The California Zephyr (Eastbound, December, 2010)
The original California Zephyr was a passenger train operated by the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad between Chicago and Denver, by the the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad between Denver and Salt Lake City, and by the Western Pacific Railroad from Salt Lake City to Oakland. The train ran from 1949 to 1970, although the Denver & Rio Grande managed to keep their highly scenic portion in operation until they joined Amtrak in 1983.
With the availability of the D&RGW route, Amtrak created it's own California Zephyr, following much of the old route from Chicago to Salt Lake City, but using a slightly different route into Emeryville on Union Pacific track.
