There were still plenty of wood ice-bunker reefers used in the 1950s. Wood was considered a very good material for reefers well after it fell out of fashion for boxcars. But having said that there were still plenty of wood boxcars (single sheathed, the so-called "outside braced" in particular) into the 1960s.
A friend of mine took slides of a wood ice bunker reefer still in service in the early 1970s. That must have been one of the last ones, not because it was wood but because the use of ice in refrigerator cars was almost extinct by then.
I cannot swear as to CB&Q still having wood reefers in the 1950s but it would not surprise me in the least if they did. After all that is the railroad that still had wood on its "war emergency" coal hopper cars into the mid 1960s, so obviously there was no anti-wood bias on the Q. I know nothing about White Rock Water cars.
Dave Nelson
Being light colored (white, yellow, orange) reefers in the steam era tended to get pretty dirty. I like to weather woodsided cars with powdered charcoal, then use a soft paper towel wrapped around my finger to remove a lot of the weathering using downstrokes. That leaves the charcoal in the grooves between the boards, making them stand out more, and giving the car a general 'patina' of grime. You can seal charcoal in with flat finish, then use chalk to add other weathering.
Salt was often added to the ice to make it melt faster, so reefers often had white stains around the hatches and on the sides and ends near the hatches.
Thanks for the info, Dave & Stix. Sounds like they'll work well for what im trying to achieve.
I'll be primarily weathering with powders and will need to get a flat spray to coat them. Being in Australia it makes it difficult because we can't always get what you guys use.
What is a good flat coat spray to use on powders?
WalW989What is a good flat coat spray to use on powders?
Well ... that has been the topic of some heated debate. If you apply weathering powders to a plastic model, even if you use the wonderful if expensive self adhesive Bragdon powers, the first application of almost any spray fixitive (I use Testors Dullcote when I can find it, although I preferred their old forumla) is likely to make much of the powder disappear. The powders need a surface with more "tooth" to withstand the force of the spray it seems. Thus I spray first with Dullcote , let it dry, then do my weathering with powers, then spray again. Sometimes yet a third power application and spray is needed to get the effect I thought I had captured with the first application.
There have been many discussion threads on these forums on the topic with a boatload of excellent, if sometimes conflicting(!), advice.
Your White Water reefer of which there were several prototype paint/lettering variations would date from the late teens through the early thrities when billboard reefers were outlawed by the ICC, can't speak as to the Burlington, but as previously stated wooden reefers were long lived in general.
PFE didn't retire its last one until 1967, well towards the end of the ice age. Due to the nature of the commidities they carried, they were seldom allowed to deteriorate, frequent repaints and washings ensured a good impression upon the customer.
PFE rebuilt its fleet every five to six years with at least one repaint in between, this was a standard PFE practice into the mid 50's when changes to the tax code ended such extensive rebuild programs which resulted in massive retirements of older reefers. The most visible changes occured after SP obtained controlling interest in the PFE and ceased all car washing activities, you can imagine how filthy the fleet quickly became.
Dave