Source for 40ft undec wood reefers?

I think a company called "Red Caboose" made 40 ft wood reefer kits.   The tooling was done by Intermountain for them as I remember.   

I think Atlas ended up buying all this tooling.

However, the kits still show up at shows.

Red Caboose was also selling kits in the last year.

I know Intermountain did the steel side reefer.    I don't know about woodside reefeer.

I just found a website for Red Caboose.   It says they still have undec reefer kits in stock and suggests inquiring about them

http://www.red-caboose.com

Thanks for the tip. I emailed Red Caboose but it appears all the cars in the link are HO scale. I hope they have some leftover O scale cars.

I stand corrected. Further exploration of their site shows some O scale cars in stock. Thanks again.

Pete

Try Rails Unlimited:        http://railsunlimited.ribbonra.../Models/reefers.html

Wasn't O Scale Red Caboose absorbed by Atlas?

You're right. It was Intermountain. Didn't Red Caboose just cease production around 1999, or thereabouts?

I have four undec rebuilt wood reefers for a project. I just opened on to see. All the details are attached but not glued. So everything from the hinges to ladders etc will pop right off.

Good news about Atlas. They would closest for the particular MDT reefer I am trying to model. Thank you.

Pete

Did you try weaver models.

Weaver cars have steel ends. This is the car I am trying to duplicate or at least come close to.

Pete

Contact Norm's O scale. I believe Last year he was blowing out  Atlas O undec reefers less trucks and couplers for a price lower than the cost of a MIB one!

I was at his web site and while one web page shows the cars another says there is no Atlas O in stock. I assume its an old web page and he is no longer carrying Atlas. I haven't purchased from him in a few years. Maybe someone else can verify he is no longer an Atlas dealer?

Pete

Here is a source for an unpainted brass model of a 40 foot wood reefer:  http://www.protocraft.com/category.cfm?Categoryid=29

I believe you will find the AtlasO 40' wood car has a tongue and groove wood roof while the MDT prototype in the photos has a steel sheathed roof.  The Red Caboose 40' wood reefer has wood sides and ends, and a steel sheathed roof.  It models a PFE R30-12-9 reefer.  Pacific Limited did a beautiful MDT wood reefer with steel roof and ends in brass - can be found on eBay from time to time at a premium price.

Ed Rappe 

Good info Ed and everyone. This is the actual scene I hope to duplicate. The MDT car is much clearer in the pic. I am modeling the scene more than the car so visually close is OK. It would be great if I had drawings of this car so I could modify whatever I end up to match. Who knows, the cars were built 20 miles from my home. Fortunately Microscale still makes the decals including the ERDX car in the background.

Pete

Here is the link to the Atlas 40' reefer parts diagram.

http://www.atlaso.com/partspdf...de_reefer_2_rail.pdf

Jim

I have worked with the Atlas wood reefer, modifying it to make it more correct. It is actually a model of the ACF wood reefer with a fishbelly center sill. (It is the plastic version of he brass car just released by Norm at Protocraft) You have to lower the floor to make it correct - it is recessed to allow the tinplate wheels to operate under it. It is most correct for the C&NW NWX reefer series. It can pass for a MDT reefer if you ignore the center sill or leave it recessed. Depending on your time frame, you have to convert the brake system to AB as it comes with a K brake.

Also worked with the Red Caboose reefer which, as a previous correspondent noted, is based on a PFE prototype. Underbody is closer to what you need, but the car sits high and needs to be modified to get it down to a better level. You have to rework the bolsters on that car.

Nothing is easy in O Scale!

Jim Taverna

Ed,

All of my Red Caboose reefers have wood roofs, not steel.

Jay

Jim, Do you have a source for drawings of an MDT manufactured car you are comparing the others too? If I had that info it might be easier to just scratch build the cars. Alternatively has anyone offered a reefer based on an MDT car (not simply lettered such).

