Content deleted Content added
Kevin Murray (talk | contribs) No edit summary |
|||
Line 2:
{{About|refrigerated railroad cars in the U.S.|European practice|Refrigerated van|the Spin Doctors song|Pocket Full of Kryptonite}}{{No footnotes|date=January 2022}}[[File:ARMN 761511 20050529 IL Rochelle.jpg|thumb|right|300px|A modern refrigerator car. The mechanical refrigeration unit is housed behind the grill at the lower right, the car's "A" end.]]
[[File:Reefers-shorty-Anheuser-Busch-Malt-Nutrine ACF builders photo pre-1911.jpg|thumb|right|300px|[[Anheuser-Busch]] was one of the first companies to transport beer nationwide using railroad refrigerator cars.]]
A '''refrigerator''' car (or '''"reefer"''') is a [[Refrigeration|refrigerated]] [[boxcar]] (U.S.), a piece of [[railroad]] [[rolling stock]] designed to carry perishable freight at specific temperatures. Refrigerator cars differ from simple [[Thermal insulation|insulated]] boxcars and [[Ventilation (architecture)|ventilated]] boxcars (commonly used for transporting [[fruit]]), neither of which are fitted with cooling apparatus. Reefers can be [[ice]]-[[Refrigeration|cooled]], come equipped with any one of a variety of mechanical refrigeration systems, or
==History==
Line 16:
[[File:Tiffany ad 1879 CBD.jpg|thumb|left|An advertisement taken from the 1st edition (1879) of the ''Car-Builders Dictionary'' for the '''Tiffany Refrigerator Car Company''', a pioneer in the design of refrigerated railroad cars]]
During the mid-19th century, attempts were made to ship [[agriculture|agricultural]] products by rail. As early as 1842, the [[Western Railroad of Massachusetts]] was reported in the June 15 edition of the ''Boston Traveler'' to be experimenting with innovative [[freight car]] designs capable of carrying all types of perishable goods without spoilage.<ref>White, p. 31</ref> The first refrigerated boxcar entered service in June 1851, on the [[Northern Railroad (New York)]] (or NRNY, which later became part of the [[Rutland Railroad]]). This "icebox on wheels" was a limited success since it was only functional in cold weather. That same year, the [[Ogdensburg and Lake Champlain Railroad]] (O&LC) began shipping butter to Boston in purpose-built freight cars,
====Meat====
Line 140:
<gallery mode="packed" heights="130px">
File:Tiffany RRG 1877.jpg|This engraving of Tiffany's original "Summer and Winter Car" appeared in the ''Railroad Gazette'' just before Joel Tiffany received his refrigerator car patent in July, 1877. Tiffany's design mounted the ice tank in a [[clerestory]] atop the car's roof, and relied on a train's motion to circulate cool air throughout the cargo space.
File:Reefers-shorty-ATSF-CM-type-1898-cyc ACF builders photo.jpg|A rare double-door refrigerator car
File:Reefers-shorty-Anheuser-Busch-Malt-Nutrine ACF builders photo pre-1911.jpg|A pre-1911 "shorty" reefer bears an advertisement for [[Anheuser-Busch|Anheuser-Busch's]] ''Malt Nutrine'' tonic. The use of similar "billboard" [[advertising]] on [[freight car]]s was banned by the [[Interstate Commerce Commission]] in 1937, and thereafter cars so decorated could no longer be accepted for interchange between roads.
</gallery>
Line 210:
Fruit, vegetables and meat transportation in refrigerated rail cars was not common in Japan. For fruits and vegetables, ventilator cars were sufficient due to the relatively short distances involved, whereas since meat require low temperature storage, they were therefore typically transported by ship, since most major Japanese cities are located along the coast.
Refrigerator cars suffered heavy damage in [[World War II]]. After the war, the occupation forces confiscated many cars for their own use,
In 1966, [[Japanese National Railways|JNR]] developed the {{ill|ReSa 10000 and ReMuFu 10000 type|ja|国鉄レサ10000系貨車}} refrigerated cars that could travel at {{convert|100|kph|abbr=on}} They were used in fish freight express trains. "Tobiuo" ([[Flying fish]]) train from Shimonoseki to Tokyo, and "Ginrin" (Silver [[Scale (zoology)|scale]]) train from Hakata to Tokyo, were operated.
Line 250:
*1888: Armour & Co. shipped beef from Chicago to Florida in a car cooled by [[ethyl chloride]]-compression machinery. [[Florida]] oranges were shipped to New York under refrigeration for the first time.
*1889: The first cooled shipment of fruit from California was sold on the New York market.
*1898: [[Russia|Russia's]] first refrigerator cars entered service. The country's inventory reached 1,900 by 1908, 3,000 two years later, and peaked at approximately 5,900 by 1916. The cars were
*1899: Refrigerated fruit traffic within the U.S. reached {{convert|90000|ST|t LT|0}} per year; Transport from California to NY averaged 12 days in 1900.
*1901: Carl von Linde equipped a Russian train with a mobile, central mechanical refrigeration plant to distribute cooling to cars carrying perishable goods. Similar systems were used in Russia as late as 1975.
Line 263:
*1928: The FGE formed the [[National Car Company]] as a subsidiary to service the meat transportation market. Customers include [[Kahns]], [[Oscar Mayer]], and [[Rath (company)|Rath]].
*1930: The number of refrigerator cars in the United States reached its maximum of approximately 183,000.
*1931: The SFRD reconfigured seven reefers to
*1932: [[Japanese Government Railways]] built vehicles specially made for dry ice coolant.
*1934: The Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) regulation #201 came into effect banning billboard advertisements on freight cars.
Line 271:
*1955: [[East of Eden (film)|East of Eden]] popularizes refrigerator cars by featuring a major plotline where [[James Dean]]'s father tries to go into the business and fails when all the produce melts during transit.
*1957: The last ice bunker refrigerator cars were built.
*1958: The first mechanical reefers (
*1959: The flush, "plug" style sliding door was introduced as an option, providing a larger door to ease loading and unloading. The tight-fitting doors were better insulated and allowed the car to be maintained at a more even temperature. Early example is the DT&I XL-1 car by Evans.
*1966: [[Japanese National Railways]] started operation of fish freight express trains by newly built "resa 10000" type refers.
Line 287:
===Express service===
Standard refrigerated transport is often
The earliest express-service refrigerator cars entered service around 1890, shortly after the first express train routes were established in North America. The cars did not come into general use until the early 20th century. Most units designed for express service are larger than their standard counterparts, and are typically constructed more along the lines of [[baggage car]]s than freight equipment. Cars must be equipped with speed-rated trucks and brakes, and — if they are to be run ahead of the passenger car, must also incorporate an air line for pneumatic braking, a communication signal air line, and a steam line for train heating. Express units were typically painted in passenger car colors, such as [[Pullman Company|Pullman]] green.
| |||