museum in Florida owns two former Western Pacific Railroad California Zephyr cars: baggage car Silver Stag and dome-observation car Silver Crescent.
  • The Avon Park Depot Museum in Florida owns one former Western Pacific California Zephyr car: the Silver Palm, originally a sleeper car, is now a buffet dining car used by the museum for dinner parties. The car was converted to its buffet car state by the Auto-Train Corporation when it bought the car.
  • The Austin Steam Train Association, which operates the Austin & Texas Central Railroad in the Hill Country between Cedar Park and Burnet, has completed its restoration of the Silver Pine. Originally a 16-section sleeper manufactured in 1948 by the Budd Company, the coach car re-entered revenue service in 2011 for the first time since its Denver & Rio Grande Western days.

Three diner cars were in revenue service with Amtrak as of 2015, but are now retired.

Replicas

A non-functional replica of the California Zephyr was displayed at Disney California Adventure Park in Anaheim, California. It housed Baker's Field Bakery and Bur-r-r Bank ice cream counter cafes at the Sunshine Plaza main entrance. The exhibit closed on July 31, 2011, as part of the park's $1.1 billion overhaul. Disney gave the replica to the Western Pacific Railroad Museum in Portola, California.

Hank Williams' 1956 single "California Zephyr" is likely his take on the traditional "Wabash Cannonball," made famous by his hero Roy Acuff; the melody and references to American cities and towns are strikingly similar.

Jack Kerouac's 1962 novel Big Sur opens with a trip to California on the train:

<blockquote>...I had sneaked into San Francisco as I say, coming 3,000 miles from my home in Long Island (Northport) in a pleasant roomette on the California Zephyr train watching American roll by outside my private picture window, really happy for the first time in three years, staying in the roomette all three days and three nights with my instant coffee and sandwiches...</blockquote>

Ben Gibbard and Jay Farrar’s 2009 music album One Fast Move or I'm Gone and the associated documentary of the same name are based on Kerouac's novel Big Sur. The record opens with a song called “California Zephyr.”

Grant Hart (of Hüsker Dü fame) wrote a song called "California Zephyr" for his 2009 album Hot Wax. The song may be a paean to gay liberation, especially following the AIDS epidemic.

Footnotes

References

  • California Zephyr Museum Online
  • The California Zephyr, Legendary Passenger Train of the West