| I still have fond memories of both seeing and riding the train when it was the Denver Zephyr. It seemed such a long train to this toddler. The train would bring family from Chicago to visit us in Denver, and we, in turn, would ride it to Chicago to visit them. And, in September of 1956, it carried my dad away as he and my mom divorced each other.
I have always had a special attachment to that equipment. After the 1956 equivalent replaced it, I continued to wonder what happened to it. In 1965, I saw it again in the passenger yard in Denver, but didn’t realize it was the same train, because it was labeled Texas Zephyr. However, it was my High School French teacher, Mr. Boyer , who had been a Burlington Passenger Agent before going into teaching, who told me that it was indeed my old friend. On Feb 12, 2024, at 6:51 PM, David H. Gaines <n5dhgsps@gmail.com> wrote:
You are welcome! dhg ~~~~~ DAVID H. GAINES – N5DHG Wichita Falls, Texas n5dhgsps@gmail.com Sent from my Dell Inspiron 3020S From: CBQ@groups.io <CBQ@groups.io> On Behalf Of Stephen Levine via groups.io
Sent: Monday, February 12, 2024 17:50
To: CBQ@groups.io
Subject: Re: [CBQ] Texas Zephyr Southbound Amarillo-Dallas Sleeper Summer 1961 Thanks The observation car did not run all the time, only in peak season. In the “off season,” I remember seeing the ex-DZ set down to as few as 5 cars (power car, articulated set of coach/coach/diner, and the stand-alone sleeper[4 roomettes -4 chamberettes - 1 DR - 1 comp. - 4 double bedrooms]) out of Dallas. When the observation was not running, I think they took 2 tables out of the diner and used that as lounge space. The morning mom and I picked up dad there was no observation car as I remember. dhg ~~~~~ DAVID H. GAINES – N5DHG Wichita Falls, Texas n5dhgsps@gmail.com Sent from my Dell Inspiron 3020S From: CBQ@groups.io <CBQ@groups.io> On Behalf Of Stephen Levine via groups.io
Sent: Monday, February 12, 2024 16:40
To: CBQ@groups.io
Subject: Re: [CBQ] Texas Zephyr Southbound Amarillo-Dallas Sleeper Summer 1961 Thank you, David. The timetable specifically said the Amarillo to Dallas sleeper was in the Texas Zephyr. It lists other sleepers for 7 and 8. When you saw the Texas Zephyr the morning you described, was it running an observation car? Neither summer 1961, Nov 63-May 64, nor Nov 64-May 65 timetables show the parlor-observation as regular equipment on the train (the ex-DZ sets were retired in Feb 1965) Interestingly, the summer 1961 shows the food service car as a diner-lounge. Yet we know from the uniquely configured Denver-Dallas sleeper that the equipment used was ex-DZ As far as I know, that southbound only sleeper would have had to have been in Train #7. The only cars added to Trains 1 & 2 had to go between the motors and power car. Normally that was the Ft Worth-Denver RPO and a Ft Worth-Amarillo set out mail car. There was no switching of the “interior” cars of the ex-DZ set, except in Denver or Dallas and no standard cars went on the rear of the train. I do remember one morning, my mother and I picked my father up in Ft Worth. He was the Car Accountant for the FW&D and was coming back from a business trip to Denver and the “General Hulen,” with the Vice President on board, was between the motors and the RPO. I also remember seeing USAF flight simulators and Ice Capade tunnel cars up front on the Texas Zephyr, but nothing on the rear. The May-Oct 1961 Burlington System Time Table shows a 8 Section 5 Double Bedroom sleeper running Amarillo-Dallas southbound only. This, I presume, was during the time that the train was using the ex-DZ trainsets of 1936. If so, as none of ex-DZ sleepers had this exact configuration, though the second articulated sleeper set had one car with 12 sections and the other with 6 bedrooms, 1 drawing room, and 3 compartments, more than enough accommodations to cover what was advertised for this car. And as the through Denver-Dallas sleeper traffic was being handled by the 1938 stand-alone 4 roomette, 4 duplex single room, 4 double room, 1 compartment, 1 drawing room car, the articulated sleeper set described above would have been available.
If a different car was being used, how could it have been coupled to the train, given that the brake hose arrangement of the 1936 was not compatible with other standard passenger cars.
Can anyone here shed light on what was actually going on with the Amarillo-Dallas sleeper in 1961?
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