The California Zephyr, a passenger train operated by Amtrak between Chicago and the San Francisco Bay Area (at Emeryville), via Omaha, Denver, Salt Lake City, and Reno.
John can see the Zephyr from his office and the number of cars on the train is considered to be an economic indicator.
John often calls out when the Zephyr comes by near the beginning of the show.
At 2,438 miles (3,924 km), it is Amtrak’s longest daily route, and second-longest overall after the Texas Eagle’s triweekly continuation from San Antonio to Los Angeles, with travel time between the termini taking approximately 511⁄2 hours.[2] Amtrak claims the route as one of its most scenic, with views of the upper Colorado River valley in the Rocky Mountains, and the Sierra Nevada.[3] The modern train is the second iteration of a train named California Zephyr; the original train was privately operated and ran on a different route through Nevada and California.
During fiscal year 2019, the California Zephyr carried 410,844 passengers, a decrease of 1.8% over FY2018.[4] The train had a total revenue of $51,950,998 in FY2016, an increase of 6.5% over FY2015.[1]