Nostalgia & History > Amtrak California Zephyr Memories

It appears that the mid to late 1980's may end up being the "golden age" for Amtrak's California Zephyr Superliner trains. East of Salt Lake City the CZ #5 and #6 were especially lengthy, combining three trains into one at the Salt Lake Rio Grande depot. This combo included the Desert Wind trains (#35 and #36) from Los Angeles (via the LA&SL), and the Pioneer trains (#25 and #26) from Portland (via the OSL).

On the morning of September 12 1987, the oak brush was turning orange and red at Castilla in Spanish Fork Canyon. The 13 car train sported a pair of F40PH locomotives (typical for the age) and a brand new material handling car working alongside a heritage baggage car...

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On May 18, 1986, Amtrak train #6 was running about 8 hours late into Salt Lake City. It did make for some unusual photo angles with afternoon lighting and some very real challenges to photograph an eastbound train in the late afternoon and early evening on Soldier Summit.

I caught this photo of #6 headed east on the Rio Grande's westward main track at Mapleton, Utah, a farming community in Utah Valley at the western edge of Spanish Fork Canyon. F40PH #394 on the point was nearly new at that time...

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Amtrak once scheduled train #5 into Denver much earlier than it does today. In fact, if the train was on time out of Denver Union Station, one could photograph #5 in the daylight across most of the Rio Grande mainline to Provo, Utah, some 530 miles!

Taken on May 18, 1986 (the same day as the previous 8-hour late #6) I caught #5 at the Lynn crossovers near Castle Gate in Price River Canyon. The two trains met about 45 minutes previous at Wash siding, about 15 miles east of Helper. Again, on the point was a nearly new F40PH, #392 leading the train by a wonderfully photogenic rock outcropping in the canyon...

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By the mid-1990's GE's new Genesis series of passenger locomotives began to replace the tried and true EMD F40PH fleet. On May 31, 1997, the California Zephyr train #6 was curving east, approaching the Rio crossovers in Spanish Fork Canyon. The 12 car train is just departing the 1983 Thistle line change, built above a natural lake caused by a large landslide that blocked the Spanish Fork River and flooded the town of Thistle.

Who could predict if the California Zephyr will be around for much longer. Funding long distance trains is looking bleak at this point. I highly recommend a ride on this train between Salt Lake City and Denver. It's a 14 hour journey featuring incredible scenery and a comfortable ride. Get on board the CZ while you still can!

James

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Great shots James. I wish I had some wheels (other than a bike) when I was at the Y. Most of my pictures are down at the yards. I really enjoy your photos of Utah, keep 'em coming.

And I second his comment about the ride. I did the Provo to Fairfield/Martinez part a couple of times while I was at the Y and then did a one-way from Martinez to Denver for a buiness trip a few years back. 2 great mountain ranges with lots of beautiful scenery. And I couldn't get over how many fisherman and rafters I saw going thru Colorado. It's a very relaxing trip, even if it's a little "slow" by modern standards.

The mid-80's was a golden time in many ways on this route, even given the demise of the CZ with its domes. Many onboard staff still were folks who'd begun their careers working in passenger service prior to Amtrak's inception; and iirc the conductors and brakemen were still railway (or at least were all ex-railway) employees, who were okay with an open dutch door (many of which still were to be found then, what with all the ex-Santa Fe Hi-level coaches in Western consists of the time).