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Early refrigerator cars were built making extensive use of wood.  The natural insulating properties of wood made it an excellent material for refrigerator car construction.  However, wood or wood sided cars required higher maintenance than all steel cars.  As better insulating materials became available in the 1930s car builders began to construct refrigerator cars with all steel exteriors.  At first steel construction was used to produce otherwise conventional ice bunker refrigerator cars.  As technology advanced in the 1940s, 50s and 60s the evolution of the refrigerator car continued to incorporate new types of doors, even better insulation that made ice unnecessary for many shipments and mechanical refrigeration for more constant temperatures and transportation of newly popular frozen foods.

 

40 foot steel sided Ice Bunker Refrigerator Cars.

 

We have several models available that depict 40 foot steel sided ice bunker refrigerator cars.  One of the first O scale plastic models on the market was a kit offered Intermountain.  The Intermountain tooling has been used to offer ready to run cars by several manufacturers including Red Caboose and K-Line.

 

Atlas acquired the Intermountain tooling and released their first steel side reefers in 2003.  Like all cars from this tooling they have Murphy rectangular panel roofs and 4/4 dreadnought ends.  The detail parts on the Atlas cars are less fragile that the earlier Intermountain, Red Caboose or K-line versions yet are still quite delicate.  While some early versions are on the light side the three rail Atlas cars weigh 19 1/2 ounces.

 

The MTH steel sided reefer has a Murphy rectangular panel roof and 3/3 improved dreadnought ends as did prototype cars built in the mid to late 1940s.  It was introduced in the 2004 Volume 2 MTH catalog and has Kadee Mounting pads.  They weigh 17 ounces as they come out of the box.

Lionel' steel side reefers also have the Murphy rectangular panel roof and 3/3 improved dreadnought ends of mid to late 1940s cars.  They have come with three significant variations.  Most feature standard hinged doors.  They are the lightest of the 40 foot steel ice bunker reefers at 14 1/2 ounces.

 

Plug Door cars are also available from Lionel.

 

The most rare Lionel steel sided reefers have combination doors. PFE built these cars briefly.  The plug door provided a tight seal and ample width for forklift loading while the slim hinged door allowed access to check lading without letting too much cold air out.

 

 

The earliest MTH reefer depicts the last type of 40 foot ice bunker reefer commonly constructed.  It features a plug door, StanRay diagonal panel roof and 3/3 improved dreadnought ends.  Depicting late 1940s and 1950s construction the MTH model first appeared in the Summer 1996 catalog.

 

 

RBLs

 

Many shipments in ice bunker refrigerator cars were made without needing any ice at all. Shippers simply needed a car that was insulated to protect lading from extremely hot or freezing cold weather. As ice bunker reefers were withdrawn from use there was still a strong demand for insulated cars. The answer came in the form a standard box car with a tight fitting plug door and modern insulating material applied to the interior. Like many non-insulated boxcars intended for premium shipments these cars were typically equipped with devices to prevent loads from shifting and becoming damaged in transit. The combination of insulation, a clean interior and load protecting devices made these cars highly desirable to shippers of canned or bottled foods and beverages, vegetables like potatoes and onions and boxed foods like baking mixes and breakfast cereal. They were also used for non-food items that need a clean interior like pulp and paper products.

 

Many railroads applied special paint schemes to distinguish these premium cars. While most rail fans refer to these cars as boxcars the American Association of Railroads classified them as bunkerless refrigerator cars with load protecting devices or RBLs. We have several 40 and 50 foot plug door box car models that accurately depict bunkerless refrigerator cars.

 

The Atlas Trainman 40 foot RBL has R+ 3/4 ends and a StanRay diagonal panel roof. As with all Atlas O scale cars they are available in 2 or 3 rail versions.  In three rail configuration they weigh 15 ounces.

Weaver's 40 foot RBL is based on a PS-1 with the distinctive Pullman ends and bow tie roof.

The Atlas 50 foot PS-1 plug door car is offered in several RBL schemes. It too features the distinctive Pullman roof and ends.  Three rail versions weigh 25 ounces.

