Let the color debate begin. Here are various color photos of NADX meat reefers, most are Hormel. Two taken by Jim Sands, one by Soph Marty. And some NWX cars. Note a grey and a green/yellow, each take

Let me add that sometimes gons of manure were just hauled to a remote yard location, ie in the country somewhere, and unloaded into a wet or swampy area. Of course this was all in the days before land

Gons were used for shipping manure, not aware of hoppers being used in this service. It was also bagged, which could be shipped on a flatcar or in a boxcar. In the Midwest most often it was coming fro

Abraham Bros. Packing Co. New Plant planned in Memphis Tenn. in 1930 New construction in 1948, single level plant 1931 acquires Beasley Packing Co. Leased by Wilson in 1950 ABRX Merchants Despatch Tra

Not a Mather car, though Cudahy did use Mather reefers. All photos I have of Cudahy Mather reefers have the Mather name visible somewhere. And all have six hinges, not four. The photo of 5557 is from

Believe this photo shows where. I think it came via Tim O’Connor. Doug Harding www.iowacentralrr.org

Clover House offers dry transfers in O scale https://cloverhouse.com/Cart/product_info.php?products_id=11981 They had them in HO, but are no longer listed on their website. You might contact Clover Ho

Allen it is 100% pure acrylic and is self-leveling. It dries quickly. I use a brush and apply to the areas receiving decals. It can also be airbrushed. I’m not sure a pump bottle spray would be accept

What makes you say the Rapido model is incorrectly lettered? The model is an excellent rendition of a General American meat reefer. And you say that Cudahy leased GA reefers, which is true. Just about

Dennis here is an early photo of a boxcar being loaded with grain, clearly showing a ladder leaning against the grain door for checking the load. I know I’ve seen a photo of the type of ladder you des

Ferns are commonly used for funerals, memorial services, convention displays, floral arrangements, etc. No doubt the load was going to a floral distributor in Indianapolis to be sold to local florists

Osha did not exist at the time of the photo. If fact it did not exist during the time period of this group. Doug Harding www.iowacentralrr.org

Grain doors did not enclose the entire opening. A space was typically open at the top of the door opening, large enough for a man to crawl through. The attached photo shows a man taking a grain sample

My guess is the load was leveled to see if the load limit of the car had been reached. Boxcars intended for grain loading had lines painted on the inside of the car lining indicating the max limit for

The containers read: Petroleum Products Flash Point above 80 F Keep Lights and Fires Away Below on the card side it reads: This car and containers For handling Petroleum Products Must not be used In a

Clark is too impatient for an overnight freeze. But good tip. Thanks. Doug Harding www.iowacentralrr.org

Appears that it was lined with cardboard or contains boxes of some sort. If lined, it was used to shipped hogs in inclement weather. I have a photo of another CNW 14000 series stockcars showing the do

I would concur, unless you cleaned it yourself, assume the rail has a lubricant or something on it. Metal needs to be clean for paint, any kind of paint, to stick. Doug Harding www.iowacentralrr.org

Here is photo of a Budlong pickle car. Looks like it was taken by Clay Tinkham. GBFX reporting marks belong to Green Bay Foods. Doug Harding www.iowacentralrr.org

Budlong Pickle company dates from the late 1850s until 1958 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budlong_Pickle_Company Tichy has decals for a Budlong pickle car. Photos and information can be found in David