Johann, Scratchbuilding

A Modern PFE Reefer in American OO

Among items that came in the OO Inventory was this great modern (1960s) era reefer.

This side view is a good overall shot of the car which is clearly fully to scale for American OO and not a conversion from HO. The car itself is made mostly of wood and is probably built on a vintage Picard body.

The bottom view photo came out better than normal for me of a mostly black surface. Note the vintage Scale-Craft brake cylinder, which is not of the style that would appear on this car (or any other car, actually; it is just a rough representation of a K type brake cylinder), and the date of construction, 1-79. The trucks are the last version of the Johann roller bearing conversion truck, they must have been added later.

The car ends are vintage as well; they are vintage Famoco die cast ends. Like the brake cylinder, it is not really correct for the car but it is a pretty effective stand-in and this car looks quite good on the layout.

Finally, we have a photo take by Bill Johann of a similar car on a railfan trip to the Tehachapi loop. In the Inventory were a number of photos taken by Bill Johann and others, many of them of OO subjects including vintage layout photos. These I will periodically post as time allows, seeing modern equipment such as this in operation was certainly an inspiration for Johann.