The Zephyrette was a tri-weekly train consisting of a Budd Rail Diesel Car (RDC) run by the Western Pacific Railroad between Oakland, California, and Salt Lake City from 1950 to 1960. Covering , it was the longest RDC service in the United States. The successor to the Western Pacific's Royal Gorge as a secondary supplement to the California Zephyr, the Zephyrette began service on September 15, 1950. Both the existence and western terminus of the route were shaped by the stipulations of regulatory agencies, while the two RDCs the railroad purchased for the train were substantially modified before entering revenue service.
The Zephyrette RDCs achieved considerable cost savings over their conventional predecessor and steam locomotives running similar routes, as well as operational advantages related to their quick acceleration and high cruising speeds. However, they were only temporarily able to keep the service profitable, and the train was ultimately discontinued by the Western Pacific on October 2, 1960, just over a decade after its debut.
Background
The Zephyrette replaced the Royal Gorge in Western Pacific's timetable, which was itself a replacement for the Feather River Express. The Royal Gorge had been established as a passenger train secondary to the California Zephyr, and was intended to help facilitate movement of Western Pacific employees as well as mail, food, and other supplies in addition to carrying paying passengers. However, the Royal Gorge struggled financially; as its average daily ridership dropped from approximately 60 to 40 people, it was losing about $2,700 per day, and was on pace to lose $950,000 over the course of a year.
In November 1949, after eight months in operation, the Western Pacific decided to discontinue the Royal Gorge. It then notified the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) of its decision before exploring the possibility of transporting its employees by truck or bus instead of by train, which would have cost an estimated $165,000 per year. The discontinuance faced opposition from residents and businesses along the line who appealed to the California Public Utilities Commission and the Governor's office. Ultimately, the ICC granted the Western Pacific's request to discontinue its daily Royal Gorge service with the condition that it be replaced by a route between Oakland and Salt Lake City that operated three times a week.
Planning and preparation
RDC evaluations and orders
In January 1950, the Western Pacific conducted a ten-day evaluation with a Budd RDC-1 demonstrator in revenue service between Portola, California, and Salt Lake City, a distance of . This test made it one of the first railroads to use an RDC in revenue service. The runs were deemed a success, and they prompted the railroad to place the first order for an RDC from the Budd Company in May 1950, followed by a second purchase in July of that year. The two RDCs purchased were both of the 70-seat RDC-2 variety, and were numbered 375 and 376. The only difference between the RDC-2s that the Western Pacific ordered and the RDC-1 that it tested was that the former had a baggage compartment and 70 seats, while the latter had 90 seats but lacked the baggage section.
Original and modified plans
Originally, the Western Pacific had planned to run a single RDC on a tri-weekly schedule between Stockton, California, and Salt Lake City, a distance of across California, Nevada, and Utah. This essentially constituted the maximum distance for which a single car could provide both eastbound and westbound service three times per week. However, the California Public Utilities Commission stipulated that the new service must extend to Oakland, meaning that the total one-way distance to Salt Lake City would be . This mandate effectively forced the Western Pacific to purchase a second RDC in order to operate the new route three times a week in both directions. It would also give the new Zephyrette service the distinction of being the longest RDC service in the United States. After the railroad took delivery of its second RDC in July 1950, the new cars were evaluated on a variety of test runs in preparation for entering revenue service.