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Why bright colored reefers?
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I have been wondering about whybright colors were used on reefers. Was it to make them stand out in the yards to help get special handing? Bright colors looked "cleaner" for food products? Some other reason not to use the usual FCR colors? All I have is a couple of possibilities. Anyone have an actual answer? Chuck Peck in FL |
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Chuck
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Making them "stand out" makes sense - everyone in the yard aware that the loaded cars carried PERISHABLE lading, so maybe this aided expedited handling. I have been wondering about whybright colors were used on reefers. Was it to make them stand |
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Tony Thompson
Chuck Peck wrote:
Two of the PFE retirees I interviewed emphasized that employees were very aware that they were food cars. That was one reason PFE washed its cars until the mid-1950s. Tony Thompson Editor, Signature Press, Berkeley, CA 2906 Forest Ave., Berkeley, CA 94705 www.signaturepress.com (510) 540-6538; e-mail, tony@... Publishers of books on railroad history |
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Jim Williams <wwww5960@...>
Bright colors?................Why of course, advertising......Jim W. On Sunday, April 16, 2017 5:11 PM, "Tony Thompson tony@... [STMFC]" wrote: Chuck Peck wrote:
Two of the PFE retirees I interviewed emphasized that employees were very aware that they were food cars. That was one reason PFE washed its cars until the mid-1950s. Tony Thompson Editor, Signature Press, Berkeley, CA 2906 Forest Ave., Berkeley, CA 94705 www.signaturepress.com (510) 540-6538; e-mail, tony@... Publishers of books on railroad history |
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Randy Hees
Bright reefer colors date back to the 1860's and the creation of "Fast Freight Lines" which were cars which could be interchanged in a time before the Master Car Builders Association (MCB, later the AAR) had rules for interchange, including daily per diem (rent) or rules for repairs and allowable costs associated with repairs.
The earliest lines the Red line, (on the Vanderbilt owned railroads, later the NYC) the Blue Line and such were painted bright colors to identify them but also as a marketing tool. In fact, the MCB was created out of meetings to create the Red Line, then as it became obvious the value that the converstations had, other non-Vanderbilt railroad people were invited to attend... The Car-Builder's Dictionary was created so the members were using a common vocabulary for parts, and so the accountants could understand what they were being billed for. Randy Hees Director, Nevada State Railroad Museum, Boulder City |
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Also, bright colors tend to reflect the sun's rays, thus taking some stress off the insulation. Dark colors tend to absorb heat, causing the insulation to be less effective. Jim Kubanick Morgantown WV On Sunday, April 16, 2017 10:42 PM, "randyhees@... [STMFC]" wrote: Bright reefer colors date back to the 1860's and the creation of "Fast Freight Lines" which were cars which could be interchanged in a time before the Master Car Builders Association (MCB, later the AAR) had rules for interchange, including daily per diem (rent) or rules for repairs and allowable costs associated with repairs.
The earliest lines the Red line, (on the Vanderbilt owned railroads, later the NYC) the Blue Line and such were painted bright colors to identify them but also as a marketing tool. In fact, the MCB was created out of meetings to create the Red Line, then as it became obvious the value that the converstations had, other non-Vanderbilt railroad people were invited to attend... The Car-Builder's Dictionary was created so the members were using a common vocabulary for parts, and so the accountants could understand what they were being billed for. Randy Hees Director, Nevada State Railroad Museum, Boulder City |
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destorzek@...
---In STMFC@..., <jekuban@...> wrote : Also, bright colors tend to reflect the sun's rays, thus taking some stress off the insulation. Dark colors tend to absorb heat, causing the insulation to be less effective. Jim Kubanick Morgantown WV As if the Canadian roads cared about this, both using freight car red for reefers well into the twentieth century. The CN did do some experiments with Aluminum paint in the thirties, I believe, and found that it helped, so long as the cars were clean, but the effect diminished as the cars got dirty. CN eventually went to light gray as being more cost effective. The real reason why reefers were painted yellow / orange is like so many other things in railroading... "We've always done it that way." Dennis Storzek |
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Tony Thompson
Dennis Storzek wrote:
When I interviewed Earl Hopkins, retired CMO of PFE, he described a test done in the late 1940s by PFE, painting some ice car roofs aluminum and then instrumenting the car to see how it fared in service, compared to a then-standard BCR roof. Initially, he said, the results were dramatic in lower car interior temperature with the aluminum paint. But by the time the cars were in service a month, the dirt and grime on the roof reduced their performance to exactly that of BCR roofs. In later years, with diesel locomotives universal, they did go to aluminum roof paint for mechanical cars. Tony Thompson Editor, Signature Press, Berkeley, CA 2906 Forest Ave., Berkeley, CA 94705 www.signaturepress.com (510) 540-6538; e-mail, tony@... Publishers of books on railroad history |
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Ian Cranstone
Certainly CN used their standard Red No. 11 (their version of boxcar red) on the woodside cars of the 1920s and 1930s for pretty much their entire career, and subsequently on the first two or three groups of steel side cars received in 1939-40. I've always assumed that the steel side cars absorbed and transferred more solar heat as a result, and CN painted all subsequent groups in Grey No. 11. When the new look was implemented beginning in 1961 (yeah I know, in the future...), the reefers were painted in Aluminum No. 11 -- however, the insulated boxcars continued to be painted in Red No. 11 through the last delivery in 1972. |
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destorzek@...
---In STMFC@..., <lamontc@...> wrote : Certainly CN used their standard Red No. 11 (their version of boxcar red) on the woodside cars of the 1920s and 1930s for pretty much their entire career, and subsequently on the first two or three groups of steel side cars received in 1939-40. I've always assumed that the steel side cars absorbed and transferred more solar heat as a result, and CN painted all subsequent groups in Grey No. 11. When the new look was implemented beginning in 1961 (yeah I know, in the future...), the reefers were painted in Aluminum No. 11 -- however, the insulated boxcars continued to be painted in Red No. 11 through the last delivery in 1972. Ian Cranstone ===================== I was looking in our files for the trade press article on CN's silver paint on wood reefer experiment, but it's not filed where I expected to find it. I did, however, run into a couple photos of wood reefers in the CN "noodle" scheme, which dates to after 1960, I'm sure. The photos are B&W, but the lettering is light on a dark car, so I assume the cars are still freight car red. Interestingly, the Grand Trunk Western followed the US practice with yellow-orange sides on their reefers. When in Rome... I guess. Dennis Storzek |
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John Riddell
Interestingly, the Grand Trunk Western followed the US practice with yellow-orange sides on their reefers. When in Rome... I guess. Dennis Storzek Dennis, actually GTW painted its steel
8-hatch reefers the same gray as did CN.
John
Riddell |
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destorzek@...
Ah... I was thinking of the wood cars.
Dennis Storzek ---In STMFC@..., <riddellj@...> wrote : Interestingly, the Grand Trunk Western followed the US practice with yellow-orange sides on their reefers. When in Rome... I guess. Dennis Storzek Dennis, actually GTW painted its steel
8-hatch reefers the same gray as did CN. John
Riddell |
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