| Built by General American Transportation Company in 1956. The following is from the sign on the car: Swift Refrigerator Lines operated a fleet of refrigerator cars used to transport Swift Packing Companys meat and meat products throughout the nation. Until the development of reliable mechanical cooling systems, refrigerator (reefer) cars used ice to maintain the interior temperature necessary for safe transport of perishables. Major rail yard had icing platforms where ice would be loaded before or during transit into bunkers at each end of the cars. Entire trains of reefers often traveled at passenger train speeds. SRLX 15802 was equipped with meat rails and hooks, for transport of whole beef or pork carcasses. It was used nationwide until its retirement around 1970. The car was purchased from the Wisconsin Electric Railway Historical Society, and arrived at IRM in 1989. It is currently used for parts storage. |