View source for Kansas City Zephyr

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{{more footnotes|date=September 2013}}
{{Infobox rail service
| box_width   = 
| name        = ''Kansas City Zephyr''
| logo        = 
| logo_width  = 
| image       =Kansas City Zephyr American Royal Zephyr.JPG
| image_width =
| caption     = ''Kansas City Zephyr''. 
| type        = Daytime [[inter-city rail]]
| status      = Discontinued
| locale      = 
| predecessor = 
| first       = February 1, 1953
| last        = April 1968
| successor   = 
| operator    = 
| formeroperator= [[Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad]]
| ridership   = 
| start       = [[Union Station (Chicago)|Chicago (Union Station)]]
| stops       = 
| end         = [[Union Station (Kansas City, Missouri)|Kansas City, Missouri (Union Station)]]
| distance    = {{convert|466|mi}}
| journeytime = 8 hours 50 minutes
| frequency   = Daily
| trainnumber = Westbound: 35,<br>Eastbound: 36
| class       = Coach and Parlor
| access      = 
| seating     = 
| sleeping    = 
| autorack    = 
| catering    = Parlor-dining car
| observation = Vista-dome chair car
| entertainment= 
| baggage     = 
| otherfacilities= 
| stock       = 
| gauge       = {{RailGauge|ussg}}
| el          = 
| speed       = 
| owners      = 
| routenumber =
| map         = 
| map_state   = 
}}
The '''''Kansas City Zephyr''''' was a [[streamliner]] [[passenger train]] service operated by the [[Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad]] (CB&Q) between [[Chicago, Illinois|Chicago]] and [[Kansas City, Missouri|Kansas City]]. 

== Overview ==
The largest fleet of named streamliners in the United States were the Burlington's Zephyrs. Competing in markets against the famed Eagles, Chiefs, 400's, Cities and Hiawathas on almost every route, the polished Zephyrs covered almost every route on the mainline of the Burlington and for years held the speed/distance title in the record books. 

The ''Kansas City Zephyr'' made its inaugural run on February 1, 1953, as an all-new daylight 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 two 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. A new modern station was built at West Quincy, Missouri (1953) and operated until 1993, when Mississippi River flooding (levee breached) destroyed the facility.

''Kansas City Zephyr'' (KCZ) #36 departed Kansas City at 12:01 pm, arriving in Chicago at 8:00 pm.  Westbound counterpart #35 departed the Windy City at 12:30 pm, arriving in Kansas City at 8:45 pm.  The original consist included two Vista-Domes, coaches, diner, and observation car, all built by Budd.  The CB&Q simultaneously launched an overnight Chicago-Kansas City service on the same route under the banner of the ''[[American Royal Zephyr]].''
The ''Kansas City Zephyr'' never lived up to ridership expectations, and it was not long before equipment from the ''KCZ'' was being shuffled off to other trains.  Intense competition came from the Santa Fe, which ran six daily streamliners in each direction between the city pair on a shorter schedule than CB&Q.  On April 10, 1968, just over 15 years after its promising beginning, the ''KCZ'' was discontinued, becoming a nameless local train between Chicago and West Quincy, MO.

== Budd car consist ==
The ''Kansas City Zephyr'' had two consists, a dorm-buffet-lounge car and a square-end parlor-observation car in each.

* 320 Silver Garden - dorm-buffet-lounge
* 321 Silver Patio - dorm-buffet-lounge
* 365 Silver Terrace - parlor-observation
* 366 Silver Tower - parlor-observation

Two of the original railcars from the ''Kansas City Zephyr'' are still in use today.  The ''Silver Garden'', 1952 Budd Dome Lounge Coach and the ''Silver Terrace'', 1952 Budd Dome Observation cars current operate on the [[Branson Scenic Railway]] in Branson, Missouri.

== Subsequent service on the route ==
The ''[[Illinois Zephyr]]'' and ''[[Carl Sandburg (Amtrak)|Carl Sandburg]]'', [[passenger train]]s operated by [[Amtrak]] that run 258 miles (415&nbsp;km) between [[Chicago]] and [[Quincy, Illinois]], are the descendants of the ''Kansas City Zephyr'' and ''[[American Royal Zephyr]]'' passenger train routes operated by the [[Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad]] until 1968 and 1971. The name ''[[Zephyr (passenger train)|Zephyr]]'' is preserved in the current name of the ''Illinois Zephyr''.  

== Station stops ==
Original ''Kansas City Zephyr'', station stops:
;[[Illinois]]
*[[Chicago (Amtrak station)|Chicago Union Station]]
*[[La Grange Road (Amtrak station)|La Grange Road station]]
*[[Aurora (CB&Q station)|Aurora]] Old CB&Q station (abandoned and largely demolished)
*[[Plano (Amtrak station)|Plano station]]
*[[Mendota (Amtrak station)|Mendota station]]
*[[Princeton (Amtrak station)|Princeton station]]
*[[Kewanee (Amtrak station)|Kewanee station]]
*[[Galesburg station (Amtrak)#History|Galesburg CB&Q Seminary Street station]] (demolished)
*[[Bushnell, Illinois|Bushnell]] Old CB&Q Station (No longer a stop) Relocated to the Western Illinois Threshers grounds in [[Hamilton, Illinois]].
*[[Macomb (Amtrak station)|Macomb station]]
*[[Quincy (Amtrak station)|Quincy station]]
;[[Missouri]]
*[[West Quincy, Missouri|West Quincy]] CB&Q station (entire town abandoned after the [[Great Flood of 1993]]).
*[[Macon, Missouri|Macon]] (CB&Q station) (demolished)
*[[Brookfield, Missouri|Brookfield]] (CB&Q station) (demolished)
*[[Kansas City (Union station)|Kansas City station]]

==References==
* {{Official Guide of the Railways|June|1964}}
* {{Randall-Zephyr}}
* {{Zimmermann-Burlington}}

==External links==
{{commonscat|Kansas City Zephyr}}
*[http://www.burlingtonroute.com/ Burlington Route Historical Society]
*[http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Amtrak/am2Route/Vertical_Route_Page&c=am2Route&cid=1081256321807&ssid=133 Amtrak's Illinois Service]
*[http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Amtrak/am2Route/Horizontal_Route_Page&c=am2Route&cid=1081442673827&ssid=132 Amtrak's Southwest Chief]

{{CBQ named trains}}

[[Category:Named passenger trains of the United States]]
[[Category:North American streamliner trains]]
[[Category:Passenger trains of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad]]
[[Category:Night trains of the United States]]
[[Category:Passenger rail transportation in Illinois]]
[[Category:Passenger rail transportation in Missouri]]
[[Category:Railway services introduced in 1953]]
[[Category:Railway services discontinued in 1968]]