Introduction

Rapido 196003A HO Scale R-40-27 Reefer: Pacific Fruit Express PFE – 1961 Scheme

Single Car #1

These reefers were built from January through August 1957, with a total of 1700 cars built in class R-40-27. They were placed into the PFE 10001-11700 numbering series and featured a 4-foot-wide Youngstown sliding plug-door, sliding toward the left, combined with a 2-foot-wide hinged door to the right of it. This created a 6-foot-wide opening when both were opened, or just a 2-foot-wide opening if the car needed to be inspected before unloading in order to retain the cool interior temperature.

Soon the R-40-27 cars plans were modified with a six-foot sliding plug-door, along with the established 2-foot-wide swinging door, creating the new class R-40-28 cars, of which there were 100 (PFE 11701-11800 )constructed by in July 1957.

Both the R40-27 and R-40-28 class cars were cooled with ice, and included overhead electric fans to circulate the cool air enroute. As it would turn out these would be the last ice-cooled refrigerator cars built by PFE. After these classes, all PFE reefers utilized mechanical cooling.

FEATURES:

• Accurately scaled from prototype blueprints and field measurements
• Separate wire grab irons
• Correct running boards and brake wheels
• Correct cooling fan housings
• Positionable roof hatches
• Rapido semi-scale metal couplers
• Free-rolling trucks with turned metal wheels
• Accurate paint and decoration
• Multiple accurate road numbers available for each paint scheme