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OLD & WEARY
CAR SHOP |
A Bit of URTX History by Branchline Trains
In many ways wood reefers were the premier steam era freight car. These
colorful cars provided a welcome contrast to long strings of red boxcars
and black hoppers. Perhaps as a result they have attracted much attention
from historians and modelers alike. Some of the most unique cars were those
built for Union Refrigerator Transit (URTX) and the Chicago & North
Western controlled North Western Refrigerator Lines (NWX).
The URTX cars were built in large numbers in the 1920’s. Painted bright
yellow with red ends and roof these cars carried a wide variety of "billboard"
paint schemes. 
These schemes
were applied to cars that were leased to private owners and served as rolling
advertisements for their products. The billboard era lasted until July
1934. On this date the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) regulation
#201 came into effect. This ruling stated that after that date no more
cars could be painted with the lessee’s name any larger than 12".
As of January 1937 cars painted in billboard schemes could not be accepted
for interchange between railroads. Some companies tried to circumvent these
regulations by applying their own reporting marks, but by the beginning
of World War II all these cars that remained in service had been pained
back into the original owner’s standard colors. These cars also saw
service on the Milwaukee, Green Bay & Western, Nickel Plate, Grand
Trunk Western and others. In the 1920’s ACF built approximately 3000
wood reefers for the North Western Refrigerator Lines (NWX). Painted gray
and red these cars also served as the "canvas" on which many
of the famous billboard reefers were. After the heyday of the billboard
era they formed the backbone of North Western Refrigerator Express’s
fleet. Many lasted into the 1960’s making for a long service life
through the most popular modeling eras!
Branchline
Trains Asks For Your Help!
A NOTE ON COLORS: Because of the difficulty in obtaining color information
on many of these schemes, the color schemes described are based on the
best information we have on hand. All these schemes would be subject to
change if any new information comes to light. If you have any painting
or color information on any of these cars please drop us an e-mail at bill@branchline-trains.com
