Before introducing the eight-car “Train of the Gods” in 1936, Burlington started Twin Zephyr service with two three-car trains that externally were nearly identical to the original Zephyr. Inside, the original Zephyr had a railway post office, baggage compartment, and 72 seats, while Twin Zephyrs had no RPO, a larger kitchen to serve on-board meals, and 88 seats.
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The trains were inaugurated in April, 1935, and operated between Chicago and the Twin Cities until December, 1936, when they were replaced by the larger trains. The little trains then went south to serve as the Dallas-Houston Sam Houston Zephyr and St. Louis-Kansas City Ozark State Zephyr.
This brochure describes these trains in detail. The shiny ink used to represent stainless steel is effective, but it really shows minor damage in these scans. In fact, the cover doesn’t look anywhere near as wrinkly in real life.