Texas Zephyr

Infobox rail line
name = "Texas Zephyr"
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type = Inter-city rail
system = Colorado and Southern (Burlington Route)
Fort Worth and Denver (Burlington Route)
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start = Denver, Colorado
end = Dallas, Texas
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ridership =
open = 1940
close = 1967
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linelength = convert|835.1|mi|km
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gauge = RailGauge|ussg
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map_state = show

The "Texas Zephyr" was a named passenger train operated by the Colorado and Southern Railroad and the Fort Worth and Denver Railroad (both subsidiaries of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad). The train was designated number 1 southbound, and number 2 northbound.

Inaugurated on August 22, 1940, the streamlined train ran from Denver to Fort Worth and Dallas, replacing the heavyweight "Colorado Special." At Dallas, the "Texas Zephyr" connected with the "Texas Rocket" on the jointly owned Burlington-Rock Island Railroad for through service to Houston.

Unable to match competition from highways and airlines, the Fort Worth & Denver abandoned all passenger service in 1967, the "Texas Zephyr" making its last run on September 11th of that year.

External links

*Streamliner Schedules (timetable and consist of the 1941 "Texas Zephyr") [http://www.streamlinerschedules.com/concourse/track9/texzephyr194106.html]
*Ken's Weather and Railroad page (photos and timetable of the 1959 "Texas Zephyr") [http://www.trainweather.com/zephyr1959.html]
*Goen, Steve Allen, "Zephyr a Star in Wichita's Crown," 1999 newspaper article about the history of the "Texas Zephyr," published by the Wichita Falls Times Record News [http://www.trnonline.com/millenium/forward/articles/zephyr_a_star_in_wichitas_crown.htm]
*Dallas Railroad Museum, "A Brief History of Railroads in Dallas" [http://www.dallasrailwaymuseum.com/dallashistory.html]
*Burlington Route Historical Society, "The Burlington Zephyrs" (includes map of the various Zephyr routes) [http://www.burlingtonroute.com/docs/route/wotz.html]
*"Southwestern Hospitality," "Time" August 26, 1940 (article about a railroad controversy affecting the welcoming of the new "Texas Zephyr" to Texas) [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,764504,00.html?iid=chix-sphere]