Western Refrigerator Line Reefer WRL 7001 (Western Pacific)
A post by Raymond Breyer on the Facebook Pre-Depression Era Railroad Modelers group.
Taken at Chicago January 1923, Built by AC&F.
William Moyer commented:
That same image of car 7001 was published in the "Stockton Daily Evening Record" on Mar. 10, 1923, page 31, accompanied by a brief article: "Western Pacific Orders Two Thousand Refer [sic] Cars. Here is the latest arrival in the family of refrigerator cars to be seen In California. Delivery of the first cars of the Western refrigerator line begins on March 15, and from March to June of this year 2,000 of these refrigerator cars will be rolling westward for the use of shippers of perishables along the Western Pacific, Sacramento Northern and Tidewater Southern lines. The cars of the Western refrigerator line follow closely the designed [sic] prepared by the United States government for an ideal refrigerator car for fruits and vegetables. These plans were drawn by refrigerating engineers of national reputation, whose services the United States was able to command. The Western refrigerating line, of which J. W. McClymonds is the president, will be very much in evidence in the shipment of perishables this coming season, having obtained not only the cars, but adequate icing facilities wherever needed. Following the custom of railroads, the Western refrigerator line has adopted yellow as its standard color, but it is a lighter yellow than the colors of other roads."
I found some more info about the Western Refrigerator Line in the "Fresno Morning Republican" on Apr. 27, 1923, page 13: "ROADS LINE UP COOPERATIVELY TO SHIP FRUIT. Better Facilities In Transportation To Be Assured. Refrigerator Cars Of Two Lines Will Be Pooled. Closer traffic relations are being established in central California between the Western Pacific and the Southern Pacific railroads. Among other things it is the desire of both railroads to bring about a better and more rapid handling of fruit shipped eastward. Already the refrigerator cars of the subsidiary car line of the two railroads have been pooled. The two thousand new refrigerator cars of the Western refrigerator line have been added to the car supply of the Pacific Fruit Express, a Southern Pacific subsidiary, according to announcement of Charles M. Levey of the Western Pacific The Western will get refrigerator cars for its fruit traffic from the Pacific Fruit Express. This revives a relationship that existed up to January 1 of the present year. On the other hand, according to statements given out in New York by Julius Kruttschnitt, chairman of the board of the Southern Pacific, negotiations are well advanced by which the Southern Pacific and the Western Pacific tracks from Winnemucca, Nevada, and for about two hundred miles, will be used jointly by both railroads. The formation of the refrigerator car pool and the pending creation of what amounts to a double track system in Nevada, are collectively the largest traffic deals that have developed in California since the end of Government control. J. W. McClymonds, president of the Western refrigerator line, who was in Fresno yesterday gives the following reasons for making the new deal as to refrigerators: "The shippers demand of the railroads that they make every possible effort to expedite the handling of fruit. It is unquestionably to the advantage of shippers and producers that refrigerator cars be handled from one head. We think it is a case of all working for the good of all, and we have pooled our new refrigerators with those of the Pacific Fruit Express. We are assured of a car supply. Unquestionably by combining energies we can get better results in bringing about the quick return of refrigerator cars from the east. That question of quick return of refrigerators was paramount last season; the carriers intend to make an improvement in the round trip time of refrigerators to and from the east, if we can possibly effect it." "Incidentally, I do not wish anybody to think that the cars of the Western Refrigerator line have been sold, as has been reported. They have not been sold. The investment of the Western Refrigerator line thus far is about six million dollars in these cars."
An article in the "Stockton Daily Evening Record" on May 3, 1923, page 7, said that the available supply of refrigerator cars will be: "Pacific Fruit Express, 28,000 cars; Western Pacific Refrigerator Line, 2,000 cars (will be controlled by P. F. E.); Santa Fe Refrigerator Dispatch, 14,000 cars..."
The last newspaper articles I found for Western Refrigerator Line were from Dec. 1-3, 1923, when several big-city papers reported "Western Pacific is understood to be preparing specifications for 2,000 refrigerator cars for Western Refrigerator Line."
My Notes:
This same photo, along with a discussion, appears on Page 105 of the PFE book.
Because of the conditions of the PFE-WP agreement, this car never was in revenue service in this paint scheme. When this and the other cars arrive in Roseville, they were painted in the PFE scheme with a Western Pacific herald.
Bob Chaparro
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Bob Chaparro