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American Royal Zephyr
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<p>The <i>American Royal Zephyr</i> was a <a href="/facts/Streamliner/DE0SCQf1">streamlined</a> <a href="/facts/Passenger_train/0mkFQDg9">passenger train</a> service operated by the <a href="/facts/Chicago,_Burlington_and_Quincy_Railroad/9NmAud4K">Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad</a> between <a href="/facts/Chicago,_Illinois/yPMokrXH">Chicago</a> and <a href="/facts/Kansas_City,_Missouri/N8GxbWWR">Kansas City</a>. This CB&Q <i>Zephyr</i> was named for the <a href="/facts/American_Royal/URqhhcnH">American Royal</a>, one of the <a href="/facts/Midwestern_United_States/VanHjkw2">Midwest</a>'s largest and oldest livestock exhibition, professional rodeo, and horse show. </p><p>The <i>American Royal Zephyr</i> made its inaugural run on February 1, 1953, as an all-new overnight streamliner between Chicago and Kansas City. The new train was prompted by the completion the previous October of the $16-million "Kansas City Shortcut", 49 miles of new track that made the route shorter, flatter, and straighter. The new alignment shaved 2 hours off of the previous shortest route, and made CB&Q optimistic that it could compete successfully against its entrenched rival, the AT&SF, on this busy route. </p><p><i>American Royal Zephyr</i> #56 departed Kansas City at 10:00 pm, arriving in Chicago at 7:30 am. Westbound counterpart #55 operated on a mirrored schedule, departing the Windy City at 10:00 pm and arriving in Kansas City at 7:30 am. Both trains covered the 466 mile route at an average pace of 49 mph. The original consist included two Vista-Domes (which provided meal service), two Chicago-KC sleepers, one Chicago - St. Joe sleeper, and coaches. The CB&Q simultaneously launched a daylight Chicago-Kansas City service on the same route under the banner of the <i><a href="/facts/Kansas_City_Zephyr/FojhyAtP">Kansas City Zephyr</a>.</i> Like its daylight counterpart, the <i>American Royal Zephyr</i> never lived up to ridership expectations, and it was not long before equipment from the <i>ARZ</i> was being shuffled off to other trains. Intense competition came from the Santa Fe, which ran six daily streamliners in each direction through Kansas City on a shorter schedule than CB&Q, and an existing, dedicated overnight service called the <i>Kansas City Chief</i>. </p><p>The <i>American Royal Zephyr</i> was discontinued in 1971. </p>