Early Era Brookside Creamery Cars

A B&M milk car at the Bellows Falls, Vermont creamery in an early era. Note the worker using a pulley system to pull on a cable attached to the trailing truck for spotting the car. Glenn Annis collection.

I recently got a message from Glenn Annis regarding the early era Brookside and B&M milk cars. When I was researching the article for RMC I just could not find any history for these cars. Although I had asked a number of milk car fans for anything they might have I had not thought of Glenn who actually had what I was looking for. Here are his comments...George Dutka

 "Hi George, just wanted to say I enjoyed your article in the Jan 2022 RMC issue on the B&M milk cars and modeling them.

There is an issue that I thought I'd bring to your attention since it's been bugging me for a long while and it keeps creeping its way into print.

The B&M 12800-130049 reefers (B&M 1800-1849 and MTC 12000 milk cars) were part of a lot built by ACF in 1907 for the New Haven with 250 surplus cars "sold" to the B&M in 1911.

The biggest misconception is that the cars were 40' and that has been carried forward from the Train Miniature cars to this date. In actuality the cars were a bit shorter with a body length @ 37'-0" overall and 40' over the pulling faces. If you look at the photograph of the MTC car vs. the Train Miniature model you can see in the Brookside Fresh Cream lettering where the space between the black herald and the ends and door has a larger gap to accommodate the 40' TMI body length.

Also, there is speculation that the MTC car #1833 isn't a correct # but is actually a bleed through.

This link to the B&M Society gives an in depth history of the cars along with class diagrams, # 's, and dispositions.....https://www.bmrrhs.org/reefer_12800_series/

It's an interesting read! Glenn Annis, Brattleboro, Vermont"  

A NH refrigerator car which is the same as those used by the B&M in Brookside Milk service without the roof hatches but with passenger trucks. Glenn Annis collection.

H.A. Frye photo Roger Robar copy.