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Re: Meat reefers
Tony Thompson
Ted Schnepf wrote:
Good point, Ted. But remember they all came back west empty. Lots of photos of westward trains in the steam era show quite a mix of meat cars, presumably empty. Tony Thompson
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Re: Meat reefers
That’s the beauty of modeling part of the Erie Main through Pennsylvania. I can get most of them <grin>.
toggle quoted messageShow quoted text
Brian J. Carlson
On Apr 7, 2020, at 5:13 PM, Ted Schnepf <railsunl@...> wrote:
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Re: Meat reefers
Ted Schnepf
Hello, Always nice to see fine reefer models. In the early 1950's before the meat packers expanded, by consolidating facilities. the only place to see some of these reefers together on one train was east of Chicago. NKP did have the line east out of Chicago. Dubuqe, Oscar Meyer, and Hormel. were one plant companies. Hygrade in the early 1950's had only one or two plants. Swift, Armour, and Wilson had multiple locations. My point is that not all meat reefers would be regularly seen, on the same train, except east of Chicago. When picking reefers to model, be aware of the plant locations and likely routing over your railroad. Ted Schnepf
On Tuesday, April 7, 2020, 06:54:16 AM CDT, Eric Hansmann <eric@...> wrote: Frank Hodina shares photos and details on a few meat reefers in the latest Resin Car Works blog post. Eric Hansmann Be safe. Stay healthy. Build models!
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Fruit Growers & Western Fruit Overhead Bunker Reefers—was WFEX 1201-1202 freight reefers
Bill Welch
If Athearn has produced an accurate model of a Fruit Growers Express “Overhead Bunker” or “OB” car, it is one of the best-kept secrets in the history of the world. Likewise if they have lettered one of their existing models as a FGE “OB” car, it is one of the biggest FOOBIES in the history of the world. FGE built their first OB types in 1940 at the Indiana Harbor Car Shops. There were only ten of these all-steel cars built to load frozen foods, then still a relatively new product. These cars had ten ice bunkers under the roof—these were really trays—that were used to hold a mixture of salt and ice that could produce a temperature of 28° F. It is unclear whether FGE intended to build more of these only to be interrupted by WWII. These ten cars were heavily insulated and the door and safety hardware had to be inset into the steel side panel sheathing to allow them to meet clearance standards. In 1944 again at Indiana Harbor FGE began to build a very different looking Overhead Bunker refrigerator car with a heavy Fishbelly centersill, 4/5 Dreadnaught ends, and plywood sheathed sides with steel panels on the ends and doors to again permit their respective hardware to be inset. These were the first cars to be designated and stenciled “FOBX.” These cars used the same basic roof hatch design as the 1940 built OB cars. Their roof hatch covers were hinged perpendicular to the running board. They also had permanent Charcoal heaters slung under the floor. These were in the FOBX 4000 series. In 1946 FGE built more of these types in the FOBX 700 series with a new hatch cover design hinged parallel to the running board. These hatches had a much more pronounced rectangular shape then the previous design. These too had underslung charcoal heaters. Then in 1950 Indiana Harbor built 150 new all steel overhead bunker reefers, FOBX 600–699 and WOBX 501–550 for Western Fruit, their first and only such types. (The earlier 600 series had been previously scrapped.) The new cars used the same roof and roof hatch cover design from the 1944 group of cars. Because of the tray type brine storage, these OB types required much more care and thus time when re-icing so as not to breach the waterproof lining: This meant no pointed tools. Because brine could only achieve 28° F the shippers of frozen foods pressed for methods to get to 0° F. Truckers could get to Zero with the new Mechanical systems manufactured by Thermo-King, who perfected their innovative mobile refrigeration system on the battlefields of WWII. Fruit Growers especially felt the competition from truckers and thus FGE and their partners WFE and BRE began to research and test various powered and unpowered refrigeration systems capable of producing much colder temperatures and by 1949 had both one diesel and one gasoline powered 40-foot Mechanical reefer being tested shipping frozen foods. By 1957 the FGE-WFE-BRE System had some 1,200 40- and 50-foot Mechanicals in service. Despite the large number of Mechanical reefers available by 1957 the OB cars continued in-service into the 1960’s. By that time the plywood sheathed cars had their sheathing replaced with T&G boards. For anyone interested in modeling I am working on the End Pattern for the FOBX 4000 group as part of a collaborative effort to create model. Bill Welch
