THE A National Historic Mechanical

Engineering Landmark

PIONEER The American Society of Mechanical

Engineers
November 18, 1980

ZEPHYR Museum of Science and Industry

Chicago, Illinois
 NATIONAL HISTORIC MECHANICAL
ENGINEERING LANDMARK

THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF

MECHANICAL ENGINEERS - 1980

THE PIONEER ZEPHYR

“Each of us can say—as he steam engine, changing forever the tics to back up his proud claim that
would at Plymouth Rock or at Inde- nature of the entire railroading in- the era of diesel railroading started
pendence Hall—‘it all started right dustry. The 97½-ton train itself was with the Burlington’s Zephyr. In
here.’ And ‘right here,’ to Bur- an impressive 196 feet of fluted, 1934, the year the Zephyr made its
lington men, is the specific point in stainless steel, a lightweight mate- first run, some 50,000 smoke-
history at which this railroad rial never before used in the con- belching steam locomotives were
turned its attention from our mag- struction of rail cars. Not only was puffing their way back and forth
nificent steam engines to the early the steel beautiful to look at, it also across the United States, racking
diesels. This point is marked by the held together better and wore up 17.8-billion passenger miles and
Pioneer Zephyr,” wrote former Bur- longer than the metals it replaced. 268-billion ton-miles of rail trans-
lington Railroad President H.C. Inside the train, the Zephyr pro- portation.
Murphy in 1963. vided luxury accommodations to- By 1961, following the Pioneer
Comparing the introduction of day’s rail travelers can only dream Zephyr’s lead, the country had be-
the Pioneer Zephyr—the world’s about. come completely “dieselized.” Ap-
first diesel-powered, stainless steel With all those advantages back- proximately 28,500 diesel units
streamlined train—to the landing ing it up, the Pioneer Zephyr sal- produced 20-billion passenger
of the pilgrims at Plymouth Rock, vaged the role of the railroad as a miles and 565-billion ton-miles. In
might strike some as grandiose. carrier of passengers, as well as other words, the diesel-powered
But as every railroad buff knows, freight. In the coming years, the units were capable of doing almost
the debut of the Pioneer Zephyr powerful diesel engines intro- four times the work performed by
was, in its own right, that impor- duced by the Zephyr would prove a their predecessors, the steam
tant. formidable match to the burgeon- locomotives.
For underneath the Zephyr’s bril- ing trucking industry that In the early days, the advantages
liant silver exterior lay a revolution- threatened to take away the rail- of the dieselized engine were not
ary two-cycle diesel engine that roads’ freight traffic. so evident.
would soon replace the traditional Murphy presented some statis-
THE RAILROAD VERSUS long distance travel. Budd was newly devised “Shotweld Process.”
THE MODEL T among the first to admit that “the The system allowed rivetless seams
loss of railway passenger traffic of stainless steel to be joined with-
Anyone watching a 1920 Model T during the last decade has been out damaging its corrosion-
automobile jerking and backfiring caused by a shifting from the rail- resistant qualities. At the same
down the road would find it hard to ways to the highway, and not from a time, it provided a joint stronger
believe that the abject of so much decline in total travel. In fact, the than the steel it held together.
derision would one day threaten total passenger one-mile units of Ralph Budd knew a good prod-
the very existence of the railroad as travel have greatly increased.” uct when he saw one. He decided
a passenger carrier. But that is Budd reasoned that since au- this would be the material for the
exactly what happened. tomobile engineers had derailed new train he set out to build to re-
In 1924, the Burlington Railroad the passenger train, they could be capture the rail passenger market.
carried a whopping 18-million pas- the ones to put it back on the On June 17, 1933, barely a year
sengers. Only five years later, as the tracks. As author David Morgan since he first stepped into office,
automobile’s popularity increased, noted in “Diesels West!,” such Ralph Budd signed a contract with
that figure dropped to 13.8-million. thinking implied the use of a kind of the Budd Co. to construct a train
And by 1933, in the midst of the automotive internal combustion out of stainless steel. The firm was
Great Depression, only 7-million power instead of the steam given virtually free reign in the de-
travelers rode the rails. Passenger locomotive, upon which the indus- sign of the train.
revenues followed a parallel de- try had relied for a century. Now Budd needed a power unit
scent. To the amazement of many, for his stainless steel train, to re-
the railroad, with a tradition as place the hopelessly outdated
THE FIRST STAINLESS
grand as any in America, was steam engine. As usual, Budd got
slowly being replaced by an army STEEL-SHOD TRAIN what he went after.
of 30 mph automobiles. One of Budd’s first moves was to
Luckily for the railroad industry visit the Edward G. Budd (no rela- DIESEL POWER ERA
and the traveling public, a figure tion) Manufacturing Co. in
appeared on the scene in the early DAWNS
Philadelphia. The Budd Co. had
1930s, with the know-how and de- been the first to produce the all- The expertise of no less than
termination to build a train to meet steel automobile wheel, as well as three firms was brought to bear on
the demands of the 20th century the all-steel automobile body. Now the problem of building a two-cycle
traveler. His name was Ralph Budd, it was ready to tackle passenger diesel engine to meet the demands
and he became president of the train construction. for train engines with increased
Burlington Railroad in 1932. At the Budd Co. plant, the Bur- horsepower. The work was led by
By the time Budd arrived at the lington president examined a test the General Motors Co., which was
Burlington, the automobile had rail car body incorporating a greatly aided by the company’s
edged out trains as the favored number of radical innovations, in- 1930 acquisition of the Winton En-
means of transportation, even for cluding a gas engine and rubber gine Co. and rail carbuilder
tires. Budd immediately dismissed Electro-Motive Co.
these alterations as impractical. But it was Charles F. Kettering,
What caught his attention was the General Motors’ vice president of
car’s stainless steel construction. research, and the engineering staff
The benefits of the stainless steel of Winton Engine Co., that led the
