Story and Photos by Dave Zeman
For many railfan photographers, a large part of the motivation for taking photos of trains is documenting a subject before it is gone forever and lost to history. However, when the stars align, it is possible to bring history back to reality. Bringing the late-1950s and early 1960s on the Chicago Burlington & Quincy Railroad back to life was the main objective for myself, Ralph Durham, James Keats Jr., and the Illinois Railway Museum Diesel Department, when we hosted the “Nebraska Zephyr Night Photo Shoot” in October 2025.
For the last handful of years, Ralph and I, plus a handful of other dedicated IRM volunteers, have coordinated several special night photo shoots with a diverse variety of equipment, having mostly focused on highlighting the Museum’s steam locomotive, Frisco 2-10-0 1630. Last year, as 1630 underwent a mandatory 1472-day inspection, we shifted our focus ahead to the diesel era with the 1935-built Nebraska Zephyr for an all-CB&Q evening featuring other miscellaneous pieces of Burlington Route equipment. Our main goal for the event was to take our guest photographers back to the golden age of passenger rail travel on one of America’s most famous streamlined trains by incorporating actors and crew members in period dress plus appropriately placed memorabilia items and props into our photo setups…
Read more about this night photo session in the February 2026 edition of Railfan & Railroad…
A sharp-dressed crew was one of the highlights of a Chicago, Burlington & Quincy-themed photoshoot at the Illinois Railway Museum in October 2025.
Timetables, rule books, tickets, luggage tags, maps, conductor hats and more all served as props for the CB&Q photoshoot at IRM.
Here one of those timetable props is put to use in a scene with a conductor helping a pair of passengers. The moon is rising in the distance on a beautiful October evening in the Heartland.
Scenes inside the Nebraska Zephyr were also part of the photoshoot. Old magazines, coffee cups and cigarettes were all props used to bring the 1960s on the Q back to life for one night only.
Two passengers play cards aboard the Nebraska Zephyr at the Illinois Railway Museum. These interior shots were set up ahead of the shoot’s highlight later that evening.
A real Chicago, Burlington & Quincy E5 leads the Nebraska Zephyr past the East Union Depot during a night photo session at the Illinois Railway Museum in October 2025.
