Nebraska Zephyr - History

History

The twin Nebraska Zephyr trainsets were built in 1936 as the second pair of Twin Zephyrs, built for service between Chicago and Minneapolis-St. Paul, both of which had cars named for classical deities. One trainset was known as the "Train of the Goddesses" and its cars were named Venus, Vesta, Minerva, Psyche, Ceres, Diana,and Juno. The other trainset was known as the "Train of the Gods" and its cars were named Apollo, Mars, Neptune, Cupid, Vulcan, Mercury, and Jupiter. Early typical motive power for these trains was provided by a pair of shovel-nose diesels named Pegasus and Zephyrus.

While still working as the Twin Cities Zephyr, the "Train of the Goddesses" was derailed at speed by a tractor that fell into its path from a freight train and hit the train station in Downers Grove, Illinois. Two people were killed and many were injured in this accident. In November 1947 the repaired trainset was reassigned to Nebraska Zephyr service between Chicago and Lincoln, Nebraska along with the "Train of the Gods". The two trainsets were used in this service for over 20 years, until retirement in January 1968. During that period cars Diana, Psyche, Cupid, and Mercury were removed from the trainsets.

The "Train of the Goddesses" arrived at the Illinois Railway Museum on September 21, 1968 and it has been in use by the museum since then; it is still operated on short runs on the Museum's substantial trackage, providing train enthusiasts and tourists with an experience reminiscent of the heyday of the Burlington's Zephyr service.