# The Texas Zephyr



## bms (Apr 24, 2021)

This train extends the route of the California Zephyr, connecting Denver to Houston via Colorado Springs and Dallas. This follows the old CB&Q route, which wasn't a candidate for Amtrak service as it was dropped in 1967. Since then, the major cities on this route have drastically increased their population.

The Texas Zephyr can exchange cars with the California Zephyr in Denver, providing through service from Houston to San Francisco.


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## Palmetto (Apr 25, 2021)

Interesting. My thoughts: too many stops in podunk towns in the middle of the night. Houston gets another train, which is always a good thing. [It's the fourth largest city in the country.] It connects with trains 21/22 in Ft. Worth, and # 2 in Houston, if it runs on time. It connects with #822 in Ft. Worth also, but it's a long connection.

One correction: Houston is not in the Pacific time zone.


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## jiml (Apr 25, 2021)

bms said:


> This train extends the route of the California Zephyr, connecting Denver to Houston via Colorado Springs and Dallas. This follows the old CB&Q route, which wasn't a candidate for Amtrak service as it was dropped in 1967. Since then, the major cities on this route have drastically increased their population.
> 
> The Texas Zephyr can exchange cars with the California Zephyr in Denver, providing through service from Houston to San Francisco.


The overnight portion is in Colorado in both directions? I initially read it as a morning departure from Denver, but then realized the big cities in Texas wouldn't be served in daylight.


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## jruff001 (Apr 25, 2021)

Nice, but too many stops between Amarillo and Ft. Worth in miniscule towns that won't have sufficient ridership to justify them. Should be Childress and Wichita Falls, and that's it.

Also I think the north/westbound should be maybe two hours later.


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## jiml (Apr 25, 2021)

@bms, looking at this on a map it does make sense and addresses a few of the recently-discussed Amtrak "needs", including service south of Denver and a Dallas-Houston train. Interestingly, the Burlington thought there wasn't enough demand to extend the original past Dallas to Houston. I'm sure someone will have a reason it can't be done (track, etc.), but in the interim you could be on to something.


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## Rasputin (Apr 25, 2021)

Can you imagine the number of people who would mistakenly buy tickets to Memphis, TX expecting to be in Memphis, TN instead.


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## Just-Thinking-51 (Apr 25, 2021)

The disadvantage of one train in each way per day. Some city get good connections, some locations get good transfers, some get good schedule times. I been on the roads along this route. I would enjoy these town and cities by rail much better, than driving.

Practical issues is some portion of this route are one-way train traffic. This is not a deal breaker, it just makes it harder to do.

Overall yes this route would fill a spot on the map. Add a few miles north to Cheyenne would help.


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## Just-Thinking-51 (Apr 25, 2021)

Additionally points to think about.

The connection in Denver is tight to and from California. The Houston to Dallas part is going High Speed Rail, so not necessarily needed.


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## Ziv (Apr 25, 2021)

I will be dipped in sh##!
Texans named a town after Quanah Parker? 
I had no idea. Considering how hated the Comanche were for a generation, especially in Texas, that is pretty amazing. If you have never heard of him, Quanah was the last Comanche chief and under his leadership the Comanche actually pushed the Westerners back for quite some time. He was the son of a Comanche chief, Peta Nocona, and an American woman Cynthia Parker, who had been kidnapped as a child but had nearly completely assimilated into the Comanche tribe before being captured by Texas Rangers at the age of 34 and forcibly returned to distant relatives.
Another cool thing about Quanah is that even though he and his tribe were exiled to Oklahoma, he ended up a millionaire of sorts with huge tracts of land, several wives and a huge mansion. I believe he went hunting with Teddy Roosevelt fairly frequently too. Even in the early 20th Century the Comanche were a name to be reckoned with. My Grandfather homesteaded in Montana around 1910 and he named the most ornery stallion he ever owned Comanche because there was absolutely no give in that horse. We have pictures of Grampa on Comanche and that horse looks mad as he** in every photo.
Life is stranger than fiction. A Texas town named after Quanah Parker. That takes the cake.

QUOTE="bms, post: 890744, member: 14271"]
This train extends the route of the California Zephyr, connecting Denver to Houston via Colorado Springs and Dallas. This follows the old CB&Q route, which wasn't a candidate for Amtrak service as it was dropped in 1967. Since then, the major cities on this route have drastically increased their population.
...
[/QUOTE]


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## jiml (Apr 25, 2021)

Rasputin said:


> Can you imagine the number of people who would mistakenly buy tickets to Memphis, TX expecting to be in Memphis, TN instead.


More than Las Vegas?


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## Rasputin (Apr 25, 2021)

When the conductor on the Southwest Chief in 2002 announced that the next stop would be Las Vegas, a group of women in the lounge car started to search through their purses for change expecting to find slot machines at the station. They were soon disappointed. (But Las Vegas was our stop and we were not disappointed and had a great time there.)


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## bms (Apr 27, 2021)

jruff001 said:


> Nice, but too many stops between Amarillo and Ft. Worth in miniscule towns that won't have sufficient ridership to justify them. Should be Childress and Wichita Falls, and that's it.
> 
> Also I think the north/westbound should be maybe two hours later.



You're probably right, the schedule I posted is derived from the 1960s Texas Zephyr, and a modern train would likely serve fewer stations.

I'll look into the northwestbound, why two hours later?


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## Palmetto (Apr 28, 2021)

It just dawned on me that the train would have to reverse direction in Amarillo, I believe. But not a difficult proposition, as there is a wye just north of the old station to do just that. The BNSF has been pretty adamant, though, about keeping Amtrak off its Southern Transcon mainline, and this train would not be a welcomed addition to them, I fear.


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## railiner (Apr 28, 2021)

Ziv said:


> I will be dipped in sh##!
> Texans named a town after Quanah Parker?


And not just a town...consequently, a railroad...





__





TSHA | Quanah, Acme and Pacific Railway







www.tshaonline.org













Quanah, Acme & Pacific Railway: Map, Roster, History


The Quanah, Acme & Pacific was chartered in 1909 to serve northern Texas. It was purchased by the Frisco and continued to operate until the 1980's.




www.american-rails.com


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## jiml (Apr 28, 2021)




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## coventry801 (May 21, 2021)

Would love to have this train running. And potentially extend further to New Orleans and Orlando


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## Asher (May 21, 2021)

ZIV says, on
Apr 25, 2021
“I will be dipped in sh##!.”
That caused me to do some research on Quanah Parker. Very interesting!


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## Philly Amtrak Fan (May 29, 2021)

Rasputin said:


> Can you imagine the number of people who would mistakenly buy tickets to Memphis, TX expecting to be in Memphis, TN instead.



As opposed to Las Vegas, NM?


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