Following the final run of the Mark Twain Zephyr on April 26, 1958, the CB&Q decided to store the then-23-year-old train set outdoors at its locomotive shop in West Burlington, Iowa.

The Mark Twain Zephyr was parked outdoors for approximately four years (1958-1962) at the CB&Q’s railroad shops in West Burlington, Iowa. – Photographer Unknown; Dave Lotz Collection

The CB&Q established its original shops in Downtown Burlington in 1868, after a railroad bridge was built across the Mississippi River. By 1879, the railroad was looking to expand beyond downtown, where space was limited. The West Burlington shops were constructed in 1883. The facility employed as many as 1,500 people … and 50 steam locomotives could be repaired here per month. By the early 1960s, spare tracks were available here to store old equipment, such as the MTZ.

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This map shows the location of the CB&Q shops in West Burlington, Iowa. This is where the Mark Twain Zephyr train set was parked from April 1958 until September 1962. Also shown in the CB&Q Burlington depot and the Mark Twain Zephyr “Y”. – Map designed by Robert Tabern

As 1960 rolled around, the equipment of the Mark Twain Zephyr was put up for sale by the Burlington Route. The initial buyer ended up being Charles “Frank” Dashner, Sr. of Glenwood, Iowa, who agreed to pay $18,000 (about $172,000 in today’s money). He began making payments on the train set in June 1960.

According to his now 74-year-old son, Charles Dashner, Jr. and 78-year-old daughter, Marilee Dashner Mead, their dad’s initial plan called for “flipping” the Mark Twain Zephyr and selling it to Cuba. They both recalled their father had a passion for buying old things, fixing them up, and reselling them for a profit. Trains were not a hobby of his; he just saw the Zephyr as a good business opportunity.

Dashner, Sr. did his research and discovered Cuba was in need of new rail equipment following the Cuban Revolution. Dashner went as far as reportedly speaking to Fidel Castro himself. Two problems quickly arose causing an end to those plans – it was discovered that Cuba used a different gauge of railroad than the United States… and the U.S. severed all diplomatic ties with Cuba in August 1960.

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Charles “Frank” Dashner, Sr., pictured above, was the first private owner of the

Mark Twain Zephyr. He purchased the train set in June 1960 from the CB&Q.

– Dashner Family Archives

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Charles, Jr. and Marilee explained that their father also made several attempts to sell the Mark Twain Zephyr to an independent broker in Canada or Mexico, who would then turn around and sell it to the Cubans. An agreement was never able to be reached for this to happen.

The next plan Charles, Sr. had was to keep the train set stateside and use the cars of the Mark Twain Zephyr for a new railroad-themed restaurant and motel that would have been called Transit Zephyr.

Marilee recalls, “At the time, in the early 1960s, Interstate 29 was just being built between Grand Forks, Fargo, Sioux Falls, Omaha and Kansas City. It was going to have a lot of traffic going back and forth… and dad knew this. So, when plans fell through to move it to Cuba, he was going to move the Mark Twain Zephyr to a location where Interstate 29 would intersect U.S. 34 (another cross-country highway going from Chicago to the Rocky Mountains) just west of our hometown of Glenwood, Iowa. He was going to turn the coach and parlor car into hotel rooms… and then use the kitchen and baggage car as a restaurant where people could eat dinner or breakfast.” (Ironically, had the Mark Twain Zephyr remained located in this area, it would have been severely damaged in 2019 by massive flooding on the Missouri River in Western Iowa.)

Co-author Robert Tabern (left) interviews the Dashner Family about their direct connections with the Mark Twain Zephyr. Included are Marilee Dashner Mead (right, middle seat) who is Dashner, Sr.’s daughter… and Sherrill Dashner, a cousin

(right, front seat). Other family members were also present to share stories.

– Kandace Tabern Photograph

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Co-author Robert Tabern (left) continues to interview the Dashners about their family’s connection with the Mark Twain Zephyr. Also involved in these discussions

is Charles Dashner, Jr. (right), son of Charles “Frank” Dashner, Sr.

– Kandace Tabern Photograph

Before Dashner, Sr. was able to proceed with his plans… and before the sale formally closed on the Mark Twain Zephyr with the CB&Q… he passed away on February 24, 1961 at the age of 51.