The Atlas 53 foot Evans Double plug door car is based on a popular prototype of the 1970s.  The three rail versions tips the scale at 25 ounces.

 

 

The MTH double plug door car has an X panel roof and 4/4 improved Dreadnought ends. It was introduced in the MTH 1999 Volume 3 catalog.  Weight is 19 ounces.

Weaver 50 foot RBLs have outside post sides, an X-panel roof and non-terminating ends.

Mechanical Reefers

 

Mechanical refrigerator cars entered service in large numbers in the 1950s. Their more consistent temperature control, their ability to maintain sub-freezing temperatures and to carry shipments from coast to coast without needing icing facilities quickly made them the preferred method for shipping perishable foods by rail.

 

We have two models of the same prototype mechanical reefer available in O scale. Pacific Car and Foundry built cars to this design from the mid 1960s into the 1970s. It features outside post sides and R+3/4 improved dreadnought ends and a 57 foot outside length.

 

Lionel's mechanical reefers are both nicely detailed and solidly constructed.  They weigh in at a hefty 27 ounces.

Weaver has offered their PacCar reefer model in non-operating and sound equipped versions.  Factory weathering is also available as an extra cost option.


 

For information on wood sided and express refrigerator cars look here.

 

https://ogrforum.com/t...-and-express-reefers

 

As always, your comments or corrections are most welcome.  And let's see photos of your wood side and express refrigerator cars.

 

Information on other types of O scale freight cars can be found at the link below.

 

https://ogrforum.com/t...le-freight-car-guide

 

 

 

 

Last edited by Ted Hikel
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SIRT

 

Fantastic work as always.  Based on the thinner door tracks I'm going to say that those are both Weaver mechanical reefers.  Am I correct?

 

What does "RBL" stand for?

 

FYI..a plug door boxcar is not a refrigerator car....it only maintains the temperature when it was loaded...no ice or mechanical refrigeration just a boxcar...

 

I'll add a little highlighting to some text from the original post.

 

While most rail fans refer to these cars as boxcars the American Association of Railroads classified them as Bunkerless Refrigerator cars with Load protecting devices or RBLs.

 

The AAR mechanical designation for a Standard ice bunker Refrigerator car is RS.  An early description of an RS was

 

Standard Refrigerator. A car with body, doors and hatch plugs, equipped with insulation, with ice tanks and either with or without ventilating devices.

 

A Bunkerless Refrigerator car is an RB.  The AAR description of a car meeting RB specifications from 1966 to 1980 is

 

A bunkerless refrigerator car similar in design to an "RS" car with or without ventilating devices and with or without devices for attaching portable heaters. Constructed with a minimum of 3 in. of insulation in sides and ends and 3-1/2 in. in floor and roof based on the insulation requirements given in A.A.R. Supplement to Manual Plate C-2 or a thickness reduced in proportion to the thermal conductivity of the insulation

Note the RB designation just to the right of the capacity number.

 

Add load protecting devices and it is an RBL.

 

A car similar in construction to an "RB" type car, but equipped in addition with adjustable loading or stowing devices.

 

A mechanical refrigerator car is an RP. RM was already in use for ice bunker reefers equipped with rails for hanging meat.

 

Mechanical Refrigerator car equipped with insulation, with or without means of ventilation and provided with apparatus or other device for furnishing protection against heat and/or cold. Apparatus operated by power other than through the car axle.

 

Again, add loaders and it becomes an RPL.

 

Mechanical Refrigerator. Similar to "RP" but equipped in addition with adjustable loading or stowing device.

 

 

Some boxcars with plug doors are just that, boxcars.  They are classified as XMs or XMLs.  But others have insulation that meets specific requirements and are classified as bunkerless refrigerator cars.  Some belonged to refrigerator car lines like Fruit Growers Express, Western Fruit Express or Burlington Refrigerator Express.  Some railroad owned RBLs like the NP car above received special paint schemes to distinguish them from ordinary boxcars.  Some simply received the RBL mechanical designation. 

 

Take a look at the decoration on your plug door "boxcars".  Some may be marked XM, XML the more modern XL.  But others are RBLs and were often used in special service.

