Freight Car
PRR #2764
The PRR had 550 class R50b high speed express reefers, numbered 2551-3100. This is the 2nd of my collection. They were 54'6" long and rode on PRR standard 4-wheel cast steel passenger trucks, class 2D-P5. With a career that spanned from the late 1920s to the 1960s, the cars roamed North America following the harvest seasons. But because they were dry and clean, they were also ideal for bulk mail service, and they could be found at the front of many crack trains like The General as well as mail and express runs. When not needed for refrigerator duties, express reefers often carried dry express shipments. Express reefers and express boxcars were within the general category of passenger cars. They were designed to operate in passenger trains, having high-speed wheels/trucks, signal-line connections, and steam line/connections. They could be placed in freight trains, but that would usually defeat their purpose of carrying high-valued products requiring special service. These cars were insulated, but it was an ice-cooled car, not a mechanical reefer. They were heavily insulated to maintain stable temperatures and prevent the rapid melting of the ice. This allowed them to transport perishable goods across the country in both passenger and fast freight service. The R50B utilized large underbody or roof ice bunkers, which laborers had to regularly fill with blocks of ice at designated icing stations along the rail routes. Axle-driven fans helped to circulate the cold air inside the car. This method was the standard for refrigerator cars in the era before the widespread adoption of modern, self-contained mechanical refrigeration units in later decades.