Pacific Fruit Express Freight Car Details and History

The Pacific Fruit Express (PFE) was a well-oiled machine when it came to moving perishable goods across the country.

PFE's iconic refrigerated boxcars were specifically designed to keep produce fresh during long trips.

These cars were equipped with ice bunkers and ventilation systems to maintain a consistent temperature.

The PFE's fleet of cars included 2,000 refrigerator cars, which were used to transport fruit, vegetables, and other perishable goods.

The cars were painted in a distinctive yellow and black color scheme, making them easy to spot on the rails.

Dick Harley's SmugMug online image albums offer a treasure trove of Pacific Fruit Express freight car data. He has made available listings and data for the PFE freight car fleet.

The PFE 1951 Diagram Book and PFE 1967 Diagram Book are valuable resources for anyone interested in the Pacific Fruit Express. These books contain detailed information about the freight car fleet.

Dick Harley's collection of listings and data is a great starting point for researching Pacific Fruit Express freight cars.

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If you're looking for specific information on freight cars, you're in luck.

The Pacific Fruit Express freight car fleet has a collection of listings and data available online, thanks to Dick Harley's SmugMug image albums.

The UPFE refrigerator cars were obtained from various sources, including the Bangor & Aroostok railroad, in exchange for four locomotives.

The higher-numbered UPFE refrigerator cars, above 461000, are either secondhand or "rehabilitated" from previous series.

Cars in the 461000 series were acquired from ARMN and BAR, while those in the 462000s through 469000s were rehabilitated from older UPFE cars.

Some of the highest-numbered series, in the 462000s, were rebuilt from ex SPFE cars obtained in the merger with SP.

Union Pacific acquired a number of mechanical refrigerator cars from the Bangor & Aroostok in July 1989.

These cars were repainted and renumbered into various series, ranging from UPFE 461401 to 469425.

The exact origins of individual series can be found in Freight Cars Journal, Volume 6, Number 3, Issue 31, July 28, 1989, page 9.

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The "UPRX" reporting mark was temporary and used by Union Pacific to distinguish former PFE cars.

It was added in January 1978 and again in January 1980, but was officially eliminated in July 1984.

The UPRX reporting mark was used to indicate Union Pacific's ownership of cars, which were previously marked with the UPFE reporting mark.

Cars marked with UPRX were likely new acquisitions, while those marked with UPFE were acquired before the split.

The UPRX reporting mark lasted less than two years, and by 1980, none were listed in the Equipment Register.

However, the reporting mark was officially eliminated in July 1984, according to Ian Cranstone.

The UPRX reporting mark was a result of the government changing the rules on reporting marks in 1971, which required marks to reflect the actual owner of the car.

The rules change led to the creation of new reporting marks, such as SPFE and UPFE, which were used to indicate the actual owner of the cars.

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Cars that went to SP kept their PFE reporting marks, while UP created Union Pacific Fruit Express Company (UPFE) as a private company with reporting marks UPRX for their newly acquired cars.

The UPRX reporting mark was used for a short period of time, from 1978 to 1984, and was likely used for cars that were acquired during that time.

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