Overview | |
---|---|
Service type | Inter-city rail |
Status | Discontinued |
Locale | Midwestern United States |
First service | December 11, 1940 |
Last service | August 1970 |
Former operator(s) | |
Route | |
Termini | Chicago, Illinois Lincoln, Nebraska |
Distance travelled | 551 miles (887 km) |
Service frequency | Daily |
Train number(s) | 3/4 |
The Ak-Sar-Ben Zephyr was a streamlined passenger train operated by the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad (CB&Q) between Lincoln, Nebraska and Chicago, Illinois, United States. The first version operated from 1940 to 1947; a revived service operated from 1953 to 1970. The "Ak-Sar-Ben" portion of name was created by spelling Nebraska (Neb-ras-ka) backwards and taken from a fraternal organization of the same name. "Zephyr" was a name applied by the CB&Q to many of its trains, beginning with the Pioneer Zephyr in 1934. The name derived from "Zephyrus", the Greek god of the west wind.
The first Ak-Sar-Ben Zephyr was an eastbound-only daylight service between Lincoln, Nebraska and Chicago. The 551-mile (887 km) journey took nine hours. The train's consist included new lightweight equipment and traditional heavyweight cars. The "Ak-Sar-Ben" portion of name was created by spelling Nebraska (Neb-ras-ka) backwards; a fraternal organization (the Knights of Ak-Sar-Ben) and an arena and horse racing facility in Omaha have also used the name. The Advance Flyer provided westward service. The new service began on December 11, 1940. [1] : 92–93 The CB&Q ended this service in 1947, replacing it with the new Nebraska Zephyr . [1] : 93
The second Ak-Sar-Ben Zephyr was an overnight service between Chicago and Lincoln which used a mixture of 1940s equipment and new cars which it pooled with the California Zephyr , including a "Vista-Dome" dome car. [1] : 140 Although gradually downgraded during the 1960s the train survived into the Burlington Northern era before being discontinued in August 1970. [2]
The westbound, as of April 26, 1964, was: [3]
The eastbound train departed Lincoln at 9:00 p.m., arriving at Chicago Union Station the following morning at 7:50 a.m.
In 1938–1940 the Budd Company constructed a fleet of lightweight cars for the CB&Q for use on various routes. This fleet included baggage cars, dining cars (48 seats), dining-parlor-observation cars, and coaches. Each of these carried a name starting with "Silver", as had become the custom with the CB&Q's Zephyrs. [4] : 218 The lightweight equipment for the 1940 Ak-Sar-Ben Zephyr came from this pool. [1] : 95
The 1953 Ak-Sar-Ben Zephyr used both pre-World War II coaches and new equipment manufactured in 1952 for the California Zephyr . The coaches were part of the pool used for the 1940 iteration, among other trains. The westbound Ak-Sar-Ben would use the following cars off the arriving eastbound California Zephyr:
The cars off the eastbound Ak-Sar-Ben Zephyr would in turn be used by that day's westbound California Zephyr. [1] : 140 [4] : 221, 225