Mark Twain Zephyr
The three trailer cars received other names of Mark Twain characters: Becky Thatcher, Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn.
The Mark Twain Zephyr made newspaper headlines following two 1948 accidents: On Saturday, July 31, 1948, the train derailed at the railroad bridge over Devils Creek about four miles west of Viele, Iowa.
In the early 1950s, the Mark Twain Zephyr had two separate incidents involving Mississippi River barges while operating on the CB&Q's 'K-Line', which parallels the busy shipping waterway in Iowa.
Dashner's original plan was to sell the train to Cuba; however, rising tensions over Communism and the Cuban Missile Crisis quickly put an end to that opportunity.
Dashner then wanted to develop the Mark Twain Zephyr into a rail-themed restaurant and motel, which would have been located at the then newly built Interstate 29 and U.S. Highway 34 intersection.
Hayes encouraged the Midwest Central Railroad, which was part of Old Threshers Reunion, to construct a standard gauge loop track so the train could be put into service as a regional tourist attraction.
[7][8] In December 1968, Hayes donated the Mark Twain Zephyr outright to the Old Thresher's Reunion and Midwest Central Railroad in hopes of spurring interest.
The Boards of Directors of Old Thresher's Reunion and the Midwest Central Railroad were often at odds as to whether it was worth the money to pay for its restoration and build the track needed for it to operate.
During the winter of 1978–1979, Lennis Moore, the then-new CEO of Old Thresher's Reunion and the Midwest Central Railroad, persuaded the Board to begin looking for buyers.
[9][10] In the Spring of 1979, the train was purchased by Alexander Barket Sr., a prominent Kansas City bank president and real estate promoter specializing in the rehabilitation of commercial buildings.
Barket Sr. planned to restore the Mark Twain Zephyr and possibly turn it into a tourist railroad that would carry passengers through nearby Swope Park in Kansas City.
Wilson confirmed that recording artist Neil Young almost purchased the train during this time period with intentions to restore it and use as a touring vehicle for himself and his band.
[14][15] In September 1987, the trainset was purchased by a trio of Chicago-area businessmen (Dan Krupske, John C. Lowe, and Ronald Lorenzini), who formed Mark Twain Zephyr, Inc.
Krupske, Lowe, and Lorenzini had hopes of teaming with Coors, who they anticipated would pick up the majority of the restoration costs in exchange for the rights to lease the train for a period of time.
Ideas included constriction of a Twain-themed amusement part in Bettendorf, Iowa, a dinner train from Chicago to the Quad Cities, and a stationary restaurant and hotel in Downers Grove or DeKalb, Illinois.
In January 2008, the Mark Twain Zephyr was moved down to Gateway Rail Services in Madison, Illinois in the St. Louis Metropolitan Area.
The Wisconsin Great Northern's owners, Greg and Mardell Vreeland, made their purchase public on July 27, 2020, through exclusive news articles in Trains magazine and the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.
[25] A full-time crew of electricians, carpenters, and other skilled craftspeople employed by the Wisconsin Great Northern Railroad, working on a complete overhaul, placed the cars on trucks and intends to install an EMD 567 prime mover.