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Re: Modellogenic scene: from ErieLack NPS photos
I agree the roof has what look like ice hatches. On the other hand, did any reefer ever have sliding doors? I see no sign that there were ever any hinges for swinging doors. Chuck Peck
On Tue, Apr 7, 2020 at 3:07 PM Jack Mullen <jack.f.mullen@...> wrote: On Tue, Apr 7, 2020 at 11:21 AM, Richard Brennan wrote:
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Photo: Pres-To-Logs Boxcar
Andy Carlson
My 1st visit to Mendocino county was in 1966 and I could easily remember seeing the huge sign painted on a metal roof on top of a mill building along side of the North Western Pacific RR tracks in the town of Ukiah. Said, as I remember, "Home of the Presto Logs". It disappeared a few years later, though I believe the mill building still stands. Lots of 40' box cars and 53' flat cars abound. Thanks for the images! -Andy Carlson Ojai CA Photo: Pres-To-Logs Boxcar A 1930 photo of car 426 from the Potlatch Historical Society Collection: https://www.lib.uidaho.edu/digital/phs/items/phs1369.html Click on the photo to enlarge it. Bob Chaparro Hemet, CA
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Re: Modellogenic scene: from ErieLack NPS photos
Jack Mullen
On Tue, Apr 7, 2020 at 11:21 AM, Richard Brennan wrote:
- the no end-platform contractor business car (converted traction baggage?)Notice the ice hatches at each end, which suggest this is a former express refrigerator. Possibly ex-traction, but the flat ends make me think it's of steam-road origin. Clerestory roofs were uncommon but did appear on some early express reefers, e.g. Wells Fargo. Jack Mullen
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Photo: Washington, Idaho & Montana Railway Boxcar
Photo: Washington, Idaho & Montana Railway Boxcar A 1910 photo of car 442 from the Potlatch Historical Society Collection: https://www.lib.uidaho.edu/digital/phs/items/phs1365.html Click on the photo to enlarge it. Bob Chaparro Hemet, CA
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Photo: Pres-To-Logs Boxcar
Photo: Pres-To-Logs Boxcar A 1930 photo of car 426 from the Potlatch Historical Society Collection: https://www.lib.uidaho.edu/digital/phs/items/phs1369.html Click on the photo to enlarge it. Bob Chaparro Hemet, CA
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Re: Modellogenic scene: from ErieLack NPS photos
On Apr 7, 2020, at 11:21, Richard Brennan <rbrennan@tt-west.com> wrote:
There is -nothing- in this photo that is NOT eminently modelable!Strewth! Even the pick and shovel in the lower-right octant contribute. -- "This is a problem that fixes itself."
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Modellogenic scene: from ErieLack NPS photos
There is -nothing- in this photo that is NOT eminently modelable!
http://lists.railfan.net/erielackphoto.cgi?erielack-04-07-20/X5292.jpg - the no end-platform contractor business car (converted traction baggage?) - composite gon with double stake pockets - single-lane concrete underpass with warning signs (and a lurker!) - tools in the mud ready for use... - and the crashed pick-up truck in the ditch Kearny NJ - from the NPS Steamtown photo collection on the ErieLack list. -------------------- Richard Brennan - San Leandro CA MP 17.8 - Robert [Roberts Landing] on the SP Mulford Line. --------------------
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Re: WFEX 1201-1202 freight reefers
Ed,
Perhaps for company ice service? As in moving big blocks of ice from source (lake) to icing facilities? Or as experiment that was used for a few years but didn't really work? - Jim
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Meat reefers
Eric Hansmann
Frank Hodina shares photos and details on a few meat reefers in the latest Resin Car Works blog post.
Eric Hansmann Be safe. Stay healthy. Build models!
