Swift Reefer Paint Schemes

[NYSW3614]

Hello!   I'm wondering if anyone knows anything about the ratio of yellow and red Swift reefers over the years, mid-late 50s in particular?

From reviewing the Refrigerator Color Guide Morning Sun book:

Most cars up to 1948 were yellow
In 1948, a large red block for SWIFT was added on the right
About 1950- when red ones started
1959- start of the silver cars

It's a good book, but looking for some further info.  1954 views of a Swift yard in Iowa show a whole bunch of reds and just one yellow, without the red block.

Thanks for any help!

Joshua

[wagnersteve]

12/18/2023, about 8:18 p.m.

Joshua, do you have Classic Freight Cars, Vol. 3: 40 ft. Refrigerator Cars, by John Henderson (Flushing, NY: H&M Productions, 1993)? It's a horizontal format paperback.

In case you don't, here's what it has for Swift cars:

Front cover: SRLX 15392, bright red except for white stripe at very top (two rivets in height) along top of the side and white lettering. SWIFT in Roman caps above REFRIGERATOR LINE above SRLX and car number left of doors -