Answering this question, of course, depends entirely on the era. As Jonathan has noted, the four-car Pioneer Zephyr was used on trains 31-32 near the end of the train's existence, but only for the short period from Oct. 16, 1949, until the Zephyr hit a farmer's truck near Longmont, Colo., in April 1950 and was seriously damaged. The Zephyr spent the next six months in the Aurora shops undergoing repairs. Meanwhile, 31-32 ran for its final year (it last appeared in the Jan.-April 1951 public timetable) as a two- and sometimes three-car train behind a single E7. The cars were heavyweights, with a baggage-RPO and one or two coaches/chair cars.
When the train was first re-equipped as the Zephyr Connection in October 1936 (congruent with the start of the Denver Zephyr), the consist was normally three cars behind a light or heavy Pacific. The three cars were a baggage-RPO, a coach/chair car, and a CB&Q heavyweight dinette-lounge-solarium observation car carrying the name "Denver" on one side and "Cheyenne" on the other. This last
car was used for several years, but by the 1940s it had been dropped and the consist became the standard baggage-RPO and one or two coaches/chair cars. Steel underframe wooden C&S 60-foot coaches were used along with 70-foot steel coaches until after World War II.
As for trains 29-30, the Spring 2011 issue of Classic Trains has a great story on the "Night Crawler's" final years, with additional information back in the Second Section column on the Pullman service from the late 1950s until it was dropped in 1964. Earlier, the train had carried a heavyweight dining car over all or part of its run and into the 1940s carried a 10-section-lounge-observation car with either an open platform or a solarium.
Ottos Perry often photographed 31-32, and his photos can be found on the Denver Public Library website. I've attached a scan of one -- No. OP-6814 -- showing No. 32 behind C&S light Pacific No. 350 at Broomfield, Colo., on Aug. 16, 1942.
Hope this answers your question.
Hol Wagner
To: CBQ@yahoogroups.com
From: thecoloradorailfan@gmail.com
Date: Mon, 6 Feb 2012 01:09:32 +0000
Subject: [CBQ] Train #31/32, The Zephyr Connection, Questions -1960s
Hi guys, I just joined the group and I was wondering if anybody here knows what kind of passenger equipment was used on Trains #31/32, The Zephyr Connection between Denver, CO and Cheyenne, WY. The train made a round trip from Denver to Cheyenne and back each day and allowed passengers to catch the overnight Denver Zephyr/California Zephyr to Chicago. The pictures I have seen of this train show a steam locomotive with a baggage car, a coach/baggage combine, and an observation, all heavyweights. Were streamlined cars used during the final days of the train's operation? Any comments about Train #29 and Train #30, the Denver-Billings trains, are helpful too.
Attachment(s) from HOL WAGNER
1 of 1 Photo(s)
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