Reefers on the WRD

Two more reefers are now in service on the WRD. The foreground model with the open hatches is a Red Caboose model while the other model with the steel ends is a Roundhouse offering.

Back in 2010 I purchased two wooden reefers to shore up my reefer fleet. One was a Red Caboose kit which was second hand found at a RR flea market for a great price. It was boxed and still needed assembly. The other was a recently released Roundhouse product I picked up at a local hobby shop. This became a quick way for me to get two more reefers up and running at a good price.

Roundhouse 40' Reefer
The Roundhouse car's box indicated it was a revamped offering and kind of looked good through the packaging. When I got the reefer home and out of the box it turned out be the same old thing from years ago, just lettered better with newer couplers. I was really disappointed. For the price I expected a finer or better quality car. The ladders and grabs are molded in with the old thick stirrups and roof walk. I replaced the roof walk with a metal Plano Model Product #198. Kadee scale couplers #58 are added, bleed rod and cut levers are bent from wire. I shaved off the grabs and added Tichy hand holds and Grandt line stirrups. The underbody was painted Grimy Black, the roof and ends Floquil tuscan red. The grabs are touched up with reefer yellow. The sides got a coat of Dulcote and some light chalk weathering.

ART 22030 is a nice kit I found at a local RR flea market back in 2010. I did add a few extra details.

Red Caboose Express Refrigerator Car R-30-12-9
The Red Caboose kit was a nice looking model that had a nice paint job and lettering. It did need some assembling...nothing to hard. I did add a few extra details to reflect the look of my fleet. I added Tichy corner grabs # 3028 and wire hand holds. I bent operating levers and a bleed rod. The roof walks are made from styrene to reflect the wooden ones that would be found. I modeled the roof hatches open. Kadee true scale #58 couplers are used. The car came with nice ladders that needed to be attached. Air hoses are also added. The underframe is painted Floquil grimy black, the roof and ends boxcar red. Some chalk weathering is also added to age this old wooden car.

Well that's it another two cars ready to roll when required...George Dutka

The Roundhouse reefer model in service on the WRD.