~ Latest Update Tuesday, February 27, 2007 ~

~ The "Miller Era" Steel Underframed Refrigerator Cars ~

According to our old friend, John Coker, Starting in 1898, the new Colorado & Southern System started to replace its aging roster of narrow gauge cars with newer, larger cars equipped with modern K-Triple Air Brakes. After the Union Pacific sold the C&S to the Burlington system in 1907, upgrading of the freight car roster continued for three more years. 3 distinct types of cars emerged. Type I cars had wood frames and Archbar Trucks. Type II cars had wood frames and Cast Steel Bettendorf Trucks. Type III cars had Steel Frames and Cast Steel Trucks.

C&S Refrigerator Cars exhibited all three types, but later photos show the type III cars to be the most frequently used. Often these cars were placed in the daily passenger train to Leadville for prompt delivery. All freights on the "Clear Creek" lines seemed to include a refrigerator car as well.. The type III refrigerators were numbered in the 1100 series.

Three of these cars were included in the big sale of freight cars to Victor Miller, the "receiver" of the Rio Grande Southern, in 1938. They were renumbered to 2101 - 2103. Two of the cars, #2101 and #2102, remained on the R.G.S. until it closed in 1951. These cars, apparently, ran mostly on the R.G.S. in "local" service. One car, #2102, was later converted to an outfit car. Surprisingly, #2101 still exists as a complete refrigerator car, on a private farm near Fort Lupton, Colorado..

Steel framed cars were unusual on any narrow gauge railroad in North America. These unique cars will be an attention-getter on your railroad as well!

John Hugh Coker

Here's what one of these cars looks like from its underside. Note that there are no truss rods in evidence here at all. The brake rigging is a one piece shot for ease of assembly. And that difficult-to-replicate "Crossover Air Piping" is now a one piece Lost Wax Brass Casting! Cool, eh?

Some Features of P-B-L's - R.G.S. "Type III" Steel Underframed Model Kits:

  • Each Part Painstakingly Researched and Created in Precision Hard Tooling and Injection Moulded in Styrene or Celcon® Plastic!
  • A Complete, One Piece Molded Celcon® Brake Rigging Shot!
  • Accurately Scaled, Free Rolling "Cast Steel" type Bettendorf Trucks with Nickel Plated Brass Wheelsets on Pointed Axles!
  • Each kit includes an easy to follow, well illustrated "Assembly Manual" with step-by-step instructions designed so that even the novice can turn out satisfying replica of the real thing!

Click on the photo above for a photo-story of our R.G.S. Steel
Underframe'd Stock Cars! You'll love 'em !


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