Someone took a round trip on the Rio Grande Zephyr in February, 1978 and mailed out these covers. Unlike yesterday’s covers, there’s no indication on the envelopes of which was westbound and which was eastbound. Both were contributed by John … Continue reading
Although the Rio Grande Zephyr was a quality operation, as seen yesterday the railroad did not bother to adorn its menus with photos of scenery seen along the way. The same was true with ticket envelopes; while those from the … Continue reading
For more than a decade after Amtrak took over most passenger trains, the Rio Grande continued to serve passengers dinners in style, with cloth tablecloths (all marked California Zephyr), heavy china (made for the Rio Grande Zephyr, and silverware. This … Continue reading
Just over a year after Amtrak took over most passenger trains, the Rio Grande offered this menu to passengers on the Rio Grande Zephyr. It has far fewer offerings than yesterday’s 1966 menu, but that’s mainly because this is the … Continue reading
In 1983, Amtrak President Graham Claytor called the president of the Rio Grande and offered to take over passenger service, replacing the tri-weekly Rio Grande Zephyr with Amtrak’s daily Chicago-Oakland San Francisco Zephyr (which Amtrak renamed the California Zephyr once … Continue reading
Although the menu cover is rather plain, in Rio Grande Gold (meaning orange), at least this Rio Grande Zephyr 1979 dinner menu is still a folder. Instead, the menu offered four table d’hôte entrées: Rocky Mountain trout (the favorite), London … Continue reading
After the Southern Crescent was taken over by Amtrak in 1978, the last private long-distance train in America was the Rio Grande Zephyr. This was a remnant of the California Zephyr, using cars from the Rio Grande’s share of the … Continue reading