Pete

Jay

The PFE R30-9 prototype (and Red Caboose plastic model) has a steel sheathed wood roof.  The PFE book calls it an "outside metal" roof.  Steel bodied cars like the IM R40-10 or Athearn R40-14 were based on prototypes with structural steel panel roofs.  Cars like the Atlas 40' wood reefer is of a prototype that had exposed tongue and groove wood roofs.  Some  rebuilt wood reefers had their wood roofs replaced with all steel structural roofs while retaining their wood sides.  Crown and Precision Scale offered models of rebuilt wood PFE reefers with structural steel roofs and steel corrugated ends like the R40-19 class.  It is interesting to note that in 1950 62% of the PFE fleet still had wood sides. 

Ed Rappe

Wood that lasted into the 50's may well have been redwood or most likely clear cedar. Both rot resistant material, especially on a refrigerated car subject to moisture.  The inside paint work well might be a burgundy red.  

Pete,

There have been quite a few articles in Mainline Modeler on MDT reefers. March 1986; October, 2000 (Part 1) and November 2000 (Part 2), May 2002, and April 2004. There is a fellow named Roger C. Hinman who is a prolific writer on this topic. He also wrote an extensive article for the NYC Searchlight on the history of the company.

 If you want to model the ACF reefer (Atlas), which was used for the NWX cars and the Union Refrigerator Transit Co cars (URTX) you can look up Rail Model Journel  July 1992, and May 2000. There was a recent (within the last 10 years) article in RMC that had a good write up on the NWX (C&NW) cars that even showed the brake system layout. I used it to make my AB conversion of the Atlas car. Once you lower its floor, it is quite  a nice model. You do have to change the trucks to Athearn or Intermountain though.

Jim

Pete, Forgot to answer the last part of yur question. No one has done an MDT car except Pacific Limited who did it in brass. The only plastic model with a steel end and wood sides that I am aware of has been the old Crown Custom Models which Ed mentioned. It is an okay model with everything molded on - ladders, grabs, and roof hatches. You can do some work on it to make it presentable. They made them with all kinds of lettering schemes so they became pretty cheap as the schemes were way out of date - BN for example. They also made a boxcar that was similar to the '32 AAR design with a low roof and smaller dreadnaughtf end. I am not sure if anyone bought their dies.

Jim

Pete,

Last post - the RMC article that had the brake diagram is December 1988, but there was a Culotta article on the car series in April 2006 - part of RMC's series on Essential Freight Cars - number 29.

That should hold you for a while!

Jim

Here is what the Crown car looks like.

Whoa, Thanks Jim for that info. I will keep an eye out for those MM articles. I picked up some Walther's wood kits that should give me 4 wood sides for a starting point.

Dan, I am guessing Crown is now Weaver? Or does your car have wood ends?  It looks identical to the Iroquois beer car at my desk.

Pete

It has steel ends. The Crown tooling was their own but yes, Weaver now has it.

Train Resources uses these http://www.trainresource.com/Stock_Catalog.html

Pete,

Going back to your original question, based on the pictures, your car that you want to duplicate appears to have a Murphy type flexible steel roof with raised seams. It had a wooden under roof and then a steel covering. The panels were flat but the joiners that held the panels together were in a sort of U shape. The Red Caboose car has a similar flat roof panels with with flat seams. You could modify them pretty easily with styrene, converting the flat seams to vertical ones. The rest of the car is close enough. You would just have to modify those bolsters to lower it to look better. It has a channel type underframe and wood ends and comes with AB brakes. Try one to see if you like it. Depending on the era, you might want to mix in a steel ended car as well, and the Crown model would fit in there.

Just a thought.

Jim

Just wanted to thanks everyone for the tips. I did make contact with Bill at Red Caboose and have two undec woodside reefers ordered and likewise Norm's O scale is sending two 9150 undec rebuilt wood reefers. I also expect to have a couple of old Walthers wood kits as backup. Now to locate the Mainline Modeler articles so I can try and make some correct cars.

Pete