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.