Doug,



Thanks. Sorry the Excel table broke up.



Nelson Moyer



From: STMFC@... [mailto:STMFC@...]
Sent: Sunday, April 03, 2016 8:24 PM
To: STMFC@...
Subject: RE: [STMFC] Reefer traffic in SW Minnesota





Nelson XR means empty reefer. Either a car being delivered to a shipper who
ordered a reefer, or a car that has been unloaded and is now being routed
back to its owner or the railroad where it originated. Reefers were also
used to ship other items besides fruit, esp non PFE or SFRD reefers.



Note PFE 200082 on 4/16/53 was routed St James to Minneapolis with a load of
juice. Knowing the line and connections, that information tells me the car
was interchanged from the CMO at St James and then returned to the CMO after
being unloaded in Minneapolis. On 4/20/53 we see the same car as an empty
routed from Winthrop to St James. Winthrop was where trains 60/61
terminated. So the car came back via the M&StL from Minneapolis to Winthrop,
where the conductor of #60 picked it up and recorded it in his book. It then
traveled M&StL to St James where it was given back to the CMO who no doubt
took it back to Omaha to give to the UP for return to PFE.



Merchandise could be just about anything that needed protection from weather
yet would not be bothered by the dampness that prevailed in reefers. It also
had to be something that could fit through the 4' door on a reefer. Canned
goods were common in winter months as were other food stuffs such as
potatoes or onions. The reefer essentially was an insulated boxcar and may
not need to be iced for a particular load.



As the list Clark is sharing was created by a conductor, the content listed
is what ever made sense to the conductor. Some were more detail focused then
others. If he didn't need to know or it did not matter to his job, he might
use a very generic work, ie merchandise. The word merchandise tells me the
car was not iced, so the conductor did not need to be concerned about
getting it to its destination in a timely fashion. You also need to know
that trains 60/61 only ran between Winthrop and Estherville. So what looks
like it a load that originated in Estherville is probably a car that came to
Estherville on another train and the load actually originated somewhere
else. Likewise Estherville, St James and New Ulm were interchange points
with other roads, so again the car most likely originate somewhere else and
was simply delivered to the M&StL for delivery or forwarding.



The URTX cars could actually be M&StL leased reefers, but as the reporting
marks were URTX. I would have to look up the car number to confirm.



Doug Harding

<http://www.iowacentralrr.org> www.iowacentralrr.org



From: STMFC@... [mailto:STMFC@...]
Sent: Sunday, April 3, 2016 7:58 PM
To: STMFC@...
Subject: RE: [STMFC] Reefer traffic in SW Minnesota





Doug,

I noticed that.

Owner

No.

%

Products

ART

2

8.7%

Butter

FGEX

1

4.3%

Can Goods

MDT

5

21.7%

Can Corn

NRC

4

17.4%

Juice

PFE

3

13.0%

Eggs

SFRD

3

13.0%

Merchandise

URTX

3

13.0%

XR

WFEX

1

4.3%

WHIX

1

4.3%

23

MDT still leads the list. What's XR? I would think fruit and produce
shipments would be identified as such, or are they considered merchandise?

Nelson Moyer

From: STMFC@... <mailto:STMFC@...>
[mailto:STMFC@...]
Sent: Sunday, April 03, 2016 5:19 PM
To: STMFC@... <mailto:STMFC@...>
Subject: RE: [STMFC] Reefer traffic in SW Minnesota

Nelson look closer at the data Clark posted and you will see the same car
listed multiple times. You will see multiple listings for MDT cars because
they were making multiple stops, but not that many cars. This may have been
because MDT cars were easier to capture. PFE was known for getting their
cars returned via their agents. And remember the data Clark is posting is
for a line that only saw two trains a day, #60 & #61. It was essentially a
branchline serving low population rural areas.

The M&StL had a major interchange with the ATSF at Nemo ILL (the M&StL did
not serve MO). Most of the reefer traffic went east to Peoria and
connections in Peoria. But a share of reefer traffic headed north to Iowa,
Minnesota and beyond. The Santa Fe served major fruit and produce regions
which were sold across the country, so you would find SFRD cars everywhere.
Same with PFE cars, which may have come to Minnesota via the CMO or CNW
connections at Omaha and then handed to this M&StL line via connections at
St James (CMO) or New Ulm (CNW).

Reefer traffic was dictated more by what the cars contained and where they
were loaded. SFRD and PFE cars are coming out of California with fruits and
vegetables. ART cars are coming out of Colorado and Texas, also with fruit
and vegetables, but sometimes different fruits and vegetables than what are
grown in California. MDT was affiliated with the NYC system so might contain
produce grown in the NE and New England. FGEX/BREX/WFEX cars served both the
Pacific NW, ie apples, and the SE part of the country, esp Florida.

Doug Harding

www.iowacentralrr.org <http://www.iowacentralrr.org>
<http://www.iowacentralrr.org>