Interiors near completion on three ‘Mark Twain Zephyr’ cars

TREGO, Wis. — After surviving 62 years in storage and seven previous owners unable to fulfill their plans for the historic Budd-built streamliner, Wisconsin Great Northern Railroad’s restoration of the Mark Twain Zephyr has turned a corner, with three of the five cars nearing interior completion.

“I am thankful every day for the individuals and entities that have owned the Zephyr for the last 62 years,” WGN president Greg Vreeland said. “Their pursuit of their dreams and willingness to expend funds in pursuit of those dreams, even though they were unfulfilled, ultimately saved the train from being scrapped.”

Alexander Vreeland, 11, son of Greg Vreeland and his wife Mardell, gave Trains a tour of the recently completed work on two cars — display car Becky Thatcher and tavern-lounge Effie Dean on June 14.

The Effie Dean was not part of the original trainset. It originated as a coach added to the Pioneer Zephyr, now on display at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. Because of space constraints, the museum only accepted the original three-car trainset; the additional car was retained by the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad. It was added to, and eventually sold with, the Mark Twain Zephyr trainset, which was at the time stored at the railroad’s West Burlington, Iowa, shops. Its articulated design meant it could only be added to a similar Zephyr trainset.

As restored, the Effie Dean features room for 40 passengers in plush booth seating.  A small luggage area just inside the vestibule door has been converted into two additional booths. Stained and varnished solid oak tables, custom-built booths, and Art Deco lighting complete the former coach section. The small dinette kitchen has been converted to a bar, complete with a dishwasher and new refrigeration.

“It is important to remember that the early Zephyrs were very utilitarian in function and interior coloring,” Greg Vreeland explains. “Our rebuild plan calls for upgrading the entire consist in such a way as to give future visitors the flavor of the Zephyr period in a First Class atmosphere, such as that found in the 1936 Denver Zephyr consists.”

Perhaps most interesting is display car Becky Thatcher, which features a self-guided, walk-through history of the Zephyr program on one side. The other side tells the history of the Mark Twain Zephyr, including its 122-mph speed record set in Nebraska in October 1935.

Many heritage railroad attractions require passengers to remain seated throughout the trip.  The Mark Twain Zephyr rebuild has been designed specifically to encourage guests to explore each car.  The paint scheme, seating styles, and custom carpets are different in each car, and the display car and theater planned in the rear section of the power car provide passengers with a destination to explore.

As the other cars progress, work has begun on the modifications which will allow a 6-567C EMD diesel engine, to be provided from a switch engine, to be installed in the power car. The original Winton engine was removed prior to the train’s acquisition by Wisconsin Great Northern.