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Micro-Trains - 059 00 576 - Reefer, Ice, Steel - Pacific Fruit Express - 66370

6  of these sold for an average price of: 20.9020.906 of these sold for an average price of: 20.90
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Collectors value this item at an average of 21.0021.00Collectors value this item at an average of 21.00
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N Scale - Micro-Trains - 059 00 576 - Reefer, Ice, Steel - Pacific Fruit Express - 66370 Image Courtesy of Micro-Trains Line
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Stock Number059 00 576
Secondary Stock Number059 00 576
Original Retail Price$26.95
BrandMicro-Trains
ManufacturerMicro-Trains Line
Body StyleMicro-Trains 0595 Reefer Steel 40 Foot Ice with Preco Fans
Prototype VehicleReefer, Ice, Steel (Details)
Road or Company NamePacific Fruit Express (Details)
Road or Reporting Number66370
Paint Color(s)Orange with Brown Rood and Ends
Print Color(s)Black, Blue and Red
Additional Markings/SloganAshtabula and Lake Counties Milk for Children Food for Friends
Coupler TypeMT Magne-Matic Knuckle
Wheel TypeInjection Molded Plastic
Wheel ProfileStandard
Series NameFriendship Train
Series Release/Issue Number9
Announcement Date2017-10-01
Release Date2017-10-01
Item CategoryRolling Stock (Freight)
Model TypeReefer
Model Subtype40 Foot
Model VarietySteel, Ice with Preco Fans
Prototype RegionNorth America
Prototype EraNA Era III: Transition (1939 - 1957)
Scale1/160
Track GaugeN standard



Specific Item Information: This 40’ steel ice reefer with preco fan is brown with orange sides and runs on Bettendorf trucks. The 1947 Friendship Train collected food donated by Americans in cities all across the U.S. to be shipped to the people of France and Italy who desperately needed help following the end of World War II. Ultimately, over 250 railcars of food and clothing were donated.
Model Information: The prototype for this model is the PFE R-40-10 ice reefer built in 1936 and 1937. MTL released this model with various road names, for which the actual prototype might in fact be different. The Preco fan version can be spotted by the brace added to the underframe by one of the axles. Above it are a series of circles on the car side. The brace holds the Preco fan and the circles are the thermometer and controls.
Prototype History:
Not all steel reefers contained mechanical refrigeration units. Although today we expect that a modern reefer contain an air conditioning unit to be integral to the car design, this was not always true. There was a period following the second world war when the cost of steel was cheap but the cost of a refrigeration unit was high. Early mechanical refrigeration units were unreliable, noisy, expensive and costly to maintain, and for the early post-war years many railroads continued to use ice for refrigeration even though the technology for mechanical refrigeration was possible.

In the post-WWII period, steel once again became readily available and the railroads rapidly replaced their aging fleets of wood reefers with newly constructed steel cars. Among the more common steel reefers for meat and other perishable commodities were those built by URTX. These cars had a horizontal rivet strip along the middle of each side, improved Dreadnaught ends and diagonal-panel roofs.

From Wikipedia and other sources
Road Name History:
Pacific Fruit Express (reporting mark PFE) was an American railroad refrigerator car leasing company that at one point was the largest refrigerator car operator in the world. The company was founded on December 7, 1906 as a joint venture between the Union Pacific and Southern Pacific railroads. It began operation on October 1, 1907, with a fleet of 6,600 refrigerator cars built by the American Car and Foundry Company (ACF).

In 1923, the Western Pacific Railroad joined the venture by leasing its own, brand new fleet of 2775 reefers to PFE. They were painted in standard PFE colors with only WP heralds on the cars instead of the paired UP-SP markings. The WP cars were all retired by the late 1950s, among the last wooden reefers in PFE's fleet. WP ended its partnership with PFE in late 1967 and joined Fruit Growers Express instead.

PFE's assets were divided between the UP and SP when the company was split on April 1, 1978. It is now a UP subsidiary.
Brand/Importer Information: Micro-Trains is the brand name used by both Kadee Quality Products and Micro-Trains Line. For a history of the relationship between the brand and the two companies, please consult our Micro-Trains Collector's Guide.
Manufacturer Information:
Micro-Trains Line split off from Kadee Quality Products in 1990. Kadee Quality Products originally got involved in N-Scale by producing a scaled-down version of their successful HO Magne-Matic knuckle coupler system. This coupler was superior to the ubiquitous 'Rapido' style coupler due to two primary factors: superior realistic appearance and the ability to automatically uncouple when stopped over a magnet embedded in a section of track. The success of these couplers in N-Scale quickly translated to the production of trucks, wheels and in 1972 a release of ready-to-run box cars.

Micro-Trains Line Co. split off from Kadee in 1990 to form a completely independent company. For this reason, products from this company can appear with labels from both enterprises. Due to the nature of production idiosyncrasies and various random factors, the rolling stock from Micro-Trains can have all sorts of interesting variations in both their packaging as well as the products themselves. When acquiring an MTL product it is very important to understand these important production variations that can greatly enhance (or decrease) the value of your purchase.

Please consult our Micro-Trains Collector's Guide
Item created by: gdm on 2017-10-05 22:29:19. Last edited by George on 2024-01-26 20:29:07

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