• Mechanical Reefers

  • General discussion about railroad operations, related facilities, maps, and other resources.
General discussion about railroad operations, related facilities, maps, and other resources.

Moderator: Robert Paniagua

  by railfan482
 
Has anyone ever seen/heard of mechanical reefers being unloaded at team tracks, instead of a dedicated facility?
  by RichM
 
An uncle of mine who passed away many years ago had been in the produce business. He later supplemented his retirement income by supplying grapes to literally dozens of old customers making wine in northern New Jersey. This went on at least into the late 1970's. He contracted with someone in Calfornia and for a two-three week period sold the grapes by the case out of several reefers. I can't for the life of me recall where he did this, I'm thinking Paterson, NJ... but definitely off a siding someplace.
Now I'm curious, maybe a relative has more information.
  by RS115
 
Don't remember who the consignee was but back in the mid-late 1970's at least someone would periodically receive reefers at the Morristown & Erie team track in Whippany.
  by Sir Ray
 
RS115 wrote:Don't remember who the consignee was but back in the mid-late 1970's at least someone would periodically receive reefers at the Morristown & Erie team track in Whippany.
I definitely remember seeing Mech Reefers being unloaded as late as the early 1990s in the Ironbound section of Newark, NJ - The smooth paved section (think it was gravel) alongside the East side of the tracks south of Albert Avenue. in this Bing image - the siding (south facing) is still there in the Bing view. From time to time there would be a Mech Reefer spotted on this siding (don't recall more than one) with a box-truck backed up to the door. It wasn't all the time, and not sure the last time they unloaded there (there is an open air 'Terminal' market - fruit/vegatable market - a block to the East, as can be seen on the Bing view also), but reefers were unloaded there into the 1990s.