 

We better not get into XMLIs! 

 

 

 

Yes, both cars are 57' Weavers.

 

SF has a speaker in the bottom with green & red LED’s mounted in the compressor.

It makes compressor sounds at random. It also has an on/off switch and volume control. Its not a pleasant sound so I don't have it on much. Great idea though.

 

Don’t forget the Santa Fe cars slogan, MTC - Mechanical Temperature Control. 

Last edited by SIRT

The Atlas O steel reefer is based on the PFE R-40-10 reefer built in the late 1930s.  It is really only accurate for the PFE R-40-10 and certain ART reefers built during the same timeframe.  There is a good article on the ART reefers accessible via the internet.

 

The MTH and Lionel steel reefer is based on the PFE R-40-23 reefer built in the late 1940s.  It is accurate for the PFE R-40-23 and certain road number series for the NP steel reefer.  IMHO, MTH has the best representation of the NP reefer for road number and the tack board moved lower on the car side.  The Lionel NP reefer has a murphy roof but the road number is for the cars that were built with a diagonal panel roof.  The Lionel cars are the best representation of the R-40-23.

 

Atlas O recently produced the PFE R-40-14 aluminum car using R-40-10 tooling but the prototype is a better match for R-40-23 tooling.  So the MTH or Lionel PFE cars are a more accurate representation.  There were only two road numbers for this car but MTH/Lionel produced cars with fantasy road numbers.

 

I understand that Intermountain developed the tooling for these two cars and at some point sold the R-40-10 tooling to Atlas and the R-40-23 tooling to MTH.

 

It would be nice to see new tooling with correct features (side sills, ends, etc) for steel reefers that were also commonplace in the 40s, 50s and beyond beside these two PFE cars.  I believe relatively more expensive brass versions of these other commonplace cars were made years ago.

 

For some reason, reefers don't get the same attention as boxcars with model makers but they are just as interesting with a similar variety of car colors and lettering arrangements.

 

Would be really nice to see accurate representations of wood cars with steel ends that were commonplace when roads and private companies rebuilt wood reefers.

Ted your post have been a great reference source. If your into building kits you can find Intermountain O gauge Kits and RTR, Athearn, All nation O Gauge kits. The Inter Mountain RTR are 2R but can be easily converted to 3RS or High Rail. I don't own any Reefers but have built several  AAR Box car kits and have bought a couple of the RTR. The RTR are highly detailed and would recommend buying them. Here is my contribution

 l

 Atlas ATSF 50ft PS1 plug door RB

02-DSCF2277

 

 Lionel NP steel side

 

03-DSCF2279

 

 Lionel CN steel side

 

04-DSCF2281

 

 Lionel ATSF Steel side

 

06-DSCF2283

 

 Atlas ATSF Steel side. notice the difference in the shade of orange from the Lionel

 

07-DSCF2284

 

 AHM PE Reefer

 

08-DSCF2286

 

 Weaver 50ft RGL What dose RGL stand for?

 

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10-DSCF2288

 

 Atlas PR 40ft Plug door RB

 

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 Atlas WP 50ft Plug door RB

 

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 Atlas Milwaukee Road 50t Plug door and 40ft ATSF Plug door Dare I say XMLI. So what is XMLI?

 

11-DSCF2289

12-DSCF2290

 

 INTERMOUNTAIN~ BURLINGTON STEEL SIDE ICE BUNKED CAR # 74783 KIT~O SCALE

 

 

Inter Mountain Kit

 

 

O Scale Intermountain Gateway 2001 NMRA RTR

 

inter mountain built

 

Athearn O Gauge Illinois Central IC Reefer Craftsman Kit 

 

plastic-and-lubricant894

 

Athearn O Scale 2-Rail 40' Steel Reefer kit built

 

$_57

 

 

 

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Hey everybody

 

It is great to hear that you all are enjoying this thread.

 

The MTH PREMIER 60' Express Reefer.

Ah yes!  The MTH 60 footer.  Sometimes it is a reefer.  Sometimes it is a boxcar.  What is it really?  I believe it is simply an Amtrak Material Handling Car whose tooling is frequently used for other purposes.

