If you want to spend some money on reference books, the two you will want are:

1. Pacific Fruit Express

By Anthony W Thompson, Robert J. Church, Bruce H. Jones

Signature Press

This is a thorough and complete history of the world's largest refrigerator car operator, the Pacific Fruit Express Company. The 432-page book has 663 photos (some in color), scale car drawings, shop track layouts, system map, paint scheme drawings, and accurate color drift panels. It includes an appendix, a complete index, and a comprehensive bibliography.

2. Santa Fe Refrigerator Cars Ice Bunker Cars 1884-1979

(Volume 2, Rolling Stock Reference Series)

By C. Keith Jordan, Richard H. Hendrickson, John B. Moore and A. Dean Hale and the Santa Fe Modeler Organization (1994)

Bob Chaparro

Moderator

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National Perishable Protective Tariff #11 1940: PDF Download

Courtesy of Bill Welch, this is a link to PDF for this document:

This loads very slowly so be patient.

This basically is a 400-plus page document stating the rules and regulations governing the handling of perishable freight, including charges for various services.

Bob Chaparro

Moderator

开云体育

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STILL TWO AVAILABLE?

Look at this on eBay

开云体育

开云体育

Art Print: Reefers At Riverside

Courtesy of Dave Churry, this is an art print of the Riverside Depot with reefers. The artwork is by John Winfield and is no longer is available.

Bob Chaparro

Moderator

Santa Fe Reefer Train With Unusual Power

Here is the link:

Caption: "Back in the 1970s, one could see about anything on Santa Fe rails between San Bernardino and Barstow, California. On March 20, 1971, a Santa Fe eastbound is climbing Cajon Pass east of Cajon siding. Leading the train is Rio Grande SD45 5327 and a pair of UP SD45s, 3642 and 3649, which are assigned to the Sunnyside, Utah, to Fontana, California, coal train. When the Sunnyside train was being unloaded, Santa Fe would use the motors to haul cars from San Bernardino to Barstow. In the consist this day was a Santa Fe A-B set of F-units, which had been overhauled at the San Bernardino Shops and were being deadheaded east."

Bob Chaparro

Moderator

Comments from Eric Lombard...

I see no one provides definitive information about this interesting question. Perhaps because no such rule occurred.

I will take a stab at a non-definitive and inferential answer in support of that position. This claim is based on active survivors originally built or rebuilt with grabs instead of ladders and still in service after 1964. My box car database coughs up 111 series with grabs instead of ladders still active on 12-1964 (and later). These cars are clearly on their way out to the scrap yard having been originally built prior to 12-1944 but many also were rebuilt after that date but not in a way that changed the grabs.

In 10-1966 a running board and full ladders were banned on all new cars, and on 1/1/1971 cars with running boards were banned in interchange. Yes, in this period there were still a few cars with grabs still in service.

For example: In 1-1971, 30 in UP 180000-182346, B-50-17 (steel sheathed, grabs) were in service. These cars were rebuilt from 125900-127899, B-50-13 (wood DS, grabs) and 171500-172999, A-50-7 (wood DS, grabs) in 1935-36.

The B-50-13 and A-50-7 were built 1922, so in 1971 the underframes on the B-50-17 heroes were nearing 50 years old.

There are many stories like this and my data at 111 series presents an undercount since many series are yet to be traced out to their final extinction since I tend to loose interest about 1960.

Eric Lombard

Photo: SFRD Reefer 6719

A link courtesy of Brian Rochon...

Not a great photo but this can be improved with photo editing software.

SFRD 6719 is a Class Rr-P refrigerator car from the series 6701-7200. These cars were built in 1909 by AC&F.

The cars had a wood exteriors and wood superstructures. The original underframe was wood supported by truss rods. In later years some of these cars received steel channels along the center sills to reinforce the underframe as well as flexible metal roofs. The cars had Bohn ice tanks.

There is a drawing of? Rr-P 6702 on Page 67 of the Santa Fe reefer book. The drawing indicates some of these cars had Garland ventilators. These ventilators were discussed in this message post:

/g/RailroadCitrusIndustryModelingGroup/message/519?p=,,,20,0,0,0::Created,,garland,20,2,0,31132621

There also were additional message posts on this subject. These can be accessed with the Message Search feature.

A photo of Rr-P 7140 is on Page 68 of the Santa Fe reefer book*.

The last five Rr-P reefers left the live list in 1936.

I cannot find evidence that any of these cars were rebuilt into later classes. It is possible some went into company service, however.

I also could not find a listing for a Class Rr-P reefer model in Westerfield's catalog listing.

Bob Chaparro

Moderator

*Santa Fe Refrigerator Cars Ice Bunker Cars 1884-1979

(Volume 2, Rolling Stock Reference Series)

By C. Keith Jordan, Richard H. Hendrickson, John B. Moore and A. Dean Hale and the Santa Fe Modeler Organization (1994)

Model: SFRD Rr-X Reefer

This is a link to a Jon Pansius HO scale model of SFRD 17019, a Class Rr-X reefer:

This was built from a Westerfield kit. The photo is by Ted Cullota.

I like the details, including the stenciling on the hatch covers, chalk marks, hinges, latches and what probably are route or switching cards on the tack board and car body.

Santa Fe had two number series of the Rr-X reefers, 15451-16700 (AC&F) and 16701-17950 (Pullman). Both series were built in 1922, with the last cars of each coming off the live list in 1949.

That's not to say these cars didn't have second lives.

In 1940-41, some of these cars were rebuilt into Class Rr-33 reefers, as were Rr-W, and Y reefers.

In 1947 some of these cars were rebuilt into Class Rr-43 reefers, as were Classes Rr-Y, 2, 3 and 4 reefers.

A photo of Rr-X 15640 graces the cover of the Santa Fe reefer book.

Bob Chaparro

Moderator