FGE Reefer Schemes

[daniel_leavitt2000]

I am building a fleet of FGE reefers. Both the 50' RBL and the 57' mechanicals were frequent visitors to Boston.

Were any of the schemes special purpose? One person online has said "The Chiller" was only used on tank equipped 57' mechanical reefers.
But the same person also stated cars were repainted from "Solid Cold" to "Real Cold", but all the photographs I have seen indicate that "Real Cold" was used only on exterior post cars where "Solid Cold" was on smooth sides.

Were these exterior post cars built by PCF? They look like your standard late PCF refers with the curved roof.

Were the FGE reefers assigned to loading product from the east, or did they visit out west to retrieve cargo?

Were the 50' RBL cars single use only? I know they were meant for food, but culd they also handle newsprint and other clean loads as well? Most of these cars have been purched from CSX and are no longer seen around here. I am trying to figure out what they would have carried.

[sirenwerks]

Daniel,

You may want to post this on the Reefer Madness list (Yahoo!), it's for all things refrigerator cars.

[James Costello]

Were the FGE reefers assigned to loading product from the east, or did they visit out west to retrieve cargo?

Fairly common out west too, mainly on the ATSF from what I've seen.
http://nowflip.rrpicturearchives.net/archiveThumbs.aspx?id=34229

[daniel_leavitt2000]

Fairly common out west too, mainly on the ATSF from what I've seen.
http://nowflip.rrpicturearchives.net/archiveThumbs.aspx?id=34229

FGE made Can Stock cars as well?
http://nowflip.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1243824

I love this car. It is begging for a kit-bash

[Spikre]

 
   thought late reefers built by FGE were 60'OL ?
   or are You going by IL ?
   weren't the PACCAR cars BNFE ?
     Spikre
       
   

[wcfn100]

FGE made Can Stock cars as well?
http://nowflip.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1243824

I love this car. It is begging for a kit-bash

I think you'll find this car just has offset doors.  Canstock had both side doors towards the same end.

Jason

[jagged ben]

]...but all the photographs I have seen indicate that "Real Cold" was used only on exterior post cars where "Solid Cold" was on smooth sides.

Were these exterior post cars built by PCF? They look like your standard late PCF refers with the curved roof.

I believe those conjectures are correct. 

This photo page asserts that the Real Cold cars were ex SPFE.

It's sobering to realize my Roundhouse 'Solid Cold' and 'Chiller' cars are foobs.  Hmmmph.

Were the FGE reefers assigned to loading product from the east, or did they visit out west to retrieve cargo?

Based on my photo collecting, I would go so far as to say that if you saw a reefer on the ATSF between sometime in the early '80s and the BNSF merger, it had an FGMR reporting mark.  (I'm talking actual reefers, not insulated boxcars.)   It appears to have been a direct competition with PFE, presumably a ATSF-CSX thing.   FGE also seems to have bought some old Santa Fe stock at some point. 

I have one picture of an SP train over Tehachapi with a 'Solid Cold'.

Don't forget about 'Solid Clod' either.   It was a real car, apparently.

[daniel_leavitt2000]

Ben, modeling Boston in 1998. We saw a lot of FGE, WFE (BN), and PFE (both UPFE and SPFE). Never recall seeing cars from any other road. I always imagined that the FGE cars brought up produce and prepared hog meats from the south, PFE brining produce from out west and WFE brining prepared beef from the planes.

The more I look at late FGE cars, the more I like. Smooth sides, interesting schemes and huge variety of components from car type to car type.

[cjm413]

I think you'll find this car just has offset doors.  Canstock had both side doors towards the same end.

Jason

The door openings are also a bit larger in addition to being offset, but off the top of my head, I don't recall the specifics about intended/assigned service.

CJM

[Spikre]

 
  some of the EL Offset Door cars built by FGE were in Campbell Soup service
  from a Campbell plant in Ohio.
  will see if that info can be read on the pic in EL Equipment in Color.
     Spikre
       

[nkalanaga]

Now you have me curious.  I have several pictures of these FGE/C&O/B&O cars with the left-of-center doors, taken in Russell, KY in the 80s.  Never saw anything like them in the Northwest.

I thought maybe the doors were offset to fit the factory door spacing.  If the doors are at opposite ends, and every picture I've found has them on the left end of the visible side, a string of them would have the same door spacing as if the doors were centered, so that shouldn't be the reason.  Unless the idea was to pair these with centered-door cars, then skip a door. 

The canstock cars were offset because they could fit more in that way, due to the way the forklifts handled.  But I wouldn't think that would be a factor with loading canned soup.  Unless maybe they WERE canstock cars, and Campbell's was making its own cans in-house?  Would a canstock car HAVE to have both doors at the same end?

[daniel_leavitt2000]

Don't all canneries make their own cans? They would take far too much space if they were shipped partially built. What if the CS/CSX canstock cars were laid out for back to front loading while these FGE cars were meant for right/left loading like centerbeams? That could explain the offset doors.

[nkalanaga]

I have no idea whether all canneries make their own cans, but your reasoning sounds good.  And, yes, different loading/unloading practices could easily explain the doors.

Until I read this post I assumed that the cars I saw were just insulated boxcars, carrying food or something, and that the doors were simply "odd".  Canstock cars make more sense, and would explain why I don't remember seeing them in the Northwest.  We didn't have many canneries.  Most of the fruits and vegetables there were sold fresh or frozen, and while we did can fruit juices, I wasn't around the canneries much, as the Tri-Cities proper didn't grow that much fruit, compared with Yakima and Wenatchee.  Also, much of the local juice was sold in bottles.

[daniel_leavitt2000]

Here is another question... Would can stock cars also ship the finished product after unloading the can material?

[nkalanaga]

Again, I have no idea.  For a true canstock car, designed for the purpose, I'd say probably not.  It would likely be in assigned service, and the rolling mill(?) would want it back for reloading.

For the Northwest canneries, if they were getting canstock in conventional boxcars, it's possible.  A lot of canned goods moved in insulated boxcars, which would be overkill for canstock, but of the goods were shipped in a conventional car, there's no reason it couldn't be the same car.