The train set was never moved from its location in the CB&Q West Burlington yards before Dashner’s untimely passing, because full payment had not been made. Charles, Jr. said that he never even got the chance to see the train until many years later when it was on display in Mount Pleasant, Iowa. His late mother, Ann, did make a trip to West Burlington, Iowa with their father at least once to view the train set at the CB&Q shops.

The death of Charles “Frank” Dashner meant the deal to close on the Mark Twain Zephyr train set ended up going to his heirs. Neither his widow, nor two children, had any desire to continue with the restaurant idea of their late husband/father… so they worked out a deal where the train set would go back to the Burlington, who would seek another buyer. The storage costs that the Dashner estate owed the CB&Q for the train equaled the payments Dashner had made… and the whole thing was considered “a wash” for the family in the end.

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Above is Charles Dashner, Sr.’s obituary from the March 2, 1961 edition of the Glenwood Opinion Tribune . – Glenwood Opinion Tribune Archives

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A St. Louis Dispatch newspaper from May 4, 1962, discussed the Burlington’s desire to sell off the Mark Twain Zephyr, which continued to linger in their West Burlington, Iowa shops. According to the article by reporter Jack Rice, the new asking price for the four cars and shell of the power unit was $10,000… which is approximately $87,100 in today’s money. (Note the below article incorrectly reports that the diesel engine has been removed. That was not the case. In fact, the Winton engine was not removed until the early 2000s.)

The above portion of a May 4, 1962 newspaper article discusses the CB&Q’s

desire to sell off the Mark Twain Zephyr . – St. Louis Post Dispatch Archives

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The newspaper article concerning the status of the Mark Twain Zephyr caught the eye of Mount Pleasant, Iowa insurance agent and train enthusiast Ernie A. Hayes. He decided to approach the CB&Q and the estate of Frank Dashner with an offer of his own. On June 8, 1962, an agreement for $6,500 (or approximately $55,000 in today’s money) for the train set was reached. As part of the package, the CB&Q also threw in one car from the Pioneer Zephyr too, which did not fit into the display area at Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry, where the rest of that train set had been donated a few years earlier. With that… the Mark Twain Zephyr no longer was part of the CB&Q for the first time in 27 years.

In September 1962, Hayes paid the Burlington to move the four units of the Mark Twain Zephyr… and one car of the Pioneer Zephyr… from the CB&Q locomotive shops in West Burlington, Iowa to a siding in Mount Pleasant, Iowa. The total distance was about 25 miles. The train set was attached to the rear of a local freight train for the move (photos on the next page of this move).

In September 1962, the Mark Twain Zephyr was transported between the CB&Q shops in West Burlington, Iowa and a siding located in Mount Pleasant, Iowa… a

distance of about 25 miles. – Map designed by Robert Tabern

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The Mark Twain Zephyr was attached to the back of a local freight train and moved from West Burlington to Mount Pleasant in September 1962, as seen above.

– Midwest Central Railroad Archives / Matt Crull Collection

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The Mark Twain Zephyr was brought in to Mount Pleasant, Iowa on the CB&Q main line. From there, it was put into a siding… which was located north of the main line

between N. Main Street and N. Broadway Street. – Map designed by Robert Tabern

Once all five rail cars were securely parked in the industrial siding shown on the above map in Mount Pleasant, they were moved up and off the rails by large cranes. That’s when 68-year-old Raleigh W. Creek of Batavia, Iowa took over. Creek had years of experience moving houses in the area with his company, R.W. Creek House Moving Company. Even though he never actually moved large railroad equipment before, Creek knew that the project would be something he could easily manage.

Since there were no rails laid to connect the Burlington main line in Mount Pleasant and McMillan Park, the Mark Twain Zephyr train set had to be transported by semi-truck the final two or three miles. Some of the biggest challenges for Creek were trying to navigate the narrow city streets through portions of downtown Mount Pleasant. Turns were kept to a minimum.

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This page and the following two pages contain several photographs of Raleigh W. Creek’s semi-truck moving the Mark Twain Zephyr between the rail siding in Mt. Pleasant and McMillan Park on the south side of the city. This move happened in September 1962.

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Harry Evans Photographs

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Shortly after the Mark Twain Zephyr arrived in Mount Pleasant, Iowa, a ceremony was held where a CB&Q official turned over the train’s keys to new private owner, Ernie A. Hayes. – Midwest Central Railroad Archives / Matt Crull Collection

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