Images of passenger service on the Feather River Route
Oakland–Chicago California Zephyr departs WP’s Third Street station, Oakland, on inaugural run, March 20, 1949.
Fred Matthews
4-8-4 No. 481 with Oakland–Portola, Calif., Feather River Express, 1 mile east of Altamont, Calif., Aug. 16, 1947.
John C. Illman
Observation car Silver Planet, owned by WP for California Zephyr service.
Classic Trains coll.
Chicago–Oakland Exposition Flyer, with new California Zephyr cars in consist, west of Keddie, Calif., June 1948.
Fred Matthews
4-8-2 No. 173 with Oakland–Chicago Exposition Flyer stopped at Cholona, Nev., July 1940.
Guy L. Dunscomb
Oakland–Chicago California Zephyr at Winnemucca, Nev., January 1970.
Charles Fox
Oakland–Chicago California Zephyr meeting 2-8-8-2 at Pulga, Calif., early 1950s.
Fred Matthews
Portola–Oakland Feather River Express at Williams Loop, August 1947.
Fred Matthews
Bieber Line loggers’ train
2-8-0 37 with weekly train of ex-Sacramento Northern interurban cars to and from Westwood, Calif., for men working at Halls Flat logging camp, mid-1940s.
Classic Trains coll.
RDC2 375 working Oakland–Salt Lake City–Oakland Zephyrette near Altamont, Calif., March 1951
Arthur Lloyd
Oakland–Chicago California Zephyr at Altamont Pass on inaugural run, March 20, 1949.
David Gray Edwards
4-6-0 78 with Portola–Oakland Portola Flyer at Stockton, Calif., 1947.
Classic Trains coll.
Oakland–Chicago California Zephyr at Niles, Calif., circa 1950.
Western Pacific
RDC2 375 working Salt Lake City–Oakland Zephyrette at Salt Lake City, circa 1951–52.
Classic Trains coll.
Oakland–Salt Lake City local
F3 802-A with Oakland–Salt Lake City train 2 at Jungo, Nev., Aug. 25, 1950.
Arthur Lloyd
4-8-2 177 with Chicago–Oakland Exposition Flyer at Winnemucca, Nev., July 1940.
Guy L. Dunscomb
All through August 2021, Classic Trains editors are celebrating the history and legacy of the Western Pacific Railroad. In this article, please enjoy a photo gallery of Western Pacific Railroad passenger trains in their prime.
This gallery was first published in July 2016.
Only from Classic Trains!
Terrible graphics! Why are there giant arrows in the enlarged photos? Disappointed in the site. I find it exasperating to use and the opposite of intuitive