PFE Reefers!


vato loco

vato loco

Just a Foolish Saint!
"stupid Question time!":p I have a N scale Union Pacific FA1 ab set, I want a nice PFE Reefer block for them to pull............What type of reefers would be right for the time that the FA's were in sevice and who has good.............. reefer(s)LOL's:D ? I need at least 20 or so! Price is a factor:)
 
I'm not sure what years the PA's were running the rails. I run my 50' and 53' PFE's behind ABBA set of F3's in the Black Widow paint. I have been using Athearn's reffer's for mine. I have been looking for another model to custom paint. I have been buying PFE decals 10 at a time when i have extra cash.
I have been doing alot of research on the PFE's. Here is a very good web site's that i found some good info.
I have about 30-35 PFE pic's if you need any i could share what i have just drop me a email and i will send you some.

http://www.railgoat.railfan.net/spcars/byclass/reefer/index.htm

http://www.railgoat.railfan.net/spcars/index.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refrigerator_car

I hope these help.
 
Mac Loco Works said:
I'm not sure what years the PA's were running the rails. I run my 50' and 53' PFE's behind ABBA set of F3's in the Black Widow paint. I have been using Athearn's reffer's for mine. I have been looking for another model to custom paint. I have been buying PFE decals 10 at a time when i have extra cash.
I have been doing alot of research on the PFE's. Here is a very good web site's that i found some good info.
I have about 30-35 PFE pic's if you need any i could share what i have just drop me a email and i will send you some.

http://www.railgoat.railfan.net/spcars/byclass/reefer/index.htm

http://www.railgoat.railfan.net/spcars/index.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refrigerator_car

I hope these help.
Click to expand...


Thank's...... got to love wikipedia:p ! O.K I'm changing my railroad era from the 30's to the learly to mid 50's. Now let's see if I got this right:confused: Iced reefers continued until the advant of mech. reefers in the mid 70's. so If it's till cooled with ice I'm safe! do's I got's it?:confused:
 
Can't help you with the N-scale mfgrs, but historically speaking, in the mid 50's, PFE was still predominantly iced 40-foot reefers, along with a smattering of 50-foot mechanical. The changeover to mechanical took a while, especially considering PFE's enormous reefer fleet. So standard 40' PFE's would be perfectly at home behind your Alco's. I remember even seeing some of the PFE wood-side reefers behind SP power over Donner Pass as late as the early 'fifties.

Hope this helps. I think Intermountain puts out an N-scale PFE 40-footer,but they're certainly not cheap. At least my HO PFE's aren't. But they're beautiful cars.

Tom :)
 
Thanks, Guy's! I'm changing my railroad's period and local! I'm a UP guy at heart and PFE's just Screams UP!
 
I have just completed constructing an Old Athearn "O" gauge PFE Reefer! I havent built one of these kits in over 30 years. Now I know why kits and scratchbuilding are dying out! What I need is an end shot of an R-40-18 reefer (47179) so I can letter it! The old Athearn kits had pre-printed sides but no decals for the ends!
 
Also in the 1950's there were loads of wooden reefers still in service, as many or more than steel reefers. For the definitive work on PFE (which also screams SP by the way ;)) you want a copy of Pacific Fruit Express, by Thompson, Church, and Jones, available from Signature Press. A very good book that covers the cars, the facilities, and how the company operated. PFE was the largest operator of reefers on the US in it's time.
 
Reefer Madness

Vato Loco,
I was thinking that you could have Titled this Thread "Reefer Madness" LOL
-Art
 
Actually, I am a Santa Fe fan. I recently acquired two All-Nation NW-2's and had a skillful friend paint them up in Orange and Black Striped SP. They are beautiful. I built reefer as a companion car to these locomotives since I don't have alot of SP "stuff". I just need a photo not a book. many of the old Athearn cars were built over the years and never had end decals put on them. The world will not end if I leave them blank!
 
Then Google is your friend. I don't have a photo or a link but I can tell you what would have been there. As you look at the end of the car, the brake wheel would be on the left. To teh right of it would be: PFE 47179 (your car number)

On the second bulge up from the bottom you might see in white, centered:
IW WROUGHT STEEL WHEELS

If that decal isn't in your set, no biggie, I have photos of the cars both ways.

The Microscale sets typically come with lettering diagrams that are a big help.

Some of us cranky old rivet countin' chops bustin cantankerous prototype modelers have pretty extensive libraries covering what we are interested in. I am interested in LA where the citrus packing industry was big and the SP and Santa Fe worked across the street from each other quite a bit, so I have loads of PFE cars and more than a few reefers from the SFRD.
 
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Don't think you have to run solid PFE trains.In PFE's case during the citrus rush if they didn't have enough of their own, reefers from any other RR would be used. But they would only be produce ones & not meat ones.
 
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