Why do the Chief and Zephyr have 4 digit route numbers today?

[MIrailfan]

Very strange.

 

[brianpmcdonnell17]

It has to do with the time change, which can result in certain stations being shifted from one calendar day to another. This is more problematic with daily service, as the stations may have multiple trains in the same direction on the same day, hence the different train number is necessary to distinguish between them.

 

[John Bobinyec]

See this thread.

jb