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l ~ 1 As you enjoy scenic thrills while tr veling at smooth speed in luxurious comfort, think of the amazing achieve. nts since the days of hardy pioneers and covered wagons. Abundant harve ts where buffalo once roamed ... Attractive farm homes where perhaps Indian tepees were pitched ... Thriving towns which may have sprung from fa orite stopping places of early wagon trains ... Cities which grew to great ess from the humble beginning of a frontier trading post. As you view the results of western progress your . trip is made more in teresting and enjoyable, and the train which is carrying you to your destination is clearly seen as one of the truly great achievements- an accomplishment in speed, comfort, beauty and service whiclj. not even a dream could have pictured just a few years ago. Thus, this booklet of historical and current information regarding areas traversed by day is dedicated to the greater enjoyment of your trip on the California Zephyr over "t e Scenic Way across America." The outstanding features of the train are shown on the inside back cover. BURLINGTON • RI 0 GRANDE • WESTERN PACIFIC 'I ) PRINCETON. ILL. One of America's most attractive Altitude: 700 ft. small cities, with magnificent elm San Francisco: 2433 mi. trees transforming streets into ca Chicago: 104 mi. thedral arches. KEWANEE. ILL. A widely known industrial city Altitude: 855 ft. which was settled in 1836 by New San Francisco: 2406 mi. Englanders. Spoon River, made Chicago: 131 mi. famous by Edgar Lee Masters' "Spoon River Anthology," has its source nearby. GALESBURG, ILL. Settled in the late 1830's, Gales· Altitude: 785 ft. burg is today an important manu San Francisco: 2375 mi. facturing and distributing city. Chicago: 162 mi. Historically, it was one of the key stations on the "Underground Rail road" during the Civil War period, and its Knox College, char· tered in 1837, was the scene of the famous Lincoln-Douglas debate in 1858. MONMOUTH. ILL. This city was named to commem· Altitude: 770 ft. orate the Revolutionary War battle San Francisco: 2358 mi. of Monmouth, New Jersey. It is a Chicago: 179 mi. marketing center for a corn and The California Zephyr is the only transcontinental feeder cattle area, and is widely train between the Great Lakes and the Golden Gate known for its manufacture of pottery. Monmouth College, organized in 1856, is located here. which has been scheduled to give travelers the choicest MISSISSIPPI RIVER Our country's greatest river (the of western scenery by day. This ultra-modern train boundary between Illinois and offers the greatest of travel thrills-an unobstructed Iowa) is crossed 26 miles west of Monmouth. Its name, mean ing "River of the Meadows," was given to it by the Indians, view of western wonderlands from air-conditioned, though it was more reverently known to them as the "Father of glass-enclosed Vista-Domes. Following are brief com Waters." ments about some of the points of interest along the route from Chicago to San Francisco. Eastbound passengers should read forward from last page. CHICAGO. ILL. Chicago is not only the center of Altitude: 595 ft. America's rail transportation sys· San Francisco: 2537 mi. terns at the crossroads of U. S. manufacturing and distribution, but it can boast of many unusual attractions and advantages. Its parks, boulevards and beaches, stretching for many miles along the shores of Lake Michigan, give the nation's second city a "front yard" second to none in the world. Chicago is rich in cultural and educational facilities; it also has many stores and shops of national fame. For your enjoyment, Chicago's diversi fied entertainment answers any demand, for here is the gigantic magnet which draws an ever-increasing host of rec reation and pleasure seekers as well as business and con vention visitors. AURORA, ILL. From a prominent stagecoach Altitude: 650 ft. transfer in the 1830's Aurora San Francisco: 2499 mi. birthplace of the Burlington in Chicago: 38 mi. 1849- has developed into a thriv ing industrial center and city of beautiful homes. BURLINGTON. IA. Before the coming of the white MENDOTA. ILL. Center of a prosperous agricult.ural Altitude: 530 ft. man the site of this city was known Altitude: 750 ft. area and nearby coal fields, where San Francisco: 2331 mi. to all Indian tribes as neutral San Francisco: 2454 mi. this fuel was first discovered in Chicago: 206 mi. ground because of its hills of flint Chicago: 83 mi. the United States by Joliet, in which provided material for im 1673. plements and weapons. During the 1850's thousands of emi· grant wagons passed through here, and hundreds of steam boats docked to discharge