Can any of you guys tell me what year in the 1930s the billboard reefer rules were changed, and what the changes involved ?.
What I’m asking is did they ban the use of billboards ?.
I was told that they made a rule that what ever was advertised on the car is what had to be in that car, but that they continued using the cars well into the 1950s.
Another guy told me that all reefers had to be plain after the rules were made.
Any info would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Tracklayer
I’ve never seen reefer advertised on a billboard. Are they doing that now? What has our society come to?
[banghead] [(-D] [;)]
From http://www.mrmuffinstrains.com/AtlasOReefers.htm
"The original Billboard Reefers, as they are often called, were a great way for a company to advertise their products. Like moving bill boards, they were seen by thousands as the reefers transported their cargo. Begun in the late 1800’s, the heyday of the billboard reefer began with the repeal of Prohibition in 1933. Beer companies utilized the billboard reefer to advertise the returning of their products.
Unfortunately, many organizations argued that the cost of their shipping was subsidizing the advertising for the billboard owner, and there were even situations where a reefer with one owners markings, say a brewery, was sent to ship a product from a chocolate company - or worse yet, a competitors product. As a result of many such complaints, they were outlawed by the Interstate Commerce Commission in July 1934 when they ruled that the lessee’s name could be no more than 12" high. By law, all billboard reefers had to be removed from service by January 1937. Of course, many were repainted and continued to provide useful service into the 1960’s. "
Prompter,
The shipping of a competitor’s product in a labeled reefer was the ICC concern. Most ‘Billboard’ reefers were privately owned and were in restricted service anyway.
The 12" rule was not really monitored as several shippers like Swift Packing, Johnson Wax, and Hamms Beer still decorated cars with large graphics/lettering even into the 60’s! Many of the ‘famous’ billboard reefers just were scrapped as they wore out, and were replaced by rather drab units by the leasing companies.
Jim Bernier