Henrietta Hay's Column

Once upon a time riding on a train was an exciting adventure. That's hard to believe today, when train travel is rapidly following the dodo bird out of existence.

I have a long history of train rides. My first one was from Illinois to Colorado was when I was one month old. I am just glad that I was not any younger. My parents chose to be with my mother's doctor-father in Illinois when I was due, and it would have been very embarrassing if my birth certificate had read, "Place of birth: somewhere between Omaha and Ottumwa." Needless to say, I do not have too many memories of that first trip back home to Rocky Ford.

After that there were lots of train rides, but for real excitement, none could ever match the one I took in the summer of 1936.

I was living in Chicago at the time, and like any real mountain girl I wanted to come home to Colorado for a few weeks. It seemed that every time I was in Illinois I wanted to be in Colorado, which is hardly surprising. The train trip from Chicago to Denver in those days took 26 hours. That's a long time to watch the flat land of the Midwest roll by.

But something new had been added. A couple of years before, a revolutionary new train had appeared. It was the brainchild of Ralph Budd, president of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad. He had developed a new diesel-powered train that would revolutionize passenger railroad service. He named it the Zephyr, from the Canterbury Tales: Zephyrus, the Greek personification of the west wind, a force of renaissance and change.

He boasted that it could make the 1034-mile trip from Denver to Chicago between dawn and dusk. On May 26, 1934, it did. Thousands of spectators all along the route turned out to watch the little train as it roared through villages and towns and made the trip in 13 hours and five minutes. At one point it reached the then unbelievable speed of 112.5 miles an hour. The New York Times put the story on page 1, "ZEPHYR MAKES WORLD RECORD RUN.

Two years later two of the little trains were put into regular overnight service between Chicago and Denver. They were called the Denver Zephyrs, and one of them took me home that year. I remember when I first saw it one summer night in Chicago's Union Station. It was the most beautiful train I had ever seen or ever will see.

It consisted of three articulated stainless steel units, with a seating capacity of 70. The first car contained the diesel engine, baggage and mail compartment. The second had baggage and express, and a buffet and smoking compartment in the rear, which seated 19 passengers. The third car was devoted entirely to seating space with a capacity of 51, including 12 "parlor chairs." They were the Zephyr version of first class in a modern plane.

Being a curious soul, I managed to talk my way into being allowed to explore all three cars. They were as trim and efficient on the inside as they were beautiful on the outside. Of course, I had a snack at the buffet. It was like a big social event. People were moving around and talking to each other and sharing the excitement of a new experience.

Finally I settled down with a blanket and a pillow to try to sleep. But who can sleep while traveling in a brand new train at an average speed of 65 miles per hour? That was faster than I had ever moved in my life up to that time.

As we slid into the Denver Union Station the next morning, after a trip of just sixteen hours I knew that in a very small way, I had been a pioneer. The Zephyr's successors were bigger and probably faster, but they never had the glamour of the little silver bullet that started the whole thing.

After 60 years I can still feel the excitement and pure pleasure of that trip. Some things you never forget.