Description
The Rapido Trains HO Scale Pacific Fruit Express R-40-27 and -28 Reefer is based on steel refrigerator cars built from January through August 1957, with a total of 1700 cars built in class R-40-27. They were placed into the PFE 10001-11700 numbering series and featured a 4-foot-wide Youngstown sliding plug-door, sliding toward the left, combined with a 2-foot-wide hinged door to the right of it. This created a 6-foot-wide opening when both were opened, or just a 2-foot-wide opening if the car needed to be inspected before unloading in order to retain the cool interior temperature. Soon the R-40-27 car's plans were modified with a six-foot sliding plug-door, along with the established 2-foot-wide swinging door, creating the new class R-40-28 cars, of which there were 100 (PFE 11701-11800) constructed by July 1957. Both the R40-27 and R-40-28 class cars were ice cooled and included overhead electric fans to circulate the cool air enroute. As it would turn out these would be the last ice-cooled refrigerator cars built by PFE. After these classes, all PFE reefers utilized mechanical cooling. The Rapido Trains reefers are accurately scaled from prototype blueprints and field measurements and feature separate wire grab irons, correct running boards and brake wheels, correct cooling fan housings and positionable roof hatches. Cars come equipped with Rapido metal semi-scale knuckle couplers mounted at the correct height. The cars are accurately decorated and come indivually and six packs with multiple roadnumbers. The R-40-27 and R-40-28 Reefers are part of the line of Rapido Trains HO Scale freight cars and containers.