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Re: WFEX 1201-1202 freight reefers
spsalso
Tim,
toggle quoted messageShow quoted text
They were much taller than those cars. And, to head off possible suggestions, they had ice bunkers at the ends, so were unlikely to have got raised tops for that purpose. I will succumb to my temptation, and suggest they were used for transporting potted trees. Small-ish ones. Something 10' tall, 3-4' wide, doesn't like warm temperatures? If you've got an alternate load, I'm interested. Sure weren't used for apples. Ed Edward Sutorik
On Mon, Apr 6, 2020 at 06:57 PM, Tim O'Connor wrote:
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Re: WFEX 1201-1202 freight reefers
spsalso
Don,
toggle quoted messageShow quoted text
I'm curious. What's an Athearn FOBX #4156? Maybe some kind of link, or something? I see your 1938 ORER preceeds mine--good to know. They don't show in my July 1945, although there ARE other interesting critters. Ed Edward Sutorik Ed Edward Sutorik
On Mon, Apr 6, 2020 at 06:30 PM, Donald B. Valentine wrote:
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Re: WFEX 1201-1202 freight reefers
On 4/6/2020 9:30 PM, Donald B. Valentine via groups.io wrote:
--
Tim O'Connor Sterling, Massachusetts
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Re: Model brake component size comparison to prototype
Paul Woods <paul@...>
Dennis: Thank you for that very succinct explanation. I believe it supports if not outright proves that what I said was not nonsense.
Ed: There is a vast difference between theoretical principles and real-world applications. I think I was being fair in objecting to Tony's manner of writing, which was unnecessarily harsh, especially in light of what Dennis has said. What about your tone indeed! There are nicer ways of saying that you think someone is wrong, and 'tis easier to remove one's foot from one's mouth when it has not already been shoved all the way in ;-). Moderator: Don't bother excommunicating me from this group; I am already leaving voluntarily as I don't need the unpleasantness of being attacked like this. When I read something that I think is wrong, I first ask, "Excuse me but I thought it was actually ____. How have you arrived at your facts?" To get a whole lot of "You're wrong! That's nonsense!" fresh out of the blocks is not the behaviour of gentlemen. Regards Paul
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Re: WFEX 1201-1202 freight reefers
Donald B. Valentine <riverman_vt@...>
Out of curiosity alone I looked for these cars in my July 1947 ORER and, like you, found them gone by that time. So I looked at the WFE and BREX rosters to see if they had anything similar, which they didn't. I had also look over my Athearn FOBX #4156 which is listed but has nowhere near the height of your two odd balls. With no similar cars listed for the related companies I went back and looked at the January 1938 ORER and found both listed there and just as you described them. Sorry I can't offer any ore on these tow strange cars. Speaking of the Athearn FOBX #4156 does anyone know where Fruit Growers Express used these cars and who they served? Fruit Growers was a large operator in New England, especially on the New Haven, so I bought it some time ago to add variety to a reefer block. Cordially, Don Valentine
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CORRECTED COPY Re: [RealSTMFC] N&W BL and BLa boxcars
David
A check of the July 1935 ORER turns up the car series N&W 67000-67999, 791 cars, 40 ft 6 in IL, 9 ft 1 in IH, 10 ft door opening. This series in the January 1940 ORER is occupied by 31 ft IL, 11 ft height of top chord above rail twin hoppers as the Class BL boxcars were rebuilt to Class SK stock cars in the mid-1930s.500 of the class BL were rebuilt to class SK stock cars. The other 500 were renumbered to 42000-42790 (some numbers were not used). David Thompson
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Steam Locomotive Expertise
Steam locomotives
pull steam era freight cars. (Get that out of the way,
first.)
I am looking for
someone to discuss power reverse gear. Around 1940, the Rock Island
equipped a bunch of older locomotives with power reverse gear. In
the series that currently interests me, they used several brands of
equipment. I have photos and would like to have an off group discussion
with someone who could help ID's the various types.
Please contact me
off list at shile (at) mindspring (dot) com if you can help, or know someone who
can.
Thanks so
much,
Steve
Hile
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