If I had to pick just one type of reefer to run with my steam era trains, I’d have to go with wood side PFEs. I’ve seen old film footage of trains having a number of Pacific Fruit Express reefers in the mix - usually right up front behind the loco.
Too bad they banned bill board reefers back in the 30s… I like running them as well, but I play by the rules, so I only run them for the period that they’re from.
Tracklayer
American Refrigerator Transit, flying the Wabash flag [:D] … I like the billboards too and run some regardless of era…
Jeff
I’ve got 2 reefer blocks (w/a mix of KD and dummy cplrs. They run as a kind of unit train) of 40 cars each. The time frame is 1950 so the PFE block is about 50% wood side. The Santa Fe block has about 7 wood sheathed cars which reflects the aproximate percentages of the wood to steel reefers of the 2 companies circa 1950. Most of the Santa Fe reefers have that big map on one side and adds for various trains on the other.
Well, just to make things interesting, my favoriite reefer is the SUV of reefers, the 30’ D&RGW narrowgauge short reefers.
Sometimes ya’ just gotta be different
[8D]
Oh, you’re talking standard gauge?
Then it will have to be any of the ART reefers that often were interchanged onto the Rio Grande for loading, especially into the San Luis valley, although I believe they operated all over the Grande.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
the PFE steel and wood
Love the red SWIFT meat reefers. BTW, ‘Billboard’ reefers were not ‘banned’! What was banned was the use of a reefer with advertising on the side, and it was not carrying the product inside. The C&NW was a big user of advertising on their NWX reefers. The complaint was about a reefer being sent to be loaded at business X and the reefer has advertising for Business B on the side. suppose the owner of Bussiness B did not like to advertise for his competitor. Billboard reefers were still used in ‘private’ service. Note all of the Swift, Hormel, Rath and even JWAX reefers up into the early 70’s! The one always likeed was the Hamms beer reefers - used to see them all the time in St Paul.
Jim Bernier
Did the Hamm’s billboards have the bear on them ? never saw one.
At least one older version did. The modern cars did not. Kadee/MR has a wood reefer with the bear - not sure if it was correct…
Jim Bernier
I run tons of reefer trains, my favorites are the ART’s (with or without the Wabash flag), PFE’s (especially the Western Pacific logos) and I have a soft spot in my heart for the handsome NP and Milwaukee URTX’s, also. Heck, I just like reefer cars!! I even have several that I decalled for D&RGW (yes, they had a few standard-gauge ones, also). For the most part, I’m fond of wood side, but I’ve got plenty of steel-sided ones to mix in, also.
Tom [:P][:P][:P]
Any flavor of REX steel express reefers. I even like the converted troop cars. I am a fan of express reefers in general, and would eventually like to model Santa Fe’s fast mail (train #7/8). There is a great excuse to run all kinds of rolling stock together.
I loved the Old Dutch Cleanser reefers.
36 foot wood sided, steel underframe meat reefers.
I also like the art ref trans and the Pacific Fruit Express /
jm2c
The one carrying beer! [:)]
Gordon
Good call! In my case, that would be one of the silver CPR ones of the '60s!
Edit: Why on earth did I spell “Silver” with a C??
Reefer? Did someone say reefer???
Jeff
Olde Frothingslosh
The Pale Stale Ale
With the foam on the Bottom
Here’s a site with links to pictures http://merlin2.alleg.edu/employee/c/csherman/cordic/ofs/oldefrothingsloshstory01.htm
Ye Olde Huff and Puff http://www.yeoldehuffnpuff.com/ makes a kit for a 50’ reefer.
Here’s a site with several cars http://www.hobeercars.com/manufacturers/cordic.html
Enjoy
Paul
I remember when I found out what that meant, I told my friend that on railroads, it was a refridgerator car, and not…yeah.
70’ cryogenic reefers!!!
The PFE dual harold 40’ steel reefers. I’ve painted and decaled several of these using Athearn models.