Editing Pioneer Zephyr (section)

==Promotion: "Dawn-to-Dusk" dash==
[[File:CBQ Pioneer Zephyr.jpg|thumb|right|This "[[Drumhead (sign)|drumhead]]" logo originally adorned the end of the observation car on the ''Pioneer Zephyr''.]]
After its naming in Philadelphia, the train was taken on a three-week promotional tour of cities in the [[Northeast United States|Northeast]] and [[Midwestern United States|Midwest]].  The train was open for viewing in several cities, with 24,000 people viewing it in Philadelphia,{{sfn|Byron|2005|p=39}} 50,000 in Rochester, New York,<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/99056849/democrat-and-chronicle/| title=50,000 Jam Station to See Newest Marvel of the Rails| first=Norman| last=Howden| newspaper=Democrat and Chronicle| location=Rochester, New York| date=April 30, 1934| page=13| via=Newspapers.com}} {{open access}}</ref> and more than 109,000 viewing it in New York City.{{sfn|Byron|2005|p=39}} In early May 1934, the train was driven back westward over the [[Pennsylvania Railroad]]'s mainline to Chicago, and some parallel routes, exceeding {{convert|100|mph}} several times.{{sfn|Byron|2005|p=39}}  At its stop in Dayton, Ohio, another 20,000 people viewed the train,<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/391961078/?terms=Burlington%20Zephyr&match=1| title=Crowd of Nearly 20,000 on Hand at Union Station To See New Burlington "Zephyr" Streamline Train| newspaper=The Dayton Herald| location=Dayton, Ohio| date=May 7, 1934| page=17| via=Newspapers.com}} {{open access}}</ref> and a "never-ending procession of visitors" viewed it on its stop in Indianapolis.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/99058007/the-indianapolis-star/| title=Burlington's Zephyr, Latest in Trains, Draws Many Visitors on Stay Here| newspaper=The Indianapolis Star| location=Indianapolis, Indiana| date=May 10, 1934| page=11| via=Newspapers.com}} {{open access}}</ref>  It was then driven toward Denver for its last display in preparation for its next big promotion.  It made additional promotional stops in other cities along the route, including Lincoln, Nebraska, where 21,000 people viewed the train.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/99057101/the-hastings-democrat/| title=Burlington "Zephyr" Here for Exhibition| newspaper=The Hastings Democrat| location=Hastings, Nebraska| date=May 24, 1934| page=1| via=Newspapers.com}} {{open access}}</ref>  The tour stopped in 46 cities and had almost 485,000 people view the train at its many stops.{{sfn|Byron|2005|p=39}}

[[File:Pioneer Zephyr Camel Cigarettes ad Popular Science November 1934.jpg|right|thumb|A cigarette ad showing the train and describing the record-breaking run]]
The train made a "Dawn-to-Dusk" dash from Denver to Chicago on May 26, 1934, in a publicity stunt timed to coincide with the opening day of the second year of the [[Century of Progress]] [[world's fair]] in Chicago. The railroad spared no expense in planning the operations. All other trains along the ''Zephyr''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s route were diverted to [[rail siding|sidings]] and the [[railroad switch|turnouts]] were spiked into the proper alignment for the ''Zephyr''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s run.{{sfn|Byron|2005|p=53}} Track and [[maintenance of way]] workers checked every spike and bolt along the train's route to ensure that there would not be any problems, and temporary speed signs were installed along the route to warn the ''Zephyr''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s crew of curves that would be dangerous at high speeds.<ref name="NYTimes" /> On the day of the dash, every road [[grade crossing]] was staffed by a flagger to stop automobile traffic ahead of the train and to ensure that the crossing was clear.{{sfn|Byron|2005|p=52}} Stations along the route were protected by local police officers and members of the [[American Legion]] and the [[Boy Scouts of America]].{{sfn|Zimmermann|2004|p=37}}

The train left Denver at 07:04 [[Central Standard Time Zone|Central Daylight Time]] and at 20:09, 13&nbsp;hours 5&nbsp;minutes later, broke through the tape at the designated finish line at [[Halsted Street station]], 1.8 miles west of [[Chicago Union Station]]. The train's average speed from start to finish was 77&nbsp;mph (124&nbsp;km/h); and had reached a speed of 112.5&nbsp;mph (181&nbsp;km/h). The non-stop 1,015-mile (1,633&nbsp;km) trip exceeded the railroad's expectations in being 1&nbsp;hour 55&nbsp;minutes faster than was scheduled.<ref name="NYTimes" /> The Burlington's contemporary passenger trains plied the same distance in around 25&nbsp;hours.

[[File:Pioneer Zephyr Dawn to Dusk Club.jpg|thumb|The passengers, including "Zeph" the burro, that rode the ''Zephyr'' on the "Dawn-to-Dusk Dash" gather for a group photo in front of the train after arriving in Chicago.]]

Riding the train were Ralph Budd, Edward G. Budd, Harold L. Hamilton, president of the [[Electro-Motive Corporation]], a number of reporters, some Burlington employees, members of the public,{{sfn|Byron|2005|p=36}} and Zeph, a [[burro]] that was contributed by a Colorado newspaper, the ''[[Rocky Mountain News]]'', as a mascot for the train.<ref name="NYTimes" /> The newspaper had described Zeph to the railroad as a "Rocky Mountain canary" so the train's crew had originally planned only enough space for a birdcage; when they found out it was not a bird, the railroad hastily built a pen in the baggage section and bought some hay for it. When asked about the burro, Ralph Budd replied "why not? One more jackass on this trip won't make a difference."<ref name="Dawn to Dusk Club">{{cite web| publisher=Chicago Museum of Science and Industry| year=2002| url=http://www.msichicago.org/exhibit/zephyr/history/dawn/dawn.html| title=Pioneer Zephyr, a legendary history - The Dawn To Dusk Club| access-date=March 1, 2005| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050209080503/http://www.msichicago.org/exhibit/zephyr/history/dawn/dawn.html| archive-date=February 9, 2005}}</ref>{{sfn|Byron|2005|p=44}}

The train continued east from Halsted Station to the 1934 [[Century of Progress]] fair on the Lake Michigan shore, where it arrived for the "Wings of a Century" pageant on opening day.<ref name="NYTimes" /> After its showing on the ''Wings of a Century'' stage, and one day on public display at the Fair,{{sfn|Byron|2005|p=48}} the train was taken on a 31-state, 222-city publicity tour. More than two million people saw the train before it entered revenue service.{{sfn|Zimmermann|2004|p=40}} Part of this tour included a test run between Chicago and [[Minneapolis - Saint Paul]],{{sfn|Byron|2005|pp=48-49}} completing the test trip in just over six hours,<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/99059382/star-tribune/| title=Train scoots 71 miles hour| newspaper=Star Tribune| location=Minneapolis, Minnesota| date=July 31, 1934| page=5| via=Newspapers.com}} {{open access}}</ref> besting the Burlington Route's fastest steam-powered service by five hours and convincing the railroad to promptly place orders with Budd and GM for two more ''Zephyr'' trainsets.{{Sfn|Johnston|Welsh|Schafer|2001|p=20}}