By Railroad Model Craftsman Staff

Now available from Rapido Trains, Inc., is the third run of its popular HO scale General American 37’ meat refrigerator car.  These wooden reefers were built between 1937 and 1941 by General American Transportation Company to transport fresh meats all over North America. With their steel underframe and comparatively modern AB brake equipment, examples of these cars outlasted similar-appearing traditional wood-sided freight cars by decades.  The hardiest of these cars were still found in service into the early 1970s.

Cooled with giant blocks of ice, these cars would be exclusively assigned to meat service and were common throughout the continent, running between meat packing houses and regional distributors. Each model features accurate roof hatches, see-through brake platforms, a fully-detailed underbody with simulated AB air brake hardware and piping, Barber S-1 trucks with 33-inch blackened metal wheelsets, and more. 

This time, Rapido is offering new road numbers on some of its most popular paint schemes, as well as new schemes. 

Priced at $49.95 for a single car or in a four-pack for $199.80, the cars are available in the following road names: American Stores, Armour, Cudahy, Dubuque, GARX, Hormel, Kingan, Morris Rifkin, Oscar Mayer, Swift (multiple schemes), URTX, and undecorated. Multiple road numbers are available where appropriate. These distinctive cars are available from dealers now. See the Rapido website for more information. 

AB Brake hardware and Barber S-1 trucks occupy the underframe of these 37-foot Meat Reefers.