i have seen pictures of the new tropicana juice train reefer cars and would like to more info on them. are they 60’ or 70’ long and what size is the door. also has anyone modeled one. and does any one of the ho train makers have it on the future to-make list? thanks for your help. tom
First of all, [#welcome] to the forum!
There was an article in Model Railroader a couple or three (or four?) months ago about the Tropicana juice train. I don’t remember for sure, but it might have most of the answers to your questions.
As for models on the market or coming out soon, I know in HO, Athearn at least used to have a blue box kit of a 50’ mechanical reefer. I don’t think anybody makes a good “quality” kit or RTR version, though. If you need a bunch of them, your best bet might be to get some undecorated cars and then paint them and use Microscale decals (http://www.microscale.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=TROPICANA) to dress them up.
The white reefers have an interior length of 64’-4", a door opening of 12’-2", a capacity of around 5900 cubic feet, and are Plate E.
Nobody makes a model of the new white reefers. Railshop makes models, that with some modifications, closely resemble some of the orange reefers. I do not know the plans of any of the manufacturers.
The Model Railroader article was not about the train per se. It was about the New Jersey terminal. Trains did do an article about the train in March 2000. The Microscale decals are for the orange cars. The data and logo are different for the white cars.
I’ve mentioned this before…but I WISH someone would produce these and the Super Reefers (like what BNSF owns) in HO! Maybe this would be a good market for BLMA (the new model builder) because this is pretty much the only modern freight car not produced as a model.
A clarification may be in order. The new BNSF, and UP, reefers were built by Trinity. The Tropicana cars appear to have been built by Gunderson.
You mean something like this?
-Smoke
Yes, but the ends need to be changed and the ladders need to be replaced with grab irons. Unfortunately, where the roof meets the sides and ends needs to be changed also, but that would be quite a bit of work. If you want to model the mechanical reefers (200 and 1200 series) then you need to scratchbuild the fuel tank and refrigeration equipment and add them to the bottom of the car.
tomikawaTT;New Tropicana! Isn’t that the name of that new hotel and casino going up down on the strip?.
LBF announced them a couple of years ago, unfortunately the company seems to have disappeared
Ericsp have you got a link for Railshop?
It seems like LBF announced plans to produce several cars that they never did build. I remember several years ago, the announced a 2-bay Center-flow Hopper, but they never made a model.
Have you seen these pics?
http://www.railcarphotos.com/Search.php?SearchReportingMark=TPIX&Search=Search
I would like to see any of the Tropicana equipment made, especially the newer cars.
There is more.
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/rsList.aspx?id=TPIX&cid=30