| Built by General American Transportation Company in 1948. The following is from a sign on the car: Union Refrigerator Transit was one of the largest lessors of refrigerated freight cars. The cars often carried the lessees name. Until the development of reliable mechanical cooling systems, refrigerator (reefer) cars used ice to maintain the interior temperature necessary for safe transport of perishables. Major rail yard had icing platforms where ice would be loaded before or during transit into bunkers at each end of the cars. Entire trains of reefers often traveled at passenger train speeds. URTX 37312 was leased to the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific, and used on the Milwaukee Road and nationwide for refrigerated freight service. The car was retired in 1971, and was donated to IRM by General American Transportation (GATX), successor to URTX. It is now used for parts storage. |