Were 40’ ice refrigerator cars far more numerous than 50’ ice reefers, many of which are called “express reefers”?”
Short answer: yes!
I don’t think that, other than Railway Express, there were any very large fleets of express reefers. Some railroads didn’t have any, and those with larger fleets (ATSF and GN) actually had theirs become part of the REX fleet.
Freight reefers, on the other hand, had several companies that owned them by the thousands or the hundreds, rather than by the score.
My memory agrees. Most of the 50-foot refers had trucks permitting use in fast passenger trains (often drop-equalizer MCB or Symmington-Gould), where as the far more numerous 40-footers, both wood sides and later steel, had regular Andrews or Bettendorf freight-car trucks.
I do not remember any WWII troop carriers being rebult into refrigerator cars. Were there any?
The colorful advertizing private owner cars were all 40-foot wood sided cars, if I remember correctly.
Yes, there were at least 100 troop cars that were converted to express reefers. The Chicago Freight Car Leasing Company owned REX series 6700-6799. These were later returned to CFC and relettered CRDX. Still later (mid-1970s, I’m thinking), a number of them were modified for freight service, and renumbered to the CRDX 5200 series; still others went into the KFRX 5300 series and were assigned to Kraft Foods. By this time, of course, they weren’t ice reefers any more.
Did they become regular express box cars or were they ever equipped with mechanical refrigeration?
They became regular reefers (RB–basically box cars with insulation). As for mechanical reefers, I don’t think so.
Actually, the CRDX cars started to be used by Kraft in the very late 60’s. I know, I “ran” them. They were mainly used out of Minnesota on the CNW, as the CNW was a member of ART (American Refirgerator Transit) and didn’t get many mechanical cars. The cars had overhead bunkers, which sometimes were iced in the summer, but had good enough insulation that most of the time (even in summer) refrigeration was not needed. (Thermal mass.)
These were later sorted through and restenciled (and repainted) KFRX - only about 25, if I remember right.These cars had Thermo King units. (Turns out the TK units were used but reconditioned when put in. This eventually led to the KFRX’s demise as the units wore out.)
Kraft got out of the leasing by 1978 as the CRDX and KFRX cars were falling apart by then. (Rust on the doors, walls, or the overhead ice tanks - CRDX - did most of them in.)
Forgot to mention that there was one special built mechanical car KFRX 5000 (I believe - have to look that up.) This was a special built car - rebuilt from a 60’ RBL*in 1972 - that had a Thermo King on the end. It did not prove practical for cost reasons.
- RBL - Refrigerator, Bunkerless, Load Dividers