How does the refrigerated railroad car work? An industrial food refrigeration unit. A similar design was developed the same year by meat packer Gustavus Franklin Swift (1839-1903) and his engineer, Andrew Chase. Ice stored on the car's roof dropped cold air down through the car; warm air was ventilated out through the floor.
How do refrigerated rail cars help food and beverage companies?
With the help of refrigerated rail cars (also known as “reefers”). Railroads, like Union Pacific, have been working to improve their fresh and frozen shipping services, adopting state-of-the-art technologies that enable food and beverage companies to transport perishable goods across long distances – even from coast to coast.
When did railroads start using refrigerated cars?
1913: The number of thermally insulated railcars (most of which were cooled by ice) in the U.S. topped 100,000. 1923: FGE and the Great Northern Railway form the Western Fruit Express (WFE) in order to compete with the Pacific Fruit Express and Santa Fe Refrigerator Despatch in the West.
Why choose refrigerated box cars?
Louis added, “Our refrigerated box cars will not only allow shippers to leverage all of the benefits and efficiencies of rail, but will enable them to maintain the shelf life of their products over long distances with peace of mind.” Why Choose Rail?
What is a refrigerator car?
A refrigerator car (or "reefer") is a refrigerated boxcar (U.S.), a piece of railroad rolling stock designed to carry perishable freight at specific temperatures. Refrigerator cars differ from simple insulated boxcars and ventilated boxcars (commonly used for transporting fruit), neither of which are fitted with cooling apparatus.
How did the refrigerated railroad car change America?
Refrigerated trucks and railroad cars have had a great impact on the economy and eating habits of Americans. As the United States became more urbanized, the demand for fresh food shipped over long distances increased. Meat products were especially in demand.
What were refrigerated railroad cars used for?
In the railroad industry, a refrigerator car (or “reefer”) is a refrigerated boxcar that is designed to carry perishable freight at specific temperatures. Reefer railcars are different from insulated boxcars and ventilated boxcars (commonly used for transporting fruit), because neither is fitted with cooling apparatus.
How much does a refrigerated train car cost?
The mechanical refrigerator boxcar is a victim of its cost and size. "The problem you have with the boxcar systemwide is that the mechanical car cost $140,000 and averages about one trip a month," said Leroy E. Couture, Burlington Northern Railroad Co. market manager for farm, frozen and consumer products.
How did companies keep the refrigerated railroad cars cold?
These cars featured some type of insulation and blocks of ice to keep the contents cool. While quite successful much better insulation and cooling techniques needed to be developed before the reefer could be utilized year-round.
Who invented the refrigerated rail cars?
Gustavus Swift1878: Gustavus Swift (along with engineer Andrew Chase) developed the first practical ice-cooled railcar. Soon Swift formed the Swift Refrigerator Line (SRL), the world's first. 1880: The first patent for a mechanically refrigerated railcar issued in the United States was granted to Charles William Cooper.
Why was the the refrigerated boxcar invented?
Refrigerator cars enabled farmers in regions with extended growing seasons, such as Florida and California, to market perishable foods across the country--greatly expanding agricultural production and allowing people in cold climates to enjoy fresh fruits and vegetables year-round.
How much is a train car worth?
Today, the typical freight railcar is in the $100,000 to $150,000 range. Overall, there are six basic freight railcar types. But within each railcar type, there are multiple specific design factors.
How much does a train car weigh?
Each typical freight car weighs 30 tons empty, and can carry an additional 100 tons loaded to 130 total tons per car. A locomotive alone can weigh anywhere from 100 to 225 tons each, and is included in the typical weight of a freight train.
How much does a railroad coal car cost?
Still, railroads aren't ordering many new cars. One big obstacle is price. New boxcars cost around $135,000. The rates that paper companies and other shippers pay for boxcar service typically include monthly equipment charges ranging between $450 and $700.
What industry did the refrigerated railcar impact the most?
By 1916, the packing industry was dominated by an oligopoly nicknamed “The Big Five” – together, they were responsible for 82% of the beef shipments, and by 1917 they owned more than 91% of refrigerated cars [3].
Who invented refrigerated trucks?
