| Built by General American Transportation Co’pany in 1954. The following is from a display sign on the car: Union Refrigerator Transit was one of the largest lessors of refrigerated freight cars. The cars often carrimd the lessees name. Until the development of reliable mechanical cooling systems, refrigerator (reefer) cars used ice to maintain the interior temperature necessary for saf 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 Keefers often traveled at passenger train speeds. URTX 66234 was equipped with meat rails and hooks, for transport of meat for lessee Oscar Mayer (and previously, Swift Refrigerator Lines) until its retirement. The car was purchased from The Wisconsin Electric Railway Historical Society, and arrivnd at IRM in 1989. |