In my "collection" of ancient HO Athearn metal cars and car kits are two IC reefers (identical model numbers- #402), but with two different car #'s - 50456, and 50234. Both have yellow sides and green

Here's more on the IC banana trains, from Terry McMahon's "Banana Traffic on the Illinois Central Railroad" in the "Green Diamond." * The rush was to get the bananas to the consumer in the preferred

Proper storage temperature for green bananas is 56-58 degrees F, according to the USDA. At that temperature, the fruit has an average storage life of 1-4 weeks. Compare this to grapes, with an average

Jerry's probably right. I hadn't looked up the date and wasn't sure off the top of my head if it was late in '47 or early '48 that the order was rescinded. It gave the Santa Fe (and probably PFE also)

The bananas were mostly gone before I went railroading, but I did encounter another, related reason why railroads tried to move perishables fast. It was not only product decay in transit but also

Not all that simple.... Green bananas (never quite sure when to stop the anananan) will stay green after picked for awhile, but they won't stay green indefinately. They will either ripen (helped

Richard, you can get to the files storage area of any Yahoo group by using the URL form http://groups.yahoo.com/group/<GROUPNAME>/files So as long as you are subscribed, you can see and retrieve

Andy Sperandeo wrote: "I've assumed it got there because of a WWII order (that wasn't rescinded until 1947!) requiring railroad terminals in the Midwest to send empty RS-type reefers to California

This seems like a good idea, Mike, but it's not clear to me how I can either post or retrieve files from that site. Can you enlighten me? Richard H. Hendrickson Ashland, Oregon 97520

If you stop to think for a moment, you realize that wood sheathing is going to have to be attached to steel with a cold fastener (i.e., a bolt), not a white-hot rivet. No rocket science. Yes,

Andy, I will put a check in the mail for two cars, totalling $47.85. TIA. Tony Thompson Editor, Signature Press, Berkeley, CA 2942 Linden Ave., Berkeley, CA 94705

It has been a 1/2 year since I posted a request for reservations for the HO Terry Wegmann/Red Caboose PFE R-40-16 reefer kits, and because of parts non-availability problems, we had to postpone

Widdows 098 went KABOOM---now XP--loat address book just a test to see if addresses are right John

Hi Larry, The Dubuque Division engineer who told me about banana trains said, the longest haul the reefers could reach from New Orleans, with expedited handling, was Winnipeg, Canada. These reefers

To the reefer authorities: I recall seeing IC refrigerator cars somewhere in Iowa, I think, during my days of riding M&StL and CGW trains from Minneapolis to Marshalltown, Iowa, and return. I recall

Larry Jackman said: They may still have been green, Larry, but when they ripened they were probably ruined. All the perishable tariff information says that bananas MUST NOT be iced, as it damages

Andy, According to the 1959 MOODY's TRANSPORTATION MANUAL, MDT acquired the Northern Refrigerator Car Co. in January 1929. On January 8th, 1929, the Northern Refrigerator Line, Inc. was incorporated

Thank you Larry Jackman I don't care who you are fat man. Get that sleigh and reindeer off my roof.

Ted Schnepf reports that the Milwaukee would run specials out of Dubuque for a few as seven cars delivered by the IC. Ted: were these cars picked up from the "Banana Track" in East Dubuque (i.e. the