 

SIRT and PRR #1

 

Thanks for the additional information.  The post war experimental aluminum reefers could merit a thread all their own.  They do at least deserve mention here.  When is a steel side reefer not steel?  When it is aluminum!

 

Weaver 50ft RGL What dose RGL stand for?

Suzukovich

 

Thanks for the large number of photos and the variety of subjects.  The CB&Q used that green and yellow paint scheme and RBBQ reporting marks for RBLs.  But they would have plug doors.  I think RGL stands for Weaver got somewhat close to the prototype.

 

That situation is not unique. The Lionel and Weaver mechanical reefers are both good models of the PacCar originals.  But if you compare the car numbers to the prototype the Lionel models are correct for 57' exterior length outside post cars.  The car numbers that weaver used belong on earlier smooth side NP reefers.

 

Lionel did a great job on their NP mechanical reefer research.  But they recently cataloged a steel side ice bunker reefer in the green with gold stripe NP RBL paint scheme.

 

Atlas will put a prototypical paint scheme on the wrong car too.

 

 Atlas Milwaukee Road 50t Plug door and 40ft ATSF Plug door Dare I say XMLI. So what is XMLI?

 

An XMLI is a boxcar that is......

Loader Equipped. A house car similar in design to "XM", either fully or partially lined with steel perforated side walls or equipped with interior side rails or stanchions and crossbar members for securement of certain types of lading and/or permanently attached movable bulkheads. (when "XML" cars are insulated, they shall be designated class "XMLI")

 

Which sounds suspiciously similar to the description of an RBL

 

The difference may have been that XMLIs did not have the extremely stringent BTU loss per hour requirements on their insulation that RBLs had to meet.

 

 

Last edited by Ted Hikel
Originally Posted by Ted Hikel:

Hey everybody

 

It is great to hear that you all are enjoying this thread.

 Weaver 50ft RGL What dose RGL stand for?

Suzukovich

 

Thanks for the large number of photos and the variety of subjects.  The CB&Q used that green and yellow paint scheme and RBBQ reporting marks for RBLs.  But they would have plug doors.  I think RGL stands for Weaver got somewhat close to the prototype.   I thought it should of had a plug door too. I have noticed that Weaver uses the same shells for all roads with this model box car. I believe its based on a ACF prototype. Maybe hot Water could way in as he is the CBQ expert.

 

That situation is not unique. The Lionel and Weaver mechanical reefers are both good models of the PacCar originals.  But if you compare the car numbers to the prototype the Lionel models are correct for 57' exterior length outside post cars.  The car numbers that weaver used belong on earlier smooth side NP reefers.

 

Lionel did a great job on their NP mechanical reefer research.  But they recently cataloged a steel side ice bunker reefer in the green with gold stripe NP RBL paint scheme.

 

Atlas will put a prototypical paint scheme on the wrong car too.

 

 Atlas Milwaukee Road 50t Plug door and 40ft ATSF Plug door Dare I say XMLI. So what is XMLI?

 

An XMLI is a boxcar that is......

Loader Equipped. A house car similar in design to "XM", either fully or partially lined with steel perforated side walls or equipped with interior side rails or stanchions and crossbar members for securement of certain types of lading and/or permanently attached movable bulkheads. (when "XML" cars are insulated, they shall be designated class "XMLI")

 

Which sounds suspiciously similar to the description of an RBL

 

The difference may have been that XMLIs did not have the extremely stringent BTU loss per hour requirements on their insulation that RBLs had to meet. Thanks I know it was a dumb question.

 

 

I added the kits in the mix because I have notice they never get mentioned. I know many member know about these especially the 2R guys. The Intermountain cars underside are highly detailed, I am finding that the airline piping & hoses break very easily when building the kits. I guess my fingers are to big. 

Suzukovich

 

There are certainly plenty of Athearn, Intermountain and other kits out there.  Go to any two railer home or show and they show up in abundance. I really liked the GN rebuilt boxcar Brother love made with scratch built sides installed on an old All Nation kit. 

 

I think we may have a Classic Kits edition of the O Scale Freight Car Guide before we wrap it up.  If we do it will depend heavily on audience participation! 

