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  • #6136
    Patrick Ryan
    Member

    Hi
    I am after some info on the RMDX, MODX and WADX reefers.
    As I understand it the MODX & WADX reefers were re numbered with MP & TP reporting marks sometime in the 70’s. What numbers did the MODX2900 to 2939 and WADX3500 to 3599 become?

    I believe that all the RMDX reefers received ARMN reporting marks but kept same road numbers in the 1970s, is this correct?

    Did any of the former MODX, WADX and RMDX reefers remain in the original yellow scheme into the early 80s or were they all repainted orange?

    Would love to see some photos of these reefers in late 70s early 80s.

    #8964
    mopac
    Keymaster

    MODX 2900-39 become TP 781810-849
    WADX 3500-99 became NW 693500-599

    Yes, RMDX cars went to ARMN with the same numbers.

    Gene Semon

    #8965
    Patrick Ryan
    Member

    Thanks Gene, that is very helpful.

    I had mistakenly thought that MP/TP received some of the WADX reefers.

    RE: the Colour scheme of the reefers. I know that originally they were yellow but at some point they were repainted orange but have no idea when that occurred. Does anyone known whether any of the Ex RMDX & MODX reefers survive into the early 8os still in the original yellow paint scheme?
    Regards Andrew

    #8966
    Bud Moss
    Participant

    Hi deleslie,

    The changeover from yellow to orange occurred around 1964. There was probably a mix of reefers painted in both schemes for awhile. As far as WADX and MODX reporting marks are concerned, these groups were owned by the respective railroads; WADX by Wabash/N&W and MODX by Missouri Pacific. When N&W dropped out of ART, they got the WADX cars. Why the Missouri Pacific relettered MODX into ARMN is not clear.

    As an aside, if all goes well (keep your fingers crossed) we may have an ART book out with detailed rosters in the near future.

    Jerry Michels

    #8970
    princessclyne69
    Participant

    If you look at photos that have dates, you may find that the repaint happened fairly quickly. In fact, many of the 50′ RBL cars were painted in the multi-color herald scheme on yellow when first built, and a great many of them were repainted into the black lettering on yellow scheme first, starting in 1961, before being repainted to the black lettering on orange scheme.

    RG7

    #8971
    Patrick Ryan
    Member

    Thanks for your reply’s

    Jerry I would certainly be keen to purchase a book on the ART reefers. No doubt it will be sold through the Missouri Pacific Historical Society.. I will look out for it.

    #8979
    alexortiz25
    Participant

    The ART book is now available on Signature Press’ website <http://www.signaturepress.com/>. I ordered one this morning. Been looking forward to this for long time for this.

    @2100Northern wrote:

    As an aside, if all goes well (keep your fingers crossed) we may have an ART book out with detailed rosters in the near future.

    Jerry Michels

    #8987
    Patrick Ryan
    Member

    Thanks René
    I have placed an order for the book… Looking forward to reading it.
    Regards
    Andrew

    #8994
    Bud Moss
    Participant

    Hi Bill, Gene and I went through the manuscripts a number of times, and I think we got all the corrections made. I know we had Tony ready to pull his hair out with the corrections and additions. My surprise came from the rapid printing. I guess I am so used to delays getting the book out, the final notice was a shock. Jerry

    #9006
    princessclyne69
    Participant

    Let’s see….I ordered the UTLX book from Speedwitch early last week, and the ART book over the weekend….versus 9 turnouts and 10 crossings….wonder how much spiking I’ll get done this week?

    (happy to have the interruption) RG7

    #9055
    princessclyne69
    Participant

    Book came yesterday. I read it cover to cover (I started early afternoon). Congratulations, guys, you produced a great book, even more so considering what happened to it along the way.

