Promptly at 3:30 p.m, August 10, 1966. Union Pacific E9A 955 eases the City of Denver out of Denver Union Station to begin its 1,048-mile dash to Chicago. Waiting in the background, CB&Q’s Denver Zephyr behind E7A 9935B will follow in 30 minutes. And so the race will begin. Union Pacific’s City will make its run in 16 hours, 15 minutes, an average speed of 64.5 mph. Q’s Zephyr, taking a slightly shorter 1034-mile route, will make its run in 16 hours flat for an average of 64.6 mph. The two trains will pull into Chicago Union Station within 15 minutes of each other other, the UP at 8:45 a.m., the Q at 9. In the mid-1960s this kind of competition is still being taken for granted by rail passengers, who expect to arrive at their destination on time. That UP E9A will join Amtrak’s roster in 1971 as the 428, and will be retired in 1980 after a quarter-century of service.
Huge Album that Includes over 2,600+ photos of classic passenger trains across USA & Canada before and during the time of Amtrak & VIA Rail. More Images will be Added.
Photos of North America's favorite First Generation locomotives. EMD, ALCO, Baldwin; essentially anything that represents the OG wide cab diesel locomotive
The Union Pacific fielded lengthy yellow domeliners that connected the Midwest with the Pacific Coast as well as secondary services that included mixed trains that lasted until Amtrak began.