Frederick McKinley JonesThe Man Who Invented the Refrigerated Truck. Frederick McKinley Jones is the inventor of the refrigeration unit. He invented the first portable air-cooling unit, also referred to as the refrigeration unit.
When was the refrigerated truck invented?
The first successful mechanically refrigerated trucks were made for the ice cream industry in 1925. African American inventor Frederick McKinley Jones later contributed to the field. There were around 4 million refrigerated road vehicles in use in 2010 worldwide.
Where is the refrigerator in a car?
A modern refrigerator car. The mechanical refrigeration unit is housed behind the grill at the lower right, the car's "A" end. Anheuser-Busch was one of the first companies to transport beer nationwide using railroad refrigerator cars.
What was the purpose of the North American Car Company's ice bunker reefer?
During the 1930s, the North American Car Company produced a one-of-a-kind, four-wheeled ice bunker reefer intended to serve the needs of specialized shippers who did not generate sufficient product to fill a full-sized refrigerator car. NADX #10000 was a 22-foot (6.71 m)-long, all-steel car that resembled the forty-and-eights used in Europe during World War I. The prototype weighed 13.5 short tons (12.2 t; 12.1 long tons) and was outfitted with a 1,500 lb (680 kg) ice bunker at each end. The car was leased to Hormel and saw service between Chicago, Illinois and the southern United States. The concept failed to gain acceptance with eastern railroads and no additional units were built.
How did ice be used in the past?
The use of ice to refrigerate and preserve food dates back to prehistoric times. Through the ages, the seasonal harvesting of snow and ice was a regular practice of many cultures. China, Greece, and Rome stored ice and snow in caves, dugouts or ice houses lined with straw or other insulating materials. Rationing of the ice allowed the preservation of foods during hot periods, a practice that was successfully employed for centuries. For most of the 19th century, natural ice (harvested from ponds and lakes) was used to supply refrigerator cars. At high altitudes or northern latitudes, one foot tanks were often filled with water and allowed to freeze. Ice was typically cut into blocks during the winter and stored in insulated warehouses for later use, with sawdust and hay packed around the ice blocks to provide additional insulation. A late-19th century wood-bodied reefer required re-icing every 250 miles (400 km) to 400 miles (640 km). Top icing is the practice of placing a 2-inch (51 mm) to 4-inch (100 mm) layer of crushed ice on top of agricultural products that have high respiration rates, need high relative humidity, and benefit from having the cooling agent sit directly atop the load (or within individual boxes). Cars with pre-cooled fresh produce were top iced just before shipment. Top icing added considerable dead weight to the load. Top-icing a 40-foot (12 m) reefer required in excess of 10,000 pounds (4,500 kg) of ice. It had been postulated that as the ice melts, the resulting chilled water would trickle down through the load to continue the cooling process. It was found, however, that top-icing only benefited the uppermost layers of the cargo, and that the water from the melting ice often passed through spaces between the cartons and pallets with little or no cooling effect. It was ultimately determined that top-icing is useful only in preventing an increase in temperature, and was eventually discontinued.
What was Tiffany Refrigerator Car Company?
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 agricultural products by rail.
How often do reefers need ice?
A late-19th century wood-bodied reefer required re-icing every 250 miles (400 km) to 400 miles (640 km).
How many refrigerator cars are there in the Pacific Fruit Express?
The Pacific Fruit Express (PFE) - a joint venture between the Union Pacific and Southern Pacific railroads, with a fleet of 6,600 refrigerator cars built by the American Car and Foundry Company (ACF) - maintained seven natural harvesting facilities, and operated 18 artificial ice plants.
What type of car can travel 62 mph?
In 1966, JNR developed "resa 10000" and "remufu 10000" type refrigerated cars that could travel at 62 mph (100 km/h) They were used in fish freight express trains. "Tobiuo" ( Flying fish) train from Shimonoseki to Tokyo, and "Ginrin" (Silver scale) train from Hakata to Tokyo, were operated.
What is a refrigerator car?
Refrigerator cars, also commonly referred to by their shortened name as "reefers" were a revolutionary design that allowed for the widespread shipment of perishable food products such as dairy, meat, and vegetables. The earliest such cars date back to the mid-19th century, naturally using ice as a means of cooling.
