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The original California Zephyr ran over the
Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad
from Chicago to Denver, Colorado,
the
Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad
between Denver and Salt Lake City, Utah,
and the Western Pacific Railroad from
Salt Lake City to Oakland, California. Cars owned by different
railroads ran together; cars cycled in and out of the consists for
service, repairs, and varying passenger loads with the seasons.
The first train was christened in San Francisco by
Eleanor Parker while
California Lieutenant Governor
Goodwin Knight, Mayor of San
Francisco Elmer Robinson, and WP
President Harry A. Mitchell looked
on. For the inaugural run in 1949, every female passenger on the
train was given a corsage of "silver" and orange orchids that were
specially flown in from Hilo, Hawaii.
The women who worked as car hostesses on this train were known as "Zephyrettes."
The train traversed the route's 2,525 mi (4,064 km) in 2 days.
Equipment used
The passenger cars used when the train was inaugurated in 1949 were
as follows:
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Baggage
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Vista-Dome
chair car (Women & Children's car)
•
Vista-Dome chair car (Conductor's Car)
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Vista-Dome chair car
•
Vista-Dome dormitory-buffet-lounge car
•
Sleeper (10 roomettes, 6 double bedrooms)
•
Sleeper (10 roomettes, 6 double bedrooms)
•
Diner (48 seats)
•
Sleeper (16 sections)
•
Sleeper (10 roomettes, 6 double bedrooms) this was a run-through car to
New York City
•
Vista-Dome dormitory-buffet-lounge-observation
(1 drawing room, 3 double bedrooms)
The forward section of the first Vista-Dome car was partitioned off
and reserved for women and children only. There was a door in the
corridor under the dome just behind the women's restroom that
provided access to the reserved section. Early on however, this
reserved section was opened up to all passengers and the door and
partitions were removed. Like the train's operation, ownership of
the cars was split between the three railroads almost evenly across
all car types. Each car was owned by a single railroad, but the
ownership of the cars on any specific day's run of the train
depended more on what equipment was available at the terminals than
whose railroad the train was operating over at the time.
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