The transcontinental railroad, the California Zephyr and the Coast Starlight: America by train, the back story

About The transcontinental railroad, the California Zephyr and the Coast Starlight: America by train, the back story

By the ULTIMATE San Francisco Editorial Team

The railroad made modern America. In 1869 the first line across the continent was completed in the Utah desert; today two of the most beautiful train journeys in the world, the California Zephyr and the Coast Starlight, still cross the American West.

The first transcontinental railroad

In the 1860s two companies raced to join the continent by rail: the Central Pacific building east from Sacramento, over the Sierra Nevada, and the Union Pacific building west from the Missouri River. Thousands of workers built it, among them many Chinese immigrants on the Central Pacific and Irish immigrants on the Union Pacific, often in brutal conditions. On 10 May 1869 the two lines met at Promontory Summit, Utah, where a golden spike was driven to mark the moment, and a journey that had taken months by wagon now took about a week. The site is now the Golden Spike National Historical Park.

The California Zephyr

Amtrak’s California Zephyr runs daily between Chicago and Emeryville, across the bay from San Francisco: about 2,438 miles in around 52 hours. It crosses the plains of Iowa and Nebraska, climbs into the Rockies from Denver through the Moffat Tunnel and along the Colorado River through Glenwood Canyon, crosses the deserts of Utah and Nevada and climbs again over the Sierra Nevada at Donner Pass before dropping to Sacramento and the bay. Many travellers call it the most beautiful train ride in America.

From the Zephyr’s glass-roofed lounge car, the Rockies and the Sierra Nevada pass by like a film you never want to end.

The Coast Starlight

The Coast Starlight runs daily between Seattle and Los Angeles, about 1,377 miles in around 35 hours, past the Cascades and Mount Shasta, through the Oregon forests and the farmland of California, and then, south of San Luis Obispo, along the Pacific shore itself, with the surf just beyond the window.

San Francisco’s railways

San Francisco’s Zephyr passengers leave the train at Emeryville, across the bay, and continue by Amtrak bus over the Bay Bridge into the city. The city’s own railway legend is the cable car, first run on Clay Street in 1873 by Andrew Hallidie; three lines still climb Nob Hill and Russian Hill, the last manually operated cable car system in the world.

Our advice: book a roomette for the long journeys if you can, for a bed, meals in the dining car and privacy, and spend your days in the Sightseer lounge car. On the Zephyr, the finest scenery is between Denver and Salt Lake City and over the Sierra; on the Starlight, sit on the right going south for the ocean. Amtrak’s long-distance trains can run late, so leave time for connections.

Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with The transcontinental railroad, the California Zephyr and the Coast Starlight: America by train, the back story before you go.