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Ice vs Mechanical Reefers - Off Subject?
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RDG2124 <RDG2124@...>
If within the discussion period of this list, when did mechanical reefers enter service? Assume since passenger cars began using mechanical air conditioning in the late 30's that reefers would have been soon to follow or did they precede passenger cars?
The discussion of roses being shipped via reefers prompted questions, other than the obvious labor intensity and icing delays of the iced cars, what are the pros and cons of the ice versus the mechanical cars. As I know only of flowers being shipped in iced reefers, assume that humidity was a concern. Thank you, Evan Leisey Bennett, CO |
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water.kresse@...
I believe they were still discussing moisture concerns with meat with mechanical refrig in the early 1950s . . . until they realized they could start with a goodly amount of artificial moisture and keep it along the trip. FGE was building new re-icing platforms in 1955 (@ their Russell and Peru yards) along the C&O. I believe FGE purchased a "demo fleet" of mech reffers in 1956 with diff supplier motor-compressor sets. They keep their leased re-icing platforms on the C&O until 1972 I believe.
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Al Kresse ----- Original Message -----
From: "RDG2124" <RDG2124@...> To: STMFC@... Sent: Thursday, November 11, 2010 9:48:38 AM Subject: [STMFC] Ice vs Mechanical Reefers - Off Subject? If within the discussion period of this list, when did mechanical reefers enter service? Assume since passenger cars began using mechanical air conditioning in the late 30's that reefers would have been soon to follow or did they precede passenger cars? The discussion of roses being shipped via reefers prompted questions, other than the obvious labor intensity and icing delays of the iced cars, what are the pros and cons of the ice versus the mechanical cars. As I know only of flowers being shipped in iced reefers, assume that humidity was a concern. Thank you, Evan Leisey Bennett, CO |
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al_brown03
PFE's first mechanical reefers were class R-70-7 (1953). See Thompson et al., "PFE", 1st ed., chapter 9. I don't know about other companies.
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Al Brown, Melbourne, Fla. --- In STMFC@..., water.kresse@... wrote:
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Anthony Thompson <thompson@...>
Al Kresse wrote:
FGE was building new re-icing platforms in 1955 (@ their Russell and Peru yards) along the C&O . . . They keep their leased re-icing platforms on the C&O until 1972 I believe.They had to. It wasn't until 1972 that the ICC released railroads from the responsibility to provide icing if needed. 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@...>
Evan Leisey 4 wrote:
If within the discussion period of this list, when did mechanical reefers enter service? Assume since passenger cars began using mechanical air conditioning in the late 30's that reefers would have been soon to follow or did they precede passenger cars?There were a variety of experimental mechanical reefers built as early as the 1920s, but none were successful on any scale until after WW II. The usual explanation is the robust GM small diesel engines, developed for various military applications, which were the first truly dependable power for onboard compressors to run refrigeration. The early mech reefers, until the late 1950s, were exclusively for frozen food and in fact did not have thermostats permitting temperature setting in the range used for fresh produce. The discussion of roses being shipped via reefers prompted questions, other than the obvious labor intensity and icing delays of the iced cars, what are the pros and cons of the ice versus the mechanical cars. As I know only of flowers being shipped in iced reefers, assume that humidity was a concern.Humidity was a secondary concern. A bigger one was air circulation to ensure uniform temperature. This was solved by design of air circulation paths entirely around as well as through the cargo compartment. In the early mechanical reefer days, top icing was practiced to provide desired humidity for some cargoes. 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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In 1954 NP bought 50 mech reefers mostly for frozen food service,
and in 1956 MILW (URTX) bought 40 cars from PC&F. Both groups had electric heaters and could maintain -10 to 60 degree temperatures in any weather. But as Tony noted unless the cargo is pre-cooled ice was still required. I saw a load of carrots being unloaded once (circa 1968) from a mech reefer and there was "top ice" (shaved ice) that had obviously been blown over the load through the doors. This also was a practice used in ice cooled reefers. Tim O'Connor |
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Anthony Thompson <thompson@...>
Tim O'Connor wrote:
But as Tony noted unless the cargo is pre-cooled ice was still required. I saw a load of carrots being unloaded once (circa 1968)I would have said, "ice was still an option." PFE officially ended the "ice age" for refrigeration on all its lines on September 2, 1973, but top icing was still available until 1981. So ice was no longer loaded into bunkers after 1973, but shaved ice could be blown over the tops of loads until 1981. This of course is well beyond the end of the pertinency for this list, but may be of interest to historians. 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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soolinehistory <destorzek@...>
--- In STMFC@..., Anthony Thompson <thompson@...> wrote:
...This of course is well beyond theIf something is yet to happen in the future, how can it interest historians? :-) Mediums? Prophets? Futurists, perhaps? Dennis |
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-- If something is yet to happen in the future, how can it interest historians? :-)
-- Mediums? Prophets? Futurists, perhaps? Dennis People are interested in the future. Historians are people. Therefore, Historians are interested in the future. QED Tim O' |
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Steve Lucas <stevelucas3@...>
As an aside, CN's Toronto (now MacMillan) Yard was opened in 1965--with a two-track reefer icing facility in its receiving yard.
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Though past the mandate of STMFC, it's interesting to note a large new icing facility being built in the early 1960's. Steve Lucas. --- In STMFC@..., water.kresse@... wrote:
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