I think the would be a great response. from what my limited knowledge ls that the Arthearn, All Nation, Red Caboose, Peco River Brass, Intermountain,and the old Atlas/Rocco are scale. I dont know about the others. How detailed the cars are is up to the builder. This would be a great opportunity for the 2R members to show their stuff and to show with little modification, they can be adapted to 3R as I have done.. This is what happens when you follow Malcolm.   

suzukovich posted:
 

Athearn O Scale 2-Rail 40' Steel Reefer kit built

$_57

I just got one of these from the Lou Cross estate, but I didn't see in the instructions where it said what color the roof and ends are to be painted.

Is that Boxcar Red or some other red, any ideas???

I'm putting 3-rail wheels in the trucks.  I have them in the side frames (had to do some hacking to get them to fit) but they rub on the cross members underneath and will have to make allowances so they'll move freely.

I have the wooden box sub-structure (except the floor) glued and drying, so I thought I'd do a search on the color.

Also, the underframe appears to be formed tin, should these pieces be soldered together to keep them from moving around:

DSCN0727_548

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Bob Delbridge posted:

I just got one of these from the Lou Cross estate, but I didn't see in the instructions where it said what color the roof and ends are to be painted.

Is that Boxcar Red or some other red, any ideas???

You'll have to do a little research then or just take a best practices guess....

I'm putting 3-rail wheels in the trucks.  I have them in the side frames (had to do some hacking to get them to fit) but they rub on the cross members underneath and will have to make allowances so they'll move freely.

I have the wooden box sub-structure (except the floor) glued and drying, so I thought I'd do a search on the color.

Also, the underframe appears to be formed tin, should these pieces be soldered together to keep them from moving around:

Can be soldered or just tack glued to the floor; once it's screwed to the floor from the inside, they get pinned in place pretty firmly.

Now is also the time to drill holes in all those parts to add the brake lines and assorted plumbing, etc.

And, if it had a wood floor, now is also the time you could add a layer of 1/32" scribed siding to the underside before you add the underbody,

Great thread. I was working on the new Kenworth truck and realized where I was building prototypes was the original spot were the Pacific Car and Foundry Company stood. The Seattle plant was the first to produce the steel side reefer car that Lionel produces.

s-l1000

PACCAR now owns this facility and essentially builds Kenworth trucks in Seattle and Peterbilt trucks in Denton Texas.

 

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mwb posted:
Bob Delbridge posted:

I just got one of these from the Lou Cross estate, but I didn't see in the instructions where it said what color the roof and ends are to be painted.

Is that Boxcar Red or some other red, any ideas???

You'll have to do a little research then or just take a best practices guess....

I'm putting 3-rail wheels in the trucks.  I have them in the side frames (had to do some hacking to get them to fit) but they rub on the cross members underneath and will have to make allowances so they'll move freely.

I have the wooden box sub-structure (except the floor) glued and drying, so I thought I'd do a search on the color.

Also, the underframe appears to be formed tin, should these pieces be soldered together to keep them from moving around:

Can be soldered or just tack glued to the floor; once it's screwed to the floor from the inside, they get pinned in place pretty firmly.

Now is also the time to drill holes in all those parts to add the brake lines and assorted plumbing, etc.

And, if it had a wood floor, now is also the time you could add a layer of 1/32" scribed siding to the underside before you add the underbody,

And if it had a wood floor?!?!?!  I can't even find a photo of the real deal, let alone any data on them (guess it's time for a look-thru of all my Mainline Modeler mags!)

Thanks Martin, there's a lot of holes to be drilled out.  The only reference to the color scheme was on a model site and they said it was Boxcar Red so I'm going with that.