rail car were obvious: the material project to a successful conclusion.
was lightweight yet strong, and it In the late 1920s, Kettering began
lasted almost forever. The problem work on the two-cycle diesel en-
was nobody had been able to figure gine, which eventually would be-
out a way to build stainless steel rail come an integral part of the
cars in a practical shop operation. Pioneer Zephyr. His aim was to de-
Fortunately, the Burlington pres- sign a lightweight power unit with
ident’s timing was just right. The improved response and lower cost
Budd Co. had just patented its per horsepower than the available
engines.
During the record-setting 1,000-mile
dawn-to-dusk run from Denver to Chicago in
A period of great productivity fol-
May 1934, a select group of passengers lowed the 1930 merging of the
relaxed in the Pioneer Zephyr’s rounded General Motors, Winton-Engine,
solarium-lounge. One of the passengers and Electro-Motive companies.
(third from left), was Edward G. Budd,
president of the Budd Manufacturing Co. During that time, a number of sig-
that built the all-steel train. nificant engineering contributions
The Zephyr was a hit attraction at the 1934 World’s Fair in Chicago. The silver, streamlined The Pioneer Zephyr was the first streamlined
train was responsible for reviving the public’s interest in rail passenger service at a time train to carry the U.S. mail. At station stops,
when the passenger train seemed almost a thing of the past. passersby could deposit letters in a special
mailbox built onto the side of the train.
were made. The unit injector was No. 9900 made its grand debut with seats for 20 passengers.
devised, incorporating the pump- a record-setting 1,000-mile dawn- Third and last was a 31-ft. com-
ing and fuel metering functions to-dusk run from Denver to partment with seats for 40 persons,
into a single device to avoid high Chicago in 13 hours. Appropriately and a solarium-lounge with chairs
pressure lines. enough, the Zephyr was named for 12.
Two other significant achieve- after the Greek god of the west Prior to the Pioneer Zephyr, the
ments were the application of the winds. traveling public knew only ornate
engine-driven positive displace- The train was powered by a Win- but gloomy railroad car interiors.
ment blower for scavenging, and ton 8-201A 600-hp, two-cycle diesel All that changed with the high-
the development of the welded engine (a revision of the model stepping Zephyr. Each individual
steel crankcase, which enabled a Ralph Budd saw at the fair), de- compartment had a distinctive
reduction in overall weight over signed to travel at speeds of ap- color harmony coordinating wall
cast steel versions. proximately 110 mph. Not only was colors, window drapes, upholstery,
A major turning point occurred the Pioneer Zephyr faster and and floor covering.
in 1933, when the Kettering team’s lighter than its predecessors, it But more important than the
eight-cylinder, 600-hp, 8-201 en- also reduced the Burlington’s cost Zephyr’s looks was the uplifting ef-
gine, with a weight-to-power ratio of passenger train operation. fect it had on a mid-Depression
of only 20 pounds per horsepower, A new era in railroading history America. Said a former Pioneer
was chosen to supply power to the had begun. Zephyr rider, “I have always felt that
Chevrolet exhibit at Chicago’s the Pioneer Zephyr, in introducing
“Century of Progress Exposition.” a new type of service at a time when
While visiting the Fair, Ralph
THE INSIDE STORY the Depression was still fresh in our
Budd came upon the display, and The high operating standards of minds, had a stimulating effect in
immediately decided that the the world’s first high speed diesel- that it lifted our spirits and had
Iightweight diesel engine would propelled, stainless steel three-car much to do with reaffirming the
provide the power for his all-new, train were matched by the Zephyr’s faith of the people in the free enter-
all-important passenger train. As painstaking interior furnishings. prise system. True, it was not a
Budd saw it, the diesel railroad was The first car held the diesel en- world-shaking event, but it pointed
the railroad of the future—and if gine, engineer’s cab, a 30-ft. railway the way for better things to come.”
any company could put the diesel post office, and space for baggage.
engine in a train, it was General The second car carried a larger
Motors.
PIONEER OF AN ERA
baggage compartment, a buffet-
Approximately one year later, on grill and, at the rear portion of the Following the Zephyr’s first his-
May 26, 1934, the Pioneer Zephyr unit, a 16-ft. smoking section with toric run, it made another cross-
country tour covering 222 cities, 10th birthday party at Lincoln, Neb. lic’s interest in rail passenger ser-
where it was received by some The granddaddy of diesel-powered vice. Settled comfortably in the
2-million spectators. The train also streamlined trains celebrated its welcoming arms of the modern
was a hit attraction at Chicago’s 20th anniversary of regular service train, thousands of Americans
1934 Century of Progress. at Quincy, III. watched the nation’s prairies,
On Armistice Day 1934, the Finally on May 26, 1960, the mountains, and forests fly by.
Zephyr went into regular pas- Pioneer Zephyr pulled up to its final Glamour queens of the era liked
senger service, serving the West destination just outside the East nothing better than to make a
and Midwest until its retirement. Pavilion of Chicago’s Museum of grand entrance into town by rail,
That was only the beginning— Science and Industry, blowing the greeted by crowds waiting on the
for the diesel and for the Pioneer whistle on an unparalleled career station’s platform.
Zephyr. The train was the star of that had spanned 26 years and The Pioneer Zephyr spawned a
radio programs and a hit movie en- some 3.2-million miles. The family of sister Zephyrs, each one a
titled “The Silver Streak.” It Pioneer Zephyr is now on perma- testimony to the Burlington Rail-
sparked dreams of adventure in the nent exhibit at the Museum. road’s dedication to engineering
minds of countless small boys and excellence. It was a model for the
girls—and of distant places in the A TRADITION IS passenger trains of competing rail-
minds of their parents. roads.
ESTABLISHED Although the Pioneer Zephyr no
The first million miles of the
Pioneer Zephyr were celebrated on In addition to all of its technolog- longer rides the rails, its name lives
Dec. 29, 1939. On Apr. 10, 1944, the ical achievements, the Pioneer on as a symbol of young America’s
Zephyr was the guest of honor at its Zephyr led to a revival of the pub- industrial genius.

