Skip to main content

Many of you know that I had tried for 11 years to get a major 3-rail manufacturer to produce accurate copies of a Spencer Packing Co. 40 foot steel reefer.  Well today my dream finally came true.  Atlas has made the model in their Master line in four different numbers and I picked them up at today's monthly train show at the DuPage County Fairgrounds in Wheaton, IL.  I ordered 8 cars from Merlyn at Caboose Hobbies and posed for the following pictures by Alanrail another forum member and train buddy.

I was able to cross two things off my bucket list recently.  The 2016 Chicago Cubs won the World Series and I have my Spencer Packing Co. reefers. 

atlasreefer2Received1received2

I will post more pictures of them on my layout in the near future.  Now I can build my version of the "meat train" that ran on the Milwaukee Road between Sioux Falls, SD and Chicago, IL on my Milwaukee Road branchline.  They were pulled by F units and had a bay-window caboose on the rear.   As a boy, this was my first introduction to real railroads.  I used to watch them switch Spencer Packing reefer cars every night at 9:00 PM and talk to the engineer and conductor.  Great memories!

Art

Attachments

Images (3)
  • atlasreefer2
  • Received1
  • received2
Original Post

Replies sorted oldest to newest

Retired band guy posted:

Just don’t haul fireworks through downtown Spencer! Bwahaha 😂

For those of you who don't get this joke, Spencer had "the great Spencer fire" in June of 1931.  It was a hot 97 degree day with 25 to 35 MPH winds when two buys lit and dropped a fireworks sparkler in Bjornstad's drug store at the corner of fourth and Main streets in downtown Spencer.  The store caught on fire and spread to destroy several blocks of the business district of the city.  Spencer banned fireworks and 6 years later so did the state of Iowa.  

Art

Add Reply

Post

OGR Publishing, Inc., 1310 Eastside Centre Ct, Suite 6, Mountain Home, AR 72653
800-980-OGRR (6477)
www.ogaugerr.com

×
×
×
×
Link copied to your clipboard.
×
×