Re: Hormel Four-Wheeled Ice Bunker Reefer
Richard Hendrickson
On Feb 16, 2014, at 8:32 AM, thecitrusbelt@... wrote:
Bob, inquiries about this car turn up periodically on this list, and the answer is always the same: it was a singular experiment and, as it turned out, a dismal failure. This rigid wheelbase four wheeled car, with a weight only a fraction of other cars then in service, had to have resulted in an array of operating problems, so it’s no wonder the major railroads wanted nothing to do with it. I’d be surprised if it made more than one revenue run before it was black-balled. It received considerable attention from railroad industry journals (e.g., Railway Age, Railway Mechanical Engineer) at the time it was introduced but dropped off the industry radar almost immediately, corresponding with its sudden disappearance from revenue service. Owing to its unconventional appearance, photos of it turn up from time to time in journals and books (e.g., Duke and White, The Great Yellow Fleet) but it had zero influence on the railroad industry. Richard Hendrickson |
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