When were refrigerator cars invented?
Experimental refrigerator cars became increasingly common throughout the 1850s with some simple solutions merely using blocks of ice in standard boxcars. Around 1860 the first true refrigerator cars were born using heavy insulation, roof hatches, floor drains, and ice bunkers located at either end of the car.
What was the first privately owned car to be used on railroads?
Realizing the need for refrigerator cars private shippers, particularly meatpackers, decided to build their own fleets. By doing so, reefers were some of the first privately-owned cars to be used on railroads (known today as private-car lines).
How big was the refrigerator in 1880?
By just the 1880s refrigerator cars had become quite advanced built with very heavy insulation and a standard size of about 36-feet in length since loading doors at packing plants were based on 36-foot centers.
How many refrigerator cars were there in 2001?
By 2001 the refrigerator car fleet in the United States had dropped to an all-time low of around 8,000 cars.
What was the case with Reefers?
This was the case with reefers whereby railroads felt that spending large sums of money for a fleet cars which would only carry one type of commodity was not worth the investment. Additionally, railroads had already spent heavily on the development and movement of livestock along their lines.
What was the fastest and most efficient transportation in the 19th century?
Once the American public realized railroads were the fastest and most efficient means of transportation during the first-half of the 19th century it did not take long for businesses to realize that trains could move about anything imaginable. This, of course, included food products.
When was the refrigerator car invented?
The first successful refrigerator car was patented in 1877 by Joel Tiffany of Chicago. A similar design was developed the same year by meat packer Gustavus Franklin Swift (1839-1903) and his engineer, Andrew Chase. Ice stored on the car's roof dropped cold air down through the car; warm air was ventilated out through the floor.
Who was the engineer who built the air cooling system for long distance trucks?
In the late 1930s, at the request of the Werner Transportation Company, Minneapolis engineer Frederick McKinley Jones (1892-1961) sought ways to build an automatic, ice-free air-cooling unit for long-distance trucking.
When was the truck air conditioner invented?
Jones patented his truck air conditioner in 1940. The system was later adapted for use on railroad cars and ships. Jones's invention changed the food industry. For the first time, perishable foods could be reliably transported over long distances at any time of the year.
Can you refrigerate food in a railroad car?
Refrigeration with ice is still used in railroad cars as well as in trucks and ships, with powerful fans circulating the cooled air. An obvious problem with iced refrigeration of transported perishable foods is that the food may spoil if the ice melts before the shipment reaches the market.
What is a refrigerator car?
A refrigerator car (or "reefer") is a refrigerated boxcar, a piece of railroad rolling stock designed to carry perishable freight at specific temperatures. Refrigerator cars differ from simple insulated boxcars ...
What was the purpose of the North American Car Company's ice bunker reefer?
During the 1930s, the North American Car Company produced a one-of-a-kind, four-wheeled ice bunker reefer intended to serve the needs of specialized shippers who did not generate sufficient product to fill a full-sized refrigerator car. NADX #10000 was a 22-foot-long, all-steel car that resembled the "forty-and-eights" used in Europe during World War I. The prototype weighed in at 13½ tons and was outfitted with a 1,500-pound ice bunker at each end. The car was leased to Hormel and saw service between Chicago, Illinois and the southern United States. The concept failed to gain acceptance with the big eastern railroads and no additional units were built.
What year were Pacific Fruit Express refrigerators made?
In 1946 , the Pacific Fruit Express procured from the Consolidated Steel Corporation of Wilmington, California two 40-foot able-bodied ventilator refrigerator cars, to compare the durability of the lightweight alloy versus that of steel. It was hoped that weight savings (the units weighed almost 10,000 pounds less than a like-sized all-steel car) and better corrosion resistance would offset the higher initial cost. One of the aluminum car bodies was manufactured by Alcoa (PFE #44739), while the other was built by the Reynolds Aluminum Company (PFE #45698). The cars (outfitted with state-of-the-art fiberglass insulation and axle-driven fans for internal air circulation) traveled throughout the Southern Pacific and Union Pacific systems, where they were displayed to promote PFE's post-World War II modernization. Though both units remained in service over 15 years (#45698 was destroyed in a wreck in May 1962, while #44739 was scrapped in 1966), no additional aluminum reefers were constructed, cost being the likely reason. Also in 1946 the Consolidated Steel delivered the world's only reefer to have a stainless steel body to the Santa Fe Refrigerator Despatch. The 40-foot car was equipped with convertible ice bunkers, side ventilation ducts, and axle-driven circulation fans. It was thought that stainless steel would better resist the corrosive deterioration resulting from salting the ice. The one-of-a-kind unit entered service as #13000, but was subsequently re-designated as #1300, and later given #4150 in 1955. #4150 spent most of its life in express service. Cost was cited as the reason no additional units were ordered. The car was dismantled at Clovis, New Mexico in February, 1964.
