CHICAGO — Passengers who drifted in to the westbound California Zephyr’s crowded Sightseer Lounge leaving Chicago on Tuesday found themselves in the middle of an Amtrak-sponsored onboard event commemorating the first runs of the original Burlington-Rio Grande-Western Pacific streamliner on March 20, 1949.
They were treated to an informative lecture by Thomas Whitt, director and president of the Illinois-based Burlington Route Historical Society. He brought along a generous supply of detailed handouts tracing the pre-Amtrak history of the CZ, and its speedy shovel-nosed predecessor, the Pioneer Zephyr.
Both onboard and at Galesburg, Ill., where Whitt repeated his talk for a large crowd that included the mayor of nearby Macomb, Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari filled in developments from 1971 on. His audience included some behind-the-scenes company employees and members of the Young Professionals in Transportation Chicago Chapter who came along for a trip on the Zephyr, with a return on the Illinois-sponsored Carl Sandburg.
Souvenirs for passengers included individually numbered “proof of travel” certificates signed by Amtrak’s top management. The handout was accompanied with stickers and pins featuring original branding artwork.
But the big surprise was the Zephyr’s brief stop at Princeton, Ill., where a raucous crowd of more than 50 townspeople sang “Happy Birthday” as the train pulled in. They presented Magliari with two boxes of Princeton tote bags, which the onboard crew promptly passed out to coach passengers.
The Princeton stop illustrates how — with a little effort —enthusiasm can be generated in a rural community that has grown to value the mobility Amtrak provides with trains like the Zephyr, Southwest Chief, and two state-supported roundtrips.
As expected, this anniversary version of Amtrak’s California Zephyr was sold out with one standard Superliner coach and one coach baggage with no lower level seating. With its shortened consist, travelers are turned away daily on at least a part of its route. Yet for the people who managed to make it on board and those who came out at Princeton and Galesburg to witness this little celebration, the Zephyr’s 75th anniversary event turned out to be something special.
Amtrak also marked the anniversary today by posting a series of “fun facts” and a collection of images from throughout the Zephyr‘s history on its website.
