Here’s a machine worth remembering: Pioneer Zephyr, a.k.a. the Silver Streak, a diesel-electric, stainless-steel streamlined passenger train (1). Rolled out in 1934 by the Edward G. Budd Company of Philadelphia, it was a leader in the switch from steam engines to diesel and a blueprint for trains to come (1).
Named after the Greek God of the West wind, this train moved like it (2). At its peak, it championed approx. 181 kilometers per hour. Over a 25-year run, it chewed up 3.2 million miles (3).
Zephyr was built for the folks who rode the old Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad (3).
Zephyr was meant to turn heads; in 1934, the beast broke records in its “Dawn-to-Dusk Run” … a non-stop trip from Denver to Chicago (4). At the time, it was the “longest nonstop train [trip]” achieved on our floating rock (4).
These days, it’s not on the tracks. Still, you can see it up close at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago (3). It’s got some miles on it, but shining in its stainless-steel glory, nonetheless.
Motion with muscle… steel with purpose. The possibilities of metal are endless.
Think about what your metal could become when you recycle it at a SECURE metals recycling location near you today.
*Zephyr not pictured in featured photo.
SOURCES
1. “About the Pioneer Zephyr.” 2020. https://www.msichicago.org/fileadmin/assets/press/Pioneer_Zephyr/Pioneer_Zephyr_fact_sheet.pdf
2. Institution, Smithsonian. n.d. “Model of Chicago, Quincy and Burlington Railroad’s Pioneer Zephyr |.” Smithsonian Institution. https://www.si.edu/object/model-chicago-quincy-and-burlington-railroads-pioneer-zephyr%3Anmah_843674
3. Cobb, Harold M., and ASM International. The History of Stainless Steel. 1st ed., ASM International, 2010. p. xviii.
4. American Experience, PBS. 2019. “The Burlington Zephyr.” American Experience | PBS, August 30, 2019. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/streamliners-burlington/