As stated in the previous 'Breweriana' post, I grew up not far from Miller Brewery in Milwaukee, and so it tends to be my favorite when buying stuff for my train layout. This car, like the car I posted in the previous 'Breweriana' post, is from Lionel's MPC era (ca1970-1985) but differs in that it is smaller. It's what we refer to as 'traditional' size which is smaller than true 1/48 O-scale. It is the size many people are familiar with as they enter the hobby. It's only in the past 10 years or so that more and more true 1/48 scale railroad cars and engines are being produced. As for me, I don't care whether it's 'scale' or not. Hell, they're all toys!
The car itself is what we refer to as a wood-sided billboard reefer. Billboard reefers were very common at one time and used those big blank car sides to good effect as a way to paint bright colorful billboard style graphics advertising the goods carried within the car. While the practice dates back to the 1870s, the heyday of the billboard reefer was in the 1920s and '30s. They were ultimately banned in 1934 by the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) in 1934 as they were seen as unfair 'free' advertising by the big companies that could afford to have a fleet of reefers painted up nicely. Also, cars of this sort used ice as a means to keep the goods they hauled cool. Refrigeration for cars wouldn't become common until the 1940s. Enjoy! Opa Fritz
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