Refrigerator Car Codes

[wholeman]

I see models of reefer cars advertised as R-40-10 or R-70-20. What does the numbers mean? I can assume the R stands for refrigerator. Do the numbers mean tonnage?

Thanks for the replies in advance.

[markpierce]

They are a car owner’s classification code to distinguish one car variation from another. Usually, there was some sense to such systems. For instance, Pacific Fruit Express’s R-30-1 stood for __R__efrigerator, 30-ton nominal capacity, __1__st design.

Mark

[dehusman]

They are a car owner’s classification code to distinguish one car variation from another. Usually, there was some sense to such systems. For instance, Pacific Fruit Express’s R-30-1 stood for __R__efrigerator, 30-ton nominal capacity, __1__st design.

As Mark said they are ONE company’s codes for the mechanical design of the car, they are not an industry or AAR standard and they would not have been used by the customers. That particular code style was popular with the Hariman roads. Other roads used combinations of letters or numbers to designate car designs, such as XMu on the Reading or X31 on the PRR or Bx-11 on the ATSF.