Willoughby: California Zephyr — half the fun is getting there

Tourists today arrive largely by air. For many decades, many came by train. In our jet-speed age, it may be difficult to realize that the slower travel by train was part of the fun of a vacation in Aspen.

There was daily passenger train service between Aspen and Glenwood Springs for many modern years. In 1938, trains from Glenwood arrived in Aspen at 11:30 a.m. and returned to Glenwood at 2:40 p.m.. In 1941, arrivals and departures were between 11:00 and 12:00. The trip took around an hour.

In 1938, Aspen, in conjunction with the Denver Chamber of Commerce, put together what was dubbed “special snow trains.” They left Denver on Fridays and returned on Sundays. Aspen locals, in the beginning, volunteered to connect incoming skiers to their lodges and to the slopes.

The main customer base were members of Denver ski clubs who had rollicking fun going and coming. Ski trains to other cities were added. The most impressive was one to New York. Thirteen skiers came on the first trip, making it from New York to Aspen in under 48 hours.

In 1941, the Burlington Railroad initiated ski trains from Chicago to Glenwood and then to Aspen by bus. Aspen developed a strong contingent of Chicago skiers then, as well as a group from Madison, Wisconsin.  Ski clubs prevailed then, and traveling with others you knew made the travel time fly by.

The California Zephyr — train service from San Francisco to Chicago combining the Burlington, Denver and Rio Grande, and Western Pacific railroads — began service in 1949. That quickly ended most special ski trains. Glenwood Springs is roughly the halfway point. Going east, you left Oakland, Calif. (For a while, it left from San Francisco but later those first miles were by bus) at 10:40 a.m. and arrived in Glenwood at 1:40 p.m. the next day. Traveling west, you left Chicago at 3:30 p.m. and arrived in Glenwood the next day at 2:00 p.m. The closeness of the times arriving in Glenwood meant that one bus could take travelers from both directions to Aspen.

I traveled on the Zephyr many times in the late 1950s and into the mid-’60s. The first trip was with my elder cousin and my grandmother, but after that, my parents had me travel alone. I learned, firsthand, the appeal of traveling on the Zephyr. Tourist travelers were enticed to travel on it because of its scenic route. I did not do the east-of-Glenwood trip, but coming from Chicago, the trip through the Rockies, in daylight, was spellbinding. Coming from the west, you traveled along the Feather River to cross the Sierras, then at night cruised Nevada’s totally empty high desert, and then ended the trip to Glenwood following the Colorado River through Western Colorado canyons.

It is something to watch through your seat window, but the Zephyr train’s vista-domes, seats high above the tracks with an uninterrupted 360-degree view of the surroundings, made the Zephyr famous. I especially enjoyed the Nevada section because few other passengers went to the vista-dome at night. It was especially beautiful under a full moon.

For a youngster, eating in the dining car with its polished silverware and fine china, as well as a great menu and stellar service, was also a treat. I could also, when my young body needed to burn off energy, walk through the train, around the length of a football field, all the way to the club car at the end of the train to have a snack. You can’t do that on an airplane!

Whether a skier, a summer tourist, or a child traveling between family locations, getting to Aspen, at least then, was half the fun. 

Tim Willoughby’s family story parallels Aspen’s. He began sharing folklore while teaching at Aspen Country Day School and Colorado Mountain College. Now a tourist in his native town, he views it with historical perspective. Reach him at [email protected].