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Billboard Reefer Era? (was Mather stock cars)
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John Degnan <Scaler164@...>
Just out of curiosity, what was the "billboard reefer era"... when did this practice start/stop?
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John Degnan Scaler164@... ----- Original Message -----
From: Gene To: STMFC@... Sent: Sunday, May 16, 2010 10:47 AM Subject: [STMFC] Re: Mather stock cars - again I sometimes flirt with the idea of backdating to the billboard reefer era and now I know I could keep my P2K Mather stock cars in use should I make such a change. |
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Gene <bierglaeser@...>
--- In STMFC@..., "John Degnan" <Scaler164@...> wrote:
The end is easier to document than the beginning. Billboard reefers were outlawed in interchange effect Jan. 1, 1937. You can have a very enjoyable time reading the Hendrickson-Kaminski book "Billboard Refrigerator Cars" published by Signature Press and trying to decide what you might choose to call the beginning. The book is chock-a-block full of great photos even if you never read a word of the text, but you should. In my particular case the ideal year would be 1928 because the M&StL got their first internal combustion motive power in 1929. All steam is attractive. Gene Green |
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Guy Wilber
On May 16, 2010, at 9:15 AM, "Gene" wrote:
The end is easier to document than the beginning. Billboard reefers were outlawed in interchange effect Jan. 1, 1937.Gene, That date was subsequently extended to April 1, 1937. The extension was granted by the General Committee of the AAR's Operating- Transportation Division. Along with the extension came the prohibition of advertising on all other car types except tank cars and type "L" cars. The latter took effect on January 1, 1939. Regards, Guy Wilber Reno, Nevada |
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Todd Horton
What caused them to prohibit advertising on railroad cars? Todd Horton
________________________________ From: Guy Wilber <guycwilber@...> To: "STMFC@..." <STMFC@...> Sent: Sun, May 16, 2010 1:49:20 PM Subject: Re: [STMFC] Re: Billboard Reefer Era? (was Mather stock cars) On May 16, 2010, at 9:15 AM, "Gene" wrote: The end is easier to document than the beginning. Billboard reefersGene, That date was subsequently extended to April 1, 1937. The extension was granted by the General Committee of the AAR's Operating- Transportation Division. Along with the extension came the prohibition of advertising on all other car types except tank cars and type "L" cars. The latter took effect on January 1, 1939. Regards, Guy Wilber Reno, Nevada [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] |
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Anthony Thompson <thompson@...>
John Degnan wrote:
Just out of curiosity, what was the "billboard reefer era"... when did this practice start/stop?John, as you can see in the Hendrickson-Kaminski book we published, there really is no "start" -- there were colorful and extravagant lettering schemes well back into the 19th century, and not all on reefers. But the introduction of clever car leasing practices in the mid-1920s caused an explosion of billboard cars. Tony Thompson Editor, Signature Press, Berkeley, CA 2906 Forest Ave., Berkeley, CA 94705 www.signaturepress.com (510) 540-6538; fax, (510) 540-1937; e-mail, thompson@... Publishers of books on railroad history |
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Anthony Thompson <thompson@...>
Guy Wilber wrote:
That date was subsequently extended to April 1, 1937. The extension was granted by the General Committee of the AAR's Operating- Transportation Division.I've never seen documentation of the subsequent relaxation of these rules after WW II. Do you have any info, Guy? Tony Thompson Editor, Signature Press, Berkeley, CA 2906 Forest Ave., Berkeley, CA 94705 www.signaturepress.com (510) 540-6538; fax, (510) 540-1937; e-mail, thompson@... Publishers of books on railroad history |
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Anthony Thompson <thompson@...>
Todd Horton wrote:
What caused them to prohibit advertising on railroad cars?It's explained at some length in the book, but the real thrust of the decision was to prohibit the rebates and other undesirable (not to say illegal) aspects of the car leasing schemes. The advertising was a small part of the overall decision, and was included because the lessors were painting the billboard cars for free, providing an advertising opportunity not available to those who used fewer or pooled cars. To make things worse, some lessees were advertising things not even carried in reefers, such as Old Dutch Cleanser. Tony Thompson Editor, Signature Press, Berkeley, CA 2906 Forest Ave., Berkeley, CA 94705 www.signaturepress.com (510) 540-6538; fax, (510) 540-1937; e-mail, thompson@... Publishers of books on railroad history |
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Thomas Baker
One curiosity for me about the billboard refrigerator cars was an experience I had riding the South Shore from Chicago to South Bend some time between 1977 and 1979. We were on South Shore tracks but had not gone very far when I looked south out the window and saw the body of a wooden refrigerator car. Although the lettering had faded, one could still read clearly "White Water". The car been there a long time, but its end must have been near because I never saw it again.
Tom |
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