{"id":7762,"date":"2025-05-10T20:42:54","date_gmt":"2025-05-10T20:42:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/princetonillinois.com\/?p=7762"},"modified":"2025-05-10T20:42:54","modified_gmt":"2025-05-10T20:42:54","slug":"princeton-celebrates-75-years-of-the-california-zephyr-shaw-local","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/princetonillinois.com\/?p=7762","title":{"rendered":"Princeton celebrates 75 years of the California Zephyr – Shaw Local"},"content":{"rendered":"


Supporters cheer on the Amtrak Zephyr during the 75th anniversary of the train’s visit on Tuesday, March 19, 2024, in Princeton. On March 20, 1949, the original California Zephyr debuted, a joint offering of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy; Denver & Rio Grande Western; and Western Pacific. <\/span>(Scott Anderson)
Jack Gartner has been coming to the Princeton<\/a> depot since he was 3.
Tuesday was a special day for the recent high school graduate, who has been working for the past three years at the depot and helping the station master.
He\u2019s tasked with keeping the station clean and directing passengers to the right platform before the trains\u2019 arrivals, among other tasks.
Normally there\u2019s only a few people around, but he was joined by a little more than a hundred other residents at the depot for the 3:44 p.m. stop Tuesday of the California Zephyr to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the cross-country train.
Gartner was given a commemorative pin.
\u201cI like it,\u201d Gartner said of the job. \u201cIt was neat to be here with everybody and good to celebrate the 75th anniversary. There\u2019s not always this many people here.\u201d
Residents cheer on the Amtrak’s California Zephyr train during the 75th anniversary of the train’s visit on Tuesday, March 19, 2024, in Princeton. On March 20, 1949, the cross-country train debuted the original California Zephyr, a joint offering of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy; Denver & Rio Grande Western; and Western Pacific. <\/span>(Scott Anderson)
During Tuesday\u2019s stop in Princeton on its way from Chicago to Emeryville, California, which is near San Francisco, Amtrak senior staff and historical dignitaries disembarked to greet the residents on the platform and passed out some stickers and commemorative pins.
Princeton City Manager Theresa Wittenauer and tourism director Victoria Yepsen handed the dignitaries a bag of local items, such as Princeton and Bureau County<\/a> visitors guides, Sisler\u2019s ice cream attire and Rachel Rene chapstick, among other local goods.
Residents sang an adapted version of \u201cHappy Birthday,\u201d changing the words to \u201chappy anniversary.\u201d
\u201cI think it went great,\u201d Yepsen said. \u201cI\u2019m impressed with the turnout. This is history. We\u2019re making history.\u201d
Wittenauer said Tuesday\u2019s turnout is believed to be the largest. The city\u2019s residents have hosted commemorative stops before, and attendance at those were strong but not quite at Tuesday\u2019s numbers.
\u201cWe take our train history seriously,\u201d Wittenauer said. \u201cWe\u2019re very proud of our Amtrak stop.\u201d
Lex Poppens, executive director of the Bureau County Historical Society, who was in attendance Tuesday, said Princeton has had a depot since 1911 and rededicated the station in 2004. It has been an Amtrak stop since 1978. The Zephyr debuted March 20, 1949.
The Zephyr, Amtrak\u2019s longest daily route, will makes its way through the Rocky Mountains, Sierra Nevadas, Moffat Tunnel, Colorado\u2019s Gore, Byers and Glenwood Canyons, Winter Park, Truckee River, Donner Lake, San Pablo Bay and the Carquinez Strait on its journey.
Although more than a hundred residents turned out, the stop was quick, lasting no more than a few minutes as officials thanked residents for greeting them before boarding the train. The whistle blew, and the train sped away.
The crowds then left, but Gartner remained. He still had work to do. Princeton has eight daily train stops beginning at 9:25 a.m., and the next train was due at 4:32 p.m. \u2013 the Southwest Chief.
\u201cI like getting to know the conductors,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ve gotten to know them. I really like what I do.\u201d
Jack Gartner displays a commemorative pin he received Tuesday, March 19, 2024, during the California Zephyr’s 75th anniversary stop in Princeton. <\/span>(Derek Barichello)
Copyright \u00a9 2023 Shaw Local News Network
Copyright \u00a9 2023 Shaw Local News Network<\/p>\n

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Supporters cheer on the Amtrak Zephyr during the 75th anniversary of the train’s visit on Tuesday, March 19, 2024, in Princeton. On March 20, 1949, the original California Zephyr debuted, a joint offering of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy; Denver & Rio Grande Western; and Western Pacific. (Scott Anderson)Jack Gartner has been coming to the Princeton depot since he was<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7762","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t