Ken,

The WP refrigerator cars were fully integrated with the greater PFE fleet, and had no exclusivity to the WP or any of its subsidiaries. Cars from the regular PFE fleet were very common on the SN.?Given how small a number of WP refrigerator cars there were, seeing one on WP or SN rails would be possible but a rarity, except when many bad-order cars were sidelined in the early 1950s.

I have yet to see a photo of any SFRD cars on the SN. Given that most SN refrigerator?traffic?was outbound, again that would have been a rarity, and probably never for loading.?I think I have seen a picture somewhere of an SFRD car heading north on the WP, most certainly headed for the GN connection. I would not be surprised if that happened frequently.

One interesting oddity is found on page [24] of James Harrison's book SACRAMENTO NORTHERN GALLERY. It shows a train passing Lake Temescal, probably around 1956. In the short train are a Canadian National 8-hatch refrigerator car and a FGE RBL. Talk about strange!

Yours Aye,

Garth Groff ??

On Sun, Jun 16, 2024 at 2:35?PM Ken Harstine via <kharstin=[email protected]> wrote:

I assume that SN often used WP reefers.? Did they also sometimes deliver empty SP and ATSF reefers to their customers.

Ken,

Ah, that is a different kettle of fish. The WP joined Fruit Growers Express on 1 July 1967. WP operated FGE-painted cars with WP reporting marks, as well as having FGEX and other affiliate cars as frequent visitors. See Jim Eager's Western Pacific Color Guide to Freight and Passenger equipment, pages 54 and 56 for WP examples. I have a picture of an obviously repainted FGEX RBI as WP 96093, with odd plug doors offset to the left. I believe it dates to around 1976 when I was shooting mostly slides.

I photographed honeydew melons being loaded and iced by truck at Woodland about 1967 or 1968. These were FHIX/FGE and affiliated WHIX/GN cars, the last time I ever saw iced refrigerators in service.

Yours Aye,

Garth Groff ??

On Mon, Jun 17, 2024 at 5:16?PM Ken Harstine via <kharstin=[email protected]> wrote:

Thanks,

I model 1969.? So WP would most often use PFE.

Best,

Ken Harstine

On 6/17/2024 4:31 PM, Garth Groff and Sally Sanford wrote:

Ken,

The WP refrigerator cars were fully integrated with the greater PFE fleet, and had no exclusivity to the WP or any of its subsidiaries. Cars from the regular PFE fleet were very common on the SN.?Given how small a number of WP refrigerator cars there were, seeing one on WP or SN rails would be possible but a rarity, except when many bad-order cars were sidelined in the early 1950s.

I have yet to see a photo of any SFRD cars on the SN. Given that most SN refrigerator?traffic?was outbound, again that would have been a rarity, and probably never for loading.?I think I have seen a picture somewhere of an SFRD car heading north on the WP, most certainly headed for the GN connection. I would not be surprised if that happened frequently.

One interesting oddity is found on page [24] of James Harrison's book SACRAMENTO NORTHERN GALLERY. It shows a train passing Lake Temescal, probably around 1956. In the short train are a Canadian National 8-hatch refrigerator car and a FGE RBL. Talk about strange!

Yours Aye,

Garth Groff ??

On Sun, Jun 16, 2024 at 2:35?PM Ken Harstine via <kharstin=[email protected]> wrote:

I assume that SN often used WP reefers.? Did they also sometimes deliver empty SP and ATSF reefers to their customers.