    RG7

    #9056
    peggyrothschild
    Participant

    Am still reading it up here’s a high level overview
    Hardcover
    240 pages
    403 photos plus addition illustrations. Many color photos of wood, steel ice cars and mechanical reefers
    Chapters
    History of ART
    Growing Areas
    Icing and Protective Services
    Car Shops
    Painting and Lettering schemes
    Early Cars to 1913
    Wood cars to 1931
    Steel cars
    Mechanical Refrigeration
    Other ART
    1946 Refrigerator Tests

    No bibliography but Jerry and Gene inherited a manuscript that had no sources and the author was deceased. If you’re interested in ART cars and history buy one.

    #9148
    Patrick Ryan
    Member

    Hi

    I have two Mec reefers models which I would like paint up into the ARMN scheme of the late 1970’s.
    There appears to be two different color schemes, one a overall bright vibrant orange, the other a lighter (reefer) orange with what appears to be a silver or white roof.

    Are these two different schemes or did the vibrant orange fade quickly?

    If two different schemes which was the later?

    Also can someone advise the correct roof color?

    The ART book is good but does not help as It does not cover the 70’s and ARMN.

    Regards
    Andrew

    #9150
    Bud Moss
    Participant

    Hi Andrew,

    There wasn’t much reason to go into the 1970s or 1980s with the ART history since the last color scheme was the bright orange with black outline MP and N&W heralds and little changed after that time. The color photos in the Mechanical Reefers chapter covers what ART cars looked like in the final years (pgs 202-208).

    As to your question, there was a yellow and an orange scheme. The color photo on page 186 is perhaps the best comparison of the yellow and orange scheme, although I am pretty convinced that there were more than one shade of yellow.

    The “yellow” scheme with black outline heralds had boxcar red ends and silver/aluminum roofs.

    The “orange” scheme had either all over orange or orange with silver roof. Most orange” mechanicals had silver/aluminum roofs, but a few white roofs are known.

    Color was a difficult thing to determine in a lot of situations. Note the cars on page 205. Since they all carry the Wabash flag, we should expect that they are all “yellow” cars, but each would seem to be a completely different color. Of course lighting, weathering, and care of the original photograph all make a difference.

    The orange scheme came along after the merger of the Wabash into the N&W. I have seem some “yellow” cars with the N&W herald (pg 215), but no “orange” cars with the Wabash flag.

    Finally, yes, the orange paint faded, and faded rather quickly. Again it depended on weathering. Some “orange” cars seem to be a darker orange if they has a lot of road grime, and some “clean” orange cars looked almost pinkish.

    I don’t know how one would do it, but an analysis of color photos, perhaps matching the color in a photo to Pantone colors, would give a wide range of shades.

    I ran into this same problem with the caboose book. In the 1960s some cabooses were painted with a paint that faded quickly to an orange color. The thought was that the railroad used the same orange on its cabooses as the orange reefers, but company correspondence clearly states that the red used on these cabooses faded with the acid detergent they used in the wash racks. So a caboose painted red originally (actually a vermilion), faded to orange (a component of the vermilion paint) after a few times through the wash racks. If a faded caboose was recently washed, it could still retain some sheen, and this gave rise to the thought that they were painted orange originally. So, I wonder if the ART colors faded as they were washed and that is how we ended up with rather bright lemon through bright orange with shades in between as the cars went through the 1960s to the 1970s. Could “warm yellow” fade to “lemon yellow” and “bright orange” fade to “pink?”

    Since very few ART company records exist, it is hard to pin down. We didn’t go into this discussion in the book because it was all speculation, and we did not want to create a sense of finality to the color story. There is more work to be done.

    Jerry Michels

    #9151
    Patrick Ryan
    Member

    Jerry, Thanks for your reply.

    I guess based on what you have said the reefer pictured at the bottom of page 208, RMDX831, would have been much brighter but has faded, this is the color that I have seen on photos of a number of the ARMN (ex RMDX) reefers.

    I have also seen a picture of a bright orange reefer in the early 80s and instead of the buzz saw logo it has the flying eagle in black so it appears that repaints were being done regularly.

    Andrew

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