The Pennsylvania Railroad had 550 R50b high speed express reefers, numbered 2551-3100. They were 54'6" long and rode on PRR standard 4-wheel cast steel, friction bearing, 2D-P5 passenger trucks. The R50b reefers were used in express service from 1929 well into the mid¬60s, with a few remaining cars taken out of service just prior to the 1967 merger.
Express service was not limited to refrigerated goods. When not needed for refrigerator duties, the ice bunkers were collapsed and these cars carried dry, clean express shipments. For express service, their useable load capacity made them interchangeable with X-29s. Clean express commodities such as magazines would be shipped across the country in these cars, making them regulars on trains of other railroads.
In June of 1957, the ice bunkers removed from PRR 2500-2507 so they could be used only for express service.
As delivered R50b reefers: Passenger (P) car appliances (Approximate Time Period: [ATP] 1929-1944)Originally, the car appliances were similar to those on passenger cars (P), with no roofwalk, ladder on the right side, and minimal side grabs. During the time period up to 1936, all of the lettering styles were gold. By June of 1944, all of these cars had been rebuilt with freight car appliances (F).
Rebuilt R50b reefers: Freight (F) car appliances (ATP: 1938-1967)Beginning in 1938 and through June 1944, 548 R50b reefers were rebuilt with freight car appliances (F). This rebuilt freight appliance version of the car is represented by the kit.
The R50b reefers were rebuilt with standard freight car appliances by changing the following:
– adding side ladders
– changing to a single-sill step type
– moving the end ladders to the left side
– moving the brake wheel
– adding a brake platform
– adding a platform above the end ladders
– adding a defect card holder
– modifying handholds
– adding a pressure retaining valve
The “freight appliance” version of these cars were decorated in 11 different schemes with buff (delux yellow) colored lettering as described in the tables. Lettering placement was the same for all schemes. Refer to the pictures for more information.
Painted in Buff Futura (not edged) scheme BFT1 (ATP: 1939-1952)
With some effort, this kit could also be modified to represent the original (P) or modified passenger (P2) appliance rebuild.
Rebuilt R50b reefers: Passenger (P2) appliances (Approx. 50-60 cars)In June of 1952, a revised car arrangement drawing was issued, and it indicated that the roofwalk and side ladders be removed, limiting cars to passenger express service. The issue also seems to have called for the removal of all the freight car safety appliances (P2). A year later the drawing was revised to no longer remove all the freight car safety appliances, so the end ladders and brake wheels remained in their "freight car" position. Only about 10% of the fleet had been converted, so most cars went to the scrap line with the side ladders and roofwalks in place.
Note: The estimated numbers of cars in a given style/scheme are for reference purposes only based on the formulae in the footnotes and standard repainting practices used by some railroads. Actual historical data and PRR references may provide more detailed and accurate information.
References and Thanks: A special thanks to Steve Hoxie from the Keystone Modeler (TKM) for his assistance. The two TKM issues are excellent resource material for detailing the HO R50B from Walthers, and certainly would be of use to the modeler making this kit. The Railmodel Journal (RMJ) articles are also an excellent source for painting and detailing information.
TKM #25 Aug ’05: Upgrading the Walthers R50B, A PRR Pro Project by Bruce Smith (Pg. 16)
TKM #26 Sep ’05: Updates and Errata (Pg. 10) R50B underside details (corrected image)
RMJ Apr ’03: Pennsy RR R50B Express Reefers from Walthers HO models by Richard Berg (Pg. 10)
RMJ Oct ’90: Pennsy Class R50B HO Scale Express Reefer by Bob Davis (Pg. 30)
Data compiled by Michael Livingston
(Updated with ATP table of paint schemes on Feb 15 2022)
