On most streamliners, the defining feature was the paint scheme. The orange, red and black of Southern Pacific's Daylights. The green and gold of Southern's Crescents. That long run, end to end, of Union Pacific yellow. The warbonnet.

The defining feature of the Burlington Route Zephyrs, however, was the lack of paint. This train was gleaming stainless steel from front to back. Solid silver– with a few black accents here and there, just to give your eyes a rest. It looked fast, even standing still at the platform.

Like a 200-passenger sportscar.

Or a fighter jet a quarter-mile long.

The post card above is of the Texas Zephyr, which ran daily between Denver and Dallas/Fort Worth with an afternoon departure/morning arrival in each direction. The card was mailed in March of 1955 from a father to his son, a Lieutenant JG serving aboard the aircraft carrier USS Boxer and cruising the western Pacific at the time.

What could be more impressive than a silvery Zephyr streaking by? Not much.

Unless, of course, it's two silvery Zephyrs flashing past each other in opposite directions.

The Twin Zephyrs serviced the Chicago to St. Paul/Minneapolis route along the Mississippi River, with twice-daily service in each direction.