--- In STMFC@..., Richard Hendrickson <rhendrickson@o...> wrote - "So it was certainly the case the MDT and other off-line reefers sometimes turned up as eastbound loads in western reefer blocks, but such trains never had "a lot" of off-line cars.
Thanks for your reply. That's what I thought. Unfortunately I wanted to justify more MDT reefers in Erie trains.
When did the special handling of reefers due to the shortage around the time of WWII end?
According to the PROCEEDINGS OF THE 1948 AAR's SUPERINTENDENT's CONVENTION, the "Tide distribution orders" of the ICC had been ended and the distribution of reefers were as per owner's instructions or in service run.
The effect of the cancellation of "tide orders" can be clearly be seen in the table on page 450 of Thompson et al.'s PACIFIC FRUIT EXPRESS (2nd Edition) where the percentage of perishables loaded in PFE cars on PFE railroads increased from abbot two third's in 1947 to 85% in 1949.
