The schedules in this timetable are unchanged from 1957 except for the westbound California Zephyr. That train left Salt Lake City at the same time as in 1957 but arrived in Oakland an hour and five minutes later. Passengers enjoyed … Continue reading
This timetable shows minor tinkering with schedules since yesterday’s 1954 edition. The eastbound California Zephyr left Oakland 3 minutes earlier but arrived in Salt Lake City 20 minutes later. Westbound, the train left Salt Lake 20 minutes earlier and arrived … Continue reading
While the timetable schedules didn’t change between 1950 and 1952, there are some changes in today’s 1954 timetable. The eastbound California Zephyr operated 30 minutes later and the westbound 30 minutes earlier in 1954 than in 1952. The eastbound Zephyrette … Continue reading
The schedules and even the advertising in this timetable are almost unchanged from the 1950 timetable presented here yesterday. The biggest difference is that the timetable now lists Missouri Pacific as the California Zephyr‘s connection to St. Louis, instead of … Continue reading
The Interstate Commerce Commission responded to Western Pacific’s application to discontinue train 1 & 2, formerly called the Royal Gorge, by allowing the railroad to reduce it from daily to tri-weekly service. To provide this service, the railroad purchased two … Continue reading
Western Pacific operated two passenger trains in 1949. The California Zephyr was numbered 17 & 18, consistent with the numbers used by the Burlington and Rio Grande. The other train was numbered 1 and 2. It was a remnant of … Continue reading
The map inside of this timetable folder has a thick red line showing the route of the California Zephyr from Oakland to Chicago. The same style of line shows Western Pacific branches to Bieber, Loyalton, Moy, and San Jose, California; … Continue reading
Competition between Chicago and San Francisco was much less intense than in the Los Angeles corridor mainly because the Overland Route was by far the shortest route. In 1911, when Western Pacific began serving this corridor, the Overland Route was … Continue reading
Today our postcard journey on the Western Pacific takes us east of the Sierra Nevada and back in time to the era of lithographic postcards. Click image to download a 175-KB PDF of this postcard. This card says “near Pilot, … Continue reading
All but one of yesterday’s postcards were lithographically printed based on black-and-white photos. Today’s cards are black-and-white photos themselves. I usually prefer color, but after studying the often muddy and sometimes heavily retouched pictures from yesterday there’s something refreshing and … Continue reading
