During the hey-day of trains, there were four main trains that went from Chicago to California; The Super Chief (there was also The Chief and later the El Capitan, all Santa Fe trains). The Super Chief was all stainless steel train, and was always disel, never steam.



The Union Pacific ran the City of Los Angeles and the Burlington, Denver Rio Grand and Western Pacific teamed up and ran the California Zepher. I'm sure you are talking about the Zepher which concluded it's trip in Oakland, CA. My parents rode the very last East Bound and West Bound Zepher in February of 1969. The East bound train got stuck in snow and was snow-bound for 8 hours. No one on the trained cared because they were all railroad buffs.







The Rock Island Railroad also ran a train from Chicago to California. "The Rock Island jointly operated the Golden State Limited (Chicago—Kansas City—Tucumcari—El Paso—Los Angeles) with the Southern Pacific Railroad (SP) from 1902–1968." (Excerpt from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago...cific_Railroad)

 

What incredibly wonderful photos... I think trains are stupendous - and yes yes yes - it is the Zephyr - thank your wonderful brains!!! Sorry to hijack since it wasn't steam, but I knew you could steer me right. My other fav is the CHESSIE cars...aren't they cool?