This CB&Q Zephyr was named for the American Royal, one of the Midwest's largest and oldest livestock exhibition, professional rodeo, and horse show.

The American Royal Zephyr made its inaugural run on February 1, 1953, as an all-new overnight streamliner between Chicago and Kansas City.

The new train was prompted by the completion the previous October of the $16-million "Kansas City Shortcut", 49 miles of new track that made the route shorter, flatter, and straighter.

American Royal Zephyr #56 departed Kansas City at 10:00 pm, arriving in Chicago at 7:30 am.

Like its daylight counterpart, the American Royal Zephyr never lived up to ridership expectations, and it was not long before equipment from the ARZ was being shuffled off to other trains.