The ''American Royal Zephyr'' was a

streamlined Streamlines, streaklines and pathlines are field lines in a fluid flow. They differ only when the flow changes with time, that is, when the flow is not steady flow, steady. Considering a velocity vector field in three-dimensional space in the f ...

passenger train A passenger train is a train used to transport people along a railroad line, as opposed to a freight train that carries goods. These trains may consist of unpowered passenger railroad cars (also known as coaches or carriages) push-pull train, ...

service operated by the

Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad was a railroad that operated in the Midwest, Midwestern United States. Commonly referred to as the Burlington Route, the Burlington, CB&Q, or as the Q, it operated extensive trackage in the states of ...

between

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

and

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...

. This CB&Q ''Zephyr'' was named for the

American Royal The American Royal is a livestock show, horse show, rodeo, and Kansas City Barbeque Society#Competitions, barbecue competition held each year in September – November at various sites in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The Future Farmers ...

, one of the

Midwest The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

's largest and oldest livestock exhibition, professional rodeo, and horse show. The ''American Royal Zephyr'' made its inaugural run on February 1, 1953, as an all-new overnight streamliner between Chicago and Kansas City. The new train was prompted by the completion the previous October of the $16-million "Kansas City Shortcut", 49 miles of new track that made the route shorter, flatter, and straighter. The new alignment shaved 2 hours off of the previous shortest route, and made CB&Q optimistic that it could compete successfully against its entrenched rival, the AT&SF, on this busy route. ''American Royal Zephyr'' #56 departed Kansas City at 10:00 pm, arriving in Chicago at 7:30 am. Westbound counterpart #55 operated on a mirrored schedule, departing the Windy City at 10:00 pm and arriving in Kansas City at 7:30 am. Both trains covered the 466 mile route at an average pace of 49 mph. The original consist included two Vista-Domes (which provided meal service), two Chicago-KC sleepers, one Chicago - St. Joe sleeper, and coaches. The CB&Q simultaneously launched a daylight Chicago-Kansas City service on the same route under the banner of the '' Kansas City Zephyr.'' Like its daylight counterpart, the ''American Royal Zephyr'' never lived up to ridership expectations, and it was not long before equipment from the ''ARZ'' was being shuffled off to other trains. Intense competition came from the Santa Fe, which ran six daily streamliners in each direction through Kansas City on a shorter schedule than CB&Q, and an existing, dedicated overnight service called the '' Kansas City Chief''. The ''American Royal Zephyr'' was discontinued in 1971.

Station stops

Original ''American Royal Zephyr'', station stops: ;

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

Chicago Union Station Chicago Union Station is an Inter-city rail, intercity and commuter rail terminal station, terminal located in the West Loop neighborhood of the Near West Side, Chicago, Near West Side of Chicago. Amtrak's flagship station in the Midwest, Uni ...

* La Grange Road station * Aurora old CB&Q station (abandoned, largely demolished) * Plano station *

Mendota station Mendota station is an Amtrak intercity train station at 783 Main Street, Mendota, Illinois, United States. The station was originally built on February 23, 1888, by the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad, as a replacement for the former ...

* Princeton station * Kewanee station * Galesburg CB&Q Seminary Street station (demolished) * Macomb station * Quincy station ;

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

* West Quincy CB&Q station (entire town abandoned after the

Great Flood of 1993 The Great Flood of 1993 (or Great Mississippi and Missouri Rivers Flood of 1993) was a flood that occurred in the Midwestern United States, along the Mississippi River, Mississippi and Missouri River, Missouri rivers and their tributaries, from ...

). * Macon (CB&Q station) * Chillicothe (CB&Q station) * Kansas City station

References

* * *
Burlington Route Historical Society

Amtrak's Illinois Service

Amtrak's ''Southwest Chief''
{{CBQ named trains Passenger trains of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad North American streamliner trains Night trains of the United States Railway services introduced in 1953 Railway services discontinued in 1971 Named passenger trains of the United States