Maricopa’s Silver Horizon opens to public

Saturday the Maricopa Historical Society hosted the inaugural historic tour of Amtrak’s Silver Horizon Zephyr dome car.

"Were excited to be able to open the Zephyr for a public tour," said Patricia Brock, president of the Maricopa Historical Society. Brock provided background on Maricopa’s various original locations, as well as the fact that Maricopa was once in the running to be named the state capital.

FormerPinal CountySupervisor Jimmie Kerr was on hand to talk about his part in helping bring the car to Maricopa.  Both he and Mike Ingram of El Dorado Holdings received gifts of appreciation from the historical society.  Ingram offered some history about getting the Amtrak station here, after assuring them that he had spent 10 years making SR 347 a ‘good road.’

One of Maricopa’s most well-known landmarks, the California Zephyr's Silver Horizon dome car,is located at the corner of John Wayne Parkway and the Maricopa/Casa Grande Highway. The dome car was built for the California Zephyr passenger line, which operated from 1949 until 1970.

Before moving to Maricopa the car was used in a scene from the movie “Pearl Harbor,” which was released in 2001.

The car was moved to Maricopa in 2001and used as a ticket office for the Amtrak station. The ticket office was later moved to a larger space, but the Zephyr has remained as a landmark for both the city of Maricopa and the station.

About 200 residents toured the car’s lower coach and upper observation deck, viewing a collection of Harold Williams paintings reflecting the area’s past, historical photographs and artifacts. They were also treated to refreshments and music by Eldon Eklund, Maricopa’s singing cowboy.

Photo by Joyce Hollis