Micro-Trains - 081 44 040 - Reefer, 50 Foot, RR-30 - Northern Pacific - 531

Specific Item Information: Built in June 1963, this mechanical reefer featured load dividers and a cushioned underframe. It was a reflective aluminum color to help with insulation. Northern Pacific was a Class 1 railroad founded in 1864 and eventually was merged with Great Northern and others to form Burlington Northern Railroad in 1970.

Model Information: This body style was introduced in late 2023. It is a model of an RR-89 class mechanical reefer built in 1966. The prototype featured a 4,070 cubic foot capacity and featured a shock control underframe.

Prototype History: Santa Fe ordered 100 (37290-37389) of these cars in 1939. The last 25 of these had Preco fans installed. These cars were not specifically intended for frozen food service. If not particularly frozen food service, then what? Well, there's frozen juice, flowers, wine, fish and other commodities which were high volume, low weight, making the 50 foot cars more suitable.

All were delivered with a Super Chief slogan and early straight line map opposite. Of course, when they were repainted at various times, typically ten years out, they would have gotten any of the Ship and Travel slogans (post 1947), and after 1959, the Big Circle Herald.

Road Name History: The Northern Pacific Railway (reporting mark NP) was a transcontinental railroad that operated across the northern tier of the western United States from Minnesota to the Pacific Coast. It was approved by Congress in 1864 and given nearly 40 million acres (160,000 km2) of land grants, which it used to raise money in Europe for construction. Construction began in 1870 and the main line opened all the way from the Great Lakes to the Pacific when former president Ulysses S. Grant drove in the final "golden spike" in western Montana on Sept. 8, 1883.

The railroad had about 6800 miles of track and served a large area, including extensive trackage in the states of Idaho, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, Oregon, Washington and Wisconsin. In addition the company had an international branch to Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The main activities were shipping wheat and other farm products, cattle, timber and minerals; bringing in consumer goods, transporting passengers; and selling land.

The company was headquartered first in Brainerd, Minnesota, then in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It had a tumultuous financial history, and in 1970 it merged with other lines to form the Burlington Northern Railroad.

Read more on Wikipedia.

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