Hi Bob. The Athearn steel reefer kit model was based on a PFE R40-14 prototype with a wood floor.  In the 1950's the late Ted Stepek wrote a fantastic article for Model Railroader magazine on how to build and super detail the Athearn car.  In his case he started with sides lettered for NP which I'm told had prototypes based on the PFE design.  One of the companies that re-ran the Athearn kits inserted copies of Ted's MR article with their kits.  His Upgrades included scribed under floor, hatch cover latches/supports, stand off ladders, cut levers, and full underbody piping/brake gear.  Quite a few years ago I built 2 Athearn reefers following Ted's article, one MDT and the other an aluminum body PFE R-40-14.  Perhaps the biggest visual shortcoming of the original kit was the solid stamped metal roof walk.  When I Built my kits I used an open grid plastic walks which at the times were available from American Standard Car Company.   I'm on the road this week but when I get back I can post some photos if there is interest.

 

 

Last edited by Keystoned Ed

Here are several photos of my up-detailed Athearn PFE aluminum R40-14 car # 45698.  PFE only had 2 aluminum body reefers, each with quite different lower side details.   To my knowledge Athearn's car body details for PFE's  aluminum R40-14 # 45698 is the only O scale model true to a PFE aluminum prototype.  AtlasO's model used silver paint on a R40-10 body. The Lionel model (multiple fictitious numbers) used silver paint on a R40-23 body.    Of the two the Lionel model is the closest stand-in as the R40-23 comes far closer to a R40-14 than AtlasO's R40-10 model.  The big difference being the rounded end corners on the R40-14 & 23 while the R40-10 had square corners. 

I built the Athearn kit around 20 years ago.  Some of the parts like the tack boards and drain scuppers came from spare Intermountain reefer parts.  Today's details (such as hatches, roof walks, and ladders) are finer than those I used back then.

 

IMG_1864IMG_1865IMG_1866IMG_1867

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Thanks Ed!

Did you put those springs on the screws that hold the trucks in place?

I did and they do the job IF you install them with the twist of the spring going in the same direction as the screw when you tighten it down.  If not, the spring tries to ride up over the screw head.

I basically built it per the instructions, but used hi-rail wheels for my hi-rail, 2-rail track.  I wanted to see what it looked like in original form.

I'm waiting for some paint  for the hardware on the sides so I can finish it up.

I like the look of the silver car 

Bob I used the kit truck springs on this car.  If they are too stiff I'll clip the spring to shorten it.  To keep a springs from riding over a close fit screw head I bend the top of the spring inward slightly.

 My preference is for a 3 point suspension without any truck screw springs.  Under one truck on the car body bolster I build up a pair of flat bearing surfaces with sheet plastic that matchches up with the simulated bearing surface on most scale truck bolsters.  On the other truck I just leave it unsprung.  Three point suspensions with NMRA recommended weight cars typically provides reliable no-rock rides.

 

Last edited by Keystoned Ed

I just purchased 2 Athearn reefer kits, one undecorated, and one lettered as the silver car above. Perhaps because I just built a couple LaBelle passenger cars, these are amazingly simple to build. I'm using Weaver trucks, and have the same issue as above. A little filing will be required to get the trucks to swing around my tight curves. No big deal.

If I may ask a question, if I dull coat the metal parts before assembly will that cure the rust issue some of these cars have? The undecorated car has rust spots on it from handling. No problem, I'm planning on removing the rust and painting it, but the other kit is pristine silver with UP and SP logo's, and I don't want to build it and find out a couple months later it's rusting. No one has ever touched the metal parts yet, and I would like to protect them ASAP.

On another note, these are perfect for the first-time kit builder. Straight forward instructions and most, if not all of the holes are pre-drilled. For the hi-railer, a pair of Weaver trucks, a file, some wood and super glue, and you could realistically build one of these cars in an afternoon. 

I don't know if a coat of dull coat would protect it anymore than a coat of paint, but it couldn't hurt.

I painted right over the rust on mine, figuring if it bleeds thru then I'll have some "natural weathering" without having to do it myself.

The All-Nation kit I got at the same time appears to be a direct relative of the Athearn kit (or is it the other way around?), but the AN kit has what looks like a brass-colored anodized coating on the roof and ends, and no rust.

I got my order of Scalecoat 1 paint in yesterday from MinuteMan Scale Models (quick service/shipping!!!) and the Reefer Yellow appears to be a match for the paint on the Athearn car.  Hope the Boxcar Red matches what is on the AN car.

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