The Pioneer Zephyr is on permanent exhibit at Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry.
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The Diesel and Gas Engine Power Div. of The American Society of Mechanical
Engineers gratefully acknowledges the efforts of all who cooperated on the
landmark designation of the Pioneer Zephyr, Chicago, III. A special thank you is
extended to the Museum of Science and Industry, the Electro-Motive Div. of the
General Motors Corp., and the ASME Rail Transportation Div. and Chicago Section
for their assistance.

The American Society of Mechanical Engineers

Dr. Charles E. Jones, president

James R. Jones, vice president, power department
Charles O. Velzy, vice president, industry department
Warren C. Fackler, vice president, Region VI
Dr. Rogers B. Finch, executive director and secretary

The National History and Heritage Committee

Prof. J.J. Ermenc, chairman

Dr. R. Carson Dalzell
Prof. R.S. Hartenberg
Dr. J. Paul Hartman
Robert M. Vogel, Smithsonian Institution
Carron Garvin-Donohue, staff director of operations
Jill Birghenthal, administrator

The Diesel and Gas Engine Power Division

Frank J. Pekar, Jr., chairman

Walter R. Taber, Jr., vice chairman
Edwin C. Younghouse, vice chairman
Douglas W. Exline
Karl T. Geoca
W. Warren Nugent
Lewis D. Conta

The Pioneer Zephyr is the 54th National Landmark designated by the Society. For a
complete listing of Landmarks, please contact the Public Information Department,
ASME, 345 E. 47th St., New York, NY 10017 212/644-7740.

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