Full Throttle - FT-9210-1 - Reefer, Ice, Wood - Grand Union Food Markets - 2-Pack

Specific Item Information: Road Numbers: QREX 90203 & 90206

Model Information: By the end of the 19th Century, the industrial revolution in the United States was in full swing: textile mills, food processing, medicine, transportation, and of course, steel. But, as the country progressed into the 20th Century, what were railroads to do with the abundant railcars left over from earlier times? The invention of the one-piece cast sideframe Bettendorf-type truck with its integral journal boxes was a huge step forward. Truss rods were eliminated as solid steel centerbeams came into widespread use. And, by the 1930s, hand brakes would give way to modern air-brake systems.

Prototype History: During the mid-19th century, attempts were made to ship 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. 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, utilizing ice for cooling.

The first consignment of dressed beef left the Chicago stock yards in 1857 in ordinary boxcars retrofitted with bins filled with ice. Placing meat directly against ice resulted in discoloration and affected the taste, proving to be impractical. During the same period Swift experimented by moving cut meat using a string of ten boxcars with their doors removed, and made a few test shipments to New York during the winter months over the Grand Trunk Railway (GTR). The method proved too limited to be practical.

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).

From Wikipedia

Road Name History: Grand Union Supermarkets, later known as Grand Union Family Markets and often referred to simply as Grand Union, was the name of a chain of grocery stores that did business primarily in the northeastern United States but also operated stores in other areas of the country including the midwestern and southeastern states, as well as internationally in the Caribbean and Canada. The company was originally founded and headquartered in Scranton, Pennsylvania, eventually moving to Brooklyn, New York in the early 20th century. Grand Union moved again to Elmwood Park, New Jersey and finally to Wayne, New Jersey before the original company was forced into Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2001 and sold to C&S Wholesale Grocers.

After C&S bought Grand Union it down-scaled most of its operations and exited its primary marketplace, choosing to keep only a number of stores in upstate New York and New England open. The chain was sold to Tops Friendly Markets in 2012, and in 2013 Tops rebranded the remaining stores with their logo and the Grand Union name ceased to exist.

Brand/Importer Information: Greetings, I'm Will, a Fine Arts graduate of Kutztown University in Pennsylvania who grew up in the Delaware Valley. I worked for 30 years with the Pennsylvania German Folklife Society. For ten years I had a permanent booth, each month showing my "PA Dutch" wares, at the country's largest under-roof Antique Market in Atlanta, GA. When Mom and Dad started to have health issues, I was forced to give up the nomadic life, but during my travels I came to love Z Scale Model Railroading, as I could easily take small layouts with me to the motels and play with my trains in the evenings!
Now that Mom and Dad are gone, and after many years of providing care for my "Pappy" in Florida, I find myself a homebody in the "Sunshine State" with a neat little business, supplying interested Z hobbyists with rolling stock and unique quality products!