Uncataloged Premier O Scale 40’ Steel Sided Reefer Cars Announced

January 11, 2022 - M.T.H. Electric Trains has announced an uncataloged production of the Premier O Scale 40' Steel Reefer in two distinct liveries for exclusive distribution for M.T.H. Authorized Retailer Mr. Muffin's Trains in Atlanta, Indiana. Each reefer will be offered in two different cab numbers and available in very limited quantities on a first-come, first-served basis beginning in April 2022.

Item No. 20-94597 Armour 40’ Steel Sided Reefer Car
Car No. 1962
Pre-Order Price: $68.95 (plus freight)
Click HERE to order.

Item No. 20-94598 Armour 40’ Steel Sided Reefer Car
Car No. 1966
Pre-Order Price: $68.95 (plus freight)
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Item No. 20-94599 Milwaukee Road 40’ Steel Sided Reefer Car
Car No. 10654
Pre-Order Price: $68.95 (plus freight)
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Item No. 20-94600 Milwaukee Road 40’ Steel Sided Reefer Car
Car No. 10663
Pre-Order Price: $68.95 (plus freight)
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ABOUT THE 40’ STEEL SIDED REEFER CAR The coming of the railroad changed the way America ate and drank. Before the iron horse connected every town of any importance to the outside world, most food was grown or produced locally. The arrival of cheap, fast, refrigerated transport — in the form of the woodsided reefer with ice bunkers at each end — enabled local brewers, dairies, meat processors, and other food businesses to become players on a national scale. Among other things, the reefer enabled Chicago to become "Hog Butcher for the World"; in pre-reefer days, livestock had been transported to local markets and butchered as close as possible to the final consumer.

In the 19th Century, ice for reefers was harvested from frozen ponds each winter and stored as well as possible in insulated icehouses. The advent of mechanical ice-making around 1900 greatly increased the capacity of the reefer fleet, which at its height consumed over one million tons of ice annually. Since loaded cars needed to be re-iced about once per day, icing stations were erected around the country on shipping routes that could be as long as coast-to-coast.

Famed railroad historian John H. White referred to reefers as "the most conservative of all American freight cars," as reefers retained wood frames and sides long after other types of cars had converted to steel construction. Steel-sided reefers like this Premier model became common only after 1940, and many wood reefers ran well into the 1960s. Mechanical reefers, with self-powered refrigeration units in each car, became the norm in the second half of the 20th century, and the practice of stopping a train to re-ice during shipment gradually disappeared.

Order directly from:

Mr. Muffin's Trains
165 E. Main St.
Atlanta, IN 46031
765-292-2022
Email: mrmuffin@mrmuffinstrains.com
www.mrmuffinstrains.com

M.T.H. Electric Trains will be releasing the Premier O Scale USRA 2-8-2 Mikado Steam Locomotive in four select liveries beginning this Spring. Each of these unique schemes will be available in limited production quantities and will begin shipping to M.T.H. Authorized Retailers in May 2022.

Check out each of these offerings HERE.

These items are available to order from your local M.T.H. Authorized Retailer.

M.T.H. Electric Trains will be releasing the RailKing O Gauge 50' Modern Boxcar in five select liveries beginning this Spring. Each of these unique schemes will be available in limited production quantities and will begin shipping to M.T.H. Authorized Retailers in April 2022.

Check out each of these offerings HERE.

These items are available to order from your local M.T.H. Authorized Retailer.