Nebraska and Ak-Sar-Ben Zephyr????

[RedGrey62]

The Ak Sar Ben Zephyr is a bit easier to model.  It used a few cars from the California Zephyr, mainly sleepers and the dome observation.  It occasionally had an NP sleeper as well.  It also depends what part of the run you are modeling, from Chicago to Galesburg had different cars than the Galesburg to Omaha/Lincoln portion.  It was not a solid stainless steel consist.

A "typical" consist from 1955 was:  (as it passed through Burlington, IA)

2 E-7As

NYC 60' Baggage

CB&Q Havelock Baggage Car

CB&Q Modernized Heavyweight 60 seat car

NP Budd 4rmt/4Dbr/4Sdr Sleeper

PRR Budd 21 Rmt Sleeper

CB&Q (CZ) 10-6 Sleeper

WP (CZ) 16 Sec Sleeper

D&RGW (CZ) Vista Dome Sleeper Observation

It would regularly carry a fair amount of head end traffic including ex troop sleepers and baggage express cars from many RRs including PRR, UP and SP.

Rick

 

[jimrice4449]

The consist in the Ill Rail Museum is the Nebraska Zephyr (5 cars)  which started life as the 7 car 1937 version of the Twin Zephyrs.   The sets in Twin Cities service had single unit "Shovel Nose" engines as opposed to the 2 AB sets that the 12 car Denver Zephyrs of the same period had.   The original TZ power wasn't suitable for tne NebZ service since there were (lots!) of mail/express cars between power and train.  The Ak -Sar-Ben was an overnight train between Chicago and Lincoln/Omaha that had sleepers and coaches but my 1950 Official Guide doesn't specify what types of sleepers just the various accomodations available.  I think Railway Classics offered the 5 car set (I have a 7 car Twin Zephyr set) and maybe Challenger but both were plated brass and would be priced accordingly.   You could always get the 7 car set and set aside the uneeded cars but I don't know which ones were dispensed with.

[jrbernier]

  Like mentioned above, the trains used the 2nd Twin Zephyr train sets when the Twin Zephyrs were upgraded after WWII with new dome equipment.  The power units did not follow the cars.  The CB&Q used standard 'E' units for power, adding a streamlined baggage car to the consists.  Eventually the train were combined with other runs for part of the journey, and standard steamlined equipment was used in the last years.  One of those 1937 train sets is now at IRM, pulled by an E5A - very typical of the train in the post WWII era.

Jim

[jktrains]

It would depend on what era you model.  The most well known version of the Nebraska Zephyr featured articulated trainsets.  They were known as the Train of the Gods and Train of the Godesses since each car in  the set was named after a roman god or godess.  The Godess train is what the IRM has.  IIRC, the train orginally used one of the Q's shovel nose locos.  If you want to model these, then dig deep since they are only available in brass, or should I say nickle plated brass.  I'll have to check my reference material regarding the Ak-Sar-Ben to see what the consist typically was on it.

jktrains

[Greatplains Railroader]

Does anyone know where or how i could get either of those Zephyrs and the engines???