What is cryogenic refrigerator?
Cryogenic refrigerator cars, such as those owned and operated by Cryo-Trans, Inc., are still used to transport frozen food products, including french fries. Today, Cryo-Trans operates a fleet in excess of 515 cryogenic rail cars.
What happens if a car is not in demand?
If in demand, the cars would be returned to their point of origin empty. If not in demand, the cars would be cleaned and (if possible) used for a dry shipment. Refrigerator cars required effective insulation to protect their contents from temperature extremes.
What was the Illinois Central Railroad?
Illinois Central Railroad #14713, a ventilated fruit car dating from 1893. After the end of the American Civil War, Chicago, Illinois emerged as a major railway center for the distribution of livestock raised on the Great Plains to Eastern markets.
When was the Swift Refrigerator Line created?
In 1880 the Peninsular Car Company (subsequently purchased by ACF) delivered the first of these units to Swift, and the Swift Refrigerator Line (SRL) was created. Within a year the Line’s roster had risen to nearly 200 units, and Swift was transporting an average of 3,000 carcasses a week to Boston, Massachusetts.
Overview
A refrigerator car (or "reefer") is a refrigerated boxcar (U.S.), a piece of railroad rolling stock designed to carry perishable freight at specific temperatures. Refrigerator cars differ from simple insulated boxcars and ventilated boxcars (commonly used for transporting fruit), neither of which are fitted with cooling apparatus. Reefers can be ice-cooled, come equipped with any one of a variet…
History
After the end of the American Civil War, Chicago, Illinois emerged as a major railway center for the distribution of livestock raised on the Great Plains to Eastern markets. Transporting the animals to market required herds to be driven up to 1,200 miles (1,900 km) to railheads in Kansas City, Missouri or other locations in the midwest, such as Abilene and Dodge City, Kansas, where they were loade…
Refrigerator cars in Japan
The first refrigerated cars in Japan entered service in 1908 for fish transport. Many of these cars were equipped with ice bunkers, however the bunkers were not used generally. Fish were packed in wooden or foam polystyrene boxes with crushed ice.
Fruit and meat transportation in refrigerated rail cars was not common in Japan. For fruits and vegetables, ventilator cars were sufficient due to the short distances involved in transportation. …
Refrigerated trains in the United Kingdom
Due to the shorter distance to be travelled in the United Kingdom, the need for refrigeration was limited to specialised goods, which could in express-train format - mostly run overnight to avoid delays from passenger traffic - be transported in suitable timescales of less than a day from the area of production to processing, or onwards to the point of consumer consumption.
Timeline
• 1842: The Western Railroad of Massachusetts experimented with innovative freight car designs capable of carrying all types of perishable goods without spoilage.
• 1851: The first refrigerated boxcar entered service on the Northern Railroad (New York).
• 1857: The first consignment of refrigerated, dressed beef traveled from Chicago to the East Coast in ordinary box cars packed with ice.
Specialized applications
Standard refrigerated transport is often utilized for goods with less than 14 days of refrigerated "shelf life" — avocados, cut flowers, green leafy vegetables, lettuce, mangoes, meat products, mushrooms, peaches and nectarines, pineapples and papayas, sweet cherries, and tomatoes. "Express" reefers are typically employed in the transport of special perishables: commodities with a …
See also
• Cold chain
• Reefer (ship)
• Refrigerated container
• Refrigerated transport Dewar
• Refrigerated van (European style)
External links
• Guide to Rail Cars