BREWERIANA: Lionel #6-9851 O-gauge Schlitz Reefer Car (1973)

There was some sad news in the media this past week or so. An old Milwaukee staple and icon of the beer industry has been discontinued. Pabst Beer, the current owner of the Schlitz brand, decided to discontinue  production due to rising costs. Schlitz was founded in 1849 and was once the largest producing beer in America becoming "The Beer that made Milwaukee Famous". Apparently, on one of Teddy Roosevelt's safaris, he brought Schlitz along and the company capitalized on it, using that as a marketing tour de force. As a native Milwaukeean, I personally enjoyed Pabst more, but I certainly appreciate the history and legacy of all Milwaukee breweries.

So far, my one and only Schlitz railroad car is a reefer made by Lionel during its MPC era and was bought on a shoe-string budget with no box included in the sale. Looks like I'm gonna have to search out some more, just for old times sake.

RIP Schlitz!

Ed

 

The doors open allowing the railroader to place details inside the car if so desired.

BREWERIANA: Lionel #6-9802 Standard 'O' Miller Beer Reefer (1973)

I was born and raised in Milwaukee not far from Miller Brewery. Miller was situated in a valley through which the Menomonee River flowed. As the river flowed it's way southward through the enclave of Piggsville it swung eastward and made it's way out of Milwaukee through the Menomonee River Valley - in which the famed Milwaukee Road shops were located -  and then outward to Lake Michigan. The origin of the name Piggsville (sometimes spelled Pigsville) is a bit contentious. Some claim it was the pig farms located there which gave it it's name, while others claim it was one particular farm owned by someone who's last name was 'Pigg'. In any case I remember Piggsville as having quaint little houses nestled between the river banks. 

If memory serves me right, Miller could be accessed by driving northward through Piggsville, or by getting on State St. and traveling westward. I had taken tours of the brewery a couple of times and even applied for a job there before deciding to join the Air Force. There's more memories I can convey about Miller but I'll leave you with just one more. At certain times during the brewing process - and if the winds were just right - one could smell the sweetness of the hops wafting through the air. I'll you what, if you live in an industrial area, there's lots of odors than can assail you, but this one was actually a treat as the whole air was infused with an earthy sweetness!

Through the years, Lionel has put out several Miller beer reefers and of course I just had to get one right!? This one was from Lionel's MPC era (1970-1985) and is full 'O'-scale (1/48th scale) making it larger than their normal line of rolling stock at the time. I have absolutely no qualms about mixing scale and semi-scale trains on my layout. To me they're all toys and are meant to be run. Now I just need to get the other Miller reefers Lionel produced. Maybe I need to put together a unit train of Miller reefer's! Enjoy! Opa Fritz

BREWERIANA: K-Line No. K742-80364 Blatz Beer Wood Sided Reefer Road Number 24113

Technically, 'breweriana' is really just meant for beer collectables like advertising signs, mugs, steins, barrels, tap handles, coasters, etc., but I'm making my own rules here for the blog and am including anything related to beer, wine, and spirits. Today's post is not a mug, or stein, or coaster, but rather an O-gauge beer reefer for use on my train layout. This one is from K-Line and is designed to look like the old fashioned wood sided reefers that would have required large blocks of ice placed in end compartments of the car to keep the contents cool.

Blatz was one of several breweries located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin that, at one time, contributed to the city being considered the beer capital of the country, if not the world. The production of beer by Blatz, Miller, Pabst, Schlitz, and Gettelman made it a powerhouse in the industry but sadly the world has changed and the breweries are either gone or owned by international consortiums. However, on my small train layout out in The Cave, their memory lives on in the form of an on-layout brewery and the occasional beer reefer train running session. Enjoy! Opa Fritz

An unusual cut-out on the rear panel of the box.

This is what is referred to as a 'billboard' reefer, so called because of its billboard-like design on the side and were meant to be rolling advertisements for the products they carried. The design of this car would have fit in the period after those cars having truss rods for bracing underneath the car, and before steel sided reefers which carried their own refrigeration units.

On either end of the car are compartments in which are placed ice cubes. The car pictured here is made this way because Lionel has several variations of an ice loading dock with a man shoving little plastic 'ice' blocks into any car made to accept them - like this car. To the best of my knowledge Lionel is the only company which has an ice loading accessory but other toy train manufacturers have made cars that are compatible with it.

The four hatches on top of the car all open and close as does the doors on either side.

There are twelve beer cases or crates with peel-&-stick appliques to place on them. I haven't put them on yet.