The idea of a calendar noting significant events in C.B.&Q. history is an
interesting one. It has the potential to stimulate both inquiry and dialog.
For what it's worth, I believe that today (February 1) is the day on which the
Kansas City Zephyrs began service in 1953. The previous evening (between 10
p.m. and 11 p.m.) was when passenger station operations for Quincy, Illinois
were moved from the old depot, downtown at 2nd and Oak, to West Quincy,
Missouri. Note: I believe the passenger station facilities in West Quincy on
that date were merely temporary; the modern structure with which many of us
became familiar had not yet been completed.
Incidentally, will anyone inform us of whether observation car Silver Terrace
was on the first eastbound or first westbound Kansas City Zephyr?
The accounts of these events in the Quincy newspaper indicates that it was at
this time that the American Royal Zephyr was placed on an accelerated schedule.
It does not indicate that the ARZ was inaugurated the previous day. So, I infer
that that train had been on-line for sometime. Is this correct? Will anyone
inform us of the date of the inaugural run of the American Royal Zephyr?
Also, when was the presently-used bridge across the Mississippi River at Quincy
completed?
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