The Texas Zephyr

The Texas Zephyr was a train that ran between Denver, Colorado and Fort Worth, Texas. I have driven between these two cities a number of times and to me, being a railfan, I enjoy the fact that US 287 follows the BNSF line much of the way. I wish I could take the train, though. This is a route not included on Amtrak's map. Before being part of the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe, the line was part of Burlington Northern. Before that, it was two different but related railroads. The Fort Worth and Denver and the Colorado and Southern Railways came together at Texline, Texas which is right on the New Mexico border in far northwestern Texas. The town was started by the FW&D railway and today is the home to about 500 residents. From Texline to Fort Worth, it was the FW&D. From Texline to Denver, it was the C&S except for the part where it shared the tracks with the Santa Fe and Rio Grande railroads.

The route was the home to an overnight passenger train called the Texas Zephyr. In 1950, it left Denver at 12:30 pm and arrived in Fort Worth at 6 am the next morning. Coming back, it left Fort Worth at 3 pm and arrived in Denver at 7:30 the next morning.

Equipment was the following for these daily trains:
4000 HP diesel locomotive (2 E5’s, I believe)
Reclining-seat chair cars
Dining-lounge
Special streamline Pullmans with drawing rooms, compartments, bedrooms, and sections.
All equipment was air-conditioned
No Extra Fare