freight to be hauled inland. In 1887, George Westinghouse perfected the air brake on West Bur lington Hill- over the same right-of-way traversed by the California Zephyr. MT. PLEASANT. IA. Iowa Wesleyan College is located Altitude: 725 ft. here. On the campus are the Ex San Francisco: 2304 mi. ecutive Offices and Memorial Li Chicago: 233 mi. brary of the P.E.O. Sisterhood. Iowa's first courthouse was erected here in 1839. One of the first plank roads in the state was com pleted from Burlington to Mt. Pleasant in 1851. FAIRFIELD. IA. An important manufacturing town Altitude: 775 ft. and the home of Parsons College. San Francisco: 2282 mi. The first Iowa State Fair, held Chicago: 255 mL here in 1854, was a typical frontier event. The Public Library Museum is inter-continental in scope. OTTUMWA. IA. Situated on the banks of the Des As we approach Denver, we have a 200-mile panoramic Altitude: 650 ft. Moines River, the site of Ottumwa view of the towering and irregular profile of the Rockies, San Francisco: 2257 mi. was originally the favorite camp with Long's Peak to the northwest and Pikes Peak to the Chicago: 280 mL ing place of many Indian chiefs. southwest, both easily visible on clear days. Today this prosperous and beauti· ful city is the largest pork-processing center in the midwest. DENVER. COLO. Built on the favorite camping Six miles east of Ottumwa, at Agency, Iowa, General Joseph Altitude: 5,280 ft. ground of the Arapahoe tribe, M. Street, Indian Agent, established a trading post and agency San Francisco: 1498 mi. Denver was established in 1858. in 1838. As the train approaches Agency from the east, a Chicago: 1039 mi. In that year the gold fever was tall shaft, in memory of General Street, Major Beach and at high pitch and the new Denver· Chief Wapello, Fox Chief and friend of the white man, may became a busy place where gold seekers and supply caravans be seen to the north. gathered, ''The Mile High City" is the only American munici pality owning and maintaining a system of mountain parks MISSOURI RIVER The river the Indians knew as Mini-Souri outside its city boundaries. It is a city of prosperous business is the boundary between Iowa and Ne and industry as well as a great vacation center. braska, and is at all times a turbulent stream. Early traders navigated it by boats which were hauled up stream by men Westward from Denver our route is through some of the on shore with towlines over their shoulders. By 1857, a large wildest and most rugged sections of the far-flung Rockies. 0f"et of steamboats operated as far north as Omaha. Here are miles of gorges and canyons lined with solid rock; rushing, tumbling streams; dense evergreen forests reaching OMAHA. NEBR. Omaha is a city of varied indus up to timberline; gem-like lakes in story-book settings; and Altitude: 1.040 ft. tries, and one of fine retail stores, always the silent, overtowering mountains. Here is an in San Francisco: 2036 mi. beautiful homes and excellent ed comparable region- one where nature has expressed her Chicago: 501 mi. ucational facilities. It is the na self in unbounded beauty and grandeur. Camera fans will tion's fourth largest rail center want to have plenty of footage, using double the normal ex and one of the country's foremost grain, livestock and meat· posure time when taking photographs from inside the dome. packing cities. It was named for the Omaha Indians who originally occupied this site. Fur traders were located here PLAINVIEW. COLO. From this vantage point almost as far back as the 1820's. The Lewis and Clark explorers and Altitude: 6, 782 ft. one-fourth of Colorado's total the Mormon pilgrims passed by here. San Francisco: 1474 mi. area can be seen spreading east· Chicago: 1063 mi. ward in a magnificent panorama. PLATTE RIVER The Platte figured extensively in the early history of the west, its course being a natural TOLLAND. COLO. Here can be seen three levels of route for the pioneers. The Mormons followed the north bank Altitude: 8,886 ft. the old railway grade which sur for several hundred miles. The Oregon Trail and the Pony San Francisco: 1451 mi. mounted Corona Pass at elevation Express route followed the south bank. Chicago: 1086 mi. of 11,666 feet. This slow, arduous and costly operation was aban LINCOLN. NEBR. Founded in 1864, Lincoln became doned upon completion of the Moffat Tunnel in 1928, the Altitude: 1.150 ft. the state capital in 1867, and to eastern portal of which is about three miles west of Tolland. San Francisco: 1981 mi. day it is distinguished by a ten Chicago: 556 mi. million dollar capitol building MOFFAT TUNNEL This bore through the Continental one of the most beautiful in Amer San Francisco: 1448 mi.