The Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad, often shortened to Rio Grande, D&RG or D&RGW, formerly the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, was an American Class I railroad company. The railroad started as a 3 ft narrow-gauge line running south from Denver, Colorado, in 1870. It served mainly as a transcontinental bridge line between Denver and Salt Lake City, Utah. The Rio Grande was also a major origin of coal and mineral traffic.
Glenwood Springs is a home rule municipality that is the county seat of Garfield County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 9,963 at the 2020 United States Census. Glenwood Springs is located at the confluence of the Roaring Fork River and the Colorado River, connecting the Roaring Fork Valley and a series of smaller towns on the Colorado River.
Glenwood Canyon is a rugged scenic 12.5 mi (20 km) canyon in western Colorado in the United States. Its walls climb as high as 1,300 feet (400 m) above the Colorado River. It is the largest such canyon on the Upper Colorado. The canyon, which has historically provided the routes of railroads and highways through western Colorado, currently furnishes the routes of Interstate 70 and the Union Pacific's Central Corridor between Denver and Grand Junction.
The Rocky Mountaineer is a Canadian rail-tour company based in Vancouver that operates luxury scenic trains on four rail routes in British Columbia, Alberta, Colorado, and Utah.
The Denver Zephyr was a streamlined passenger train operated by the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad between Chicago, Illinois, and Denver, Colorado. In peak years it ran to Colorado Springs. It operated from 1936 to 1973. The Denver Zephyr continued operating after the Burlington Northern Railroad merger in 1970. BN conveyed the train to Amtrak in 1971; Amtrak merged it with the Denver–Oakland City of San Francisco to form the San Francisco Zephyr and dropped the "Denver" name in 1973.
The Rio Grande Zephyr was a passenger train operated by Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad between Denver, Colorado and Ogden, Utah from 1970 until 1983. In operation after the creation of publicly-funded Amtrak, the Rio Grande Zephyr was the last privately-operated interstate passenger train in the United States.
The Roaring Fork Transportation Authority is an agency that operates public transportation for the Roaring Fork Valley in Colorado. RFTA's service area stretches 70 miles (110 km) from Aspen to Rifle, serving major cities of Basalt, Snowmass Village, Carbondale, and Glenwood Springs in between. RFTA also operates seasonal ski shuttles, guided bus tours to Maroon Bells, paratransit, and manages the Rio Grande Trail.
Granby station is a train station in Granby, Colorado. It is served by Amtrak's California Zephyr, which runs once daily between Chicago and Emeryville, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. Despite its antiquated appearance and structure, the station was built in 1987.
Grand Junction station is a train station in Grand Junction, Colorado, United States, that is served by Amtrak's California Zephyr, which runs once daily between Chicago and Emeryville, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Green River station is a train station in Green River, Utah. It is served by Amtrak's California Zephyr, which runs once daily between Chicago and Emeryville, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. The station has a platform and bus-stop style shelter and no services.
Plano station, also known as the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad Depot is an Amtrak intercity train station in Plano, Illinois, United States. The station was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places on November 12, 1993.
Mendota station is an Amtrak intercity train station at 783 Main Street, Mendota, Illinois, United States.
Kewanee station is an Amtrak intercity train station in Kewanee, Illinois. A new station opened on April 13, 2012, replacing a smaller brick structure built in 1986. In addition to the waiting room, the depot houses a regional office of the Henry County Tourism Bureau. The station is serviced by the Illinois Zephyr and Carl Sandburg. The California Zephyr and Southwest Chief also use these tracks but do not stop in Kewanee. Demolition of the historic Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad (CB&Q) station occurred in 1985.
Burlington station is an Amtrak train station in Burlington, Iowa, United States. It is served by the California Zephyr, with one daily train in each direction. The station was built by the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad (CB&Q) in 1944, replacing the previous union station used by the CB&Q and the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad. That station burned in January 1943.
Omaha station is an Amtrak intercity train station in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. It is served daily by the California Zephyr. The station was built by Amtrak in 1983 as a replacement for the directly adjacent Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad Station that was opened in 1898, and has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1974. The structure utilizes the Type 50C specification of Amtrak's standard design.
Helper station is a railroad station in Helper, Utah. It is served by Amtrak's California Zephyr, which runs once daily between Chicago, Illinois, and Emeryville, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. The station is owned by the Union Pacific Railroad and contains a passenger waiting area; no services are provided.
Provo station is a train station in Provo, Utah. It is served by Amtrak's California Zephyr, which runs once daily between Chicago and Emeryville, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Reno station is an Amtrak intercity train station in Reno, Nevada, served by the California Zephyr train. It is also serviced by five times per weekday, and twice on weekends, Amtrak Thruway routes to Sacramento.
A Zephyrette was a hostess on the California Zephyr between 1949 and 1970, while the train was jointly operated by the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad, the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad, and the Western Pacific Railroad. The position was the brainchild of Velma McPeek, the Burlington's Supervisor of Passenger Train Services, and was part of an effort to attract families to rail travel and accommodate their needs. Zephyrettes first appeared on the Denver Zephyr in 1936, and shortly thereafter on the Twin Cities Zephyr, but the position was discontinued during World War II. Zephyrettes resumed service after the war in 1949, but only on the California Zephyr.
The California Zephyr is a long-distance passenger train operated by Amtrak between Chicago and the San Francisco Bay Area, via Omaha, Denver, Salt Lake City, and Reno. At 2,438 miles (3,924 km), it is Amtrak's longest daily route, and second-longest overall after the Texas Eagle's triweekly continuation from San Antonio to Los Angeles, with travel time between the termini taking approximately 511⁄2 hours. Amtrak claims the route as one of its most scenic, with views of the upper Colorado River valley in the Rocky Mountains, and the Sierra Nevada. The modern train is the second iteration of a train named California Zephyr; the original train was privately operated and ran on a different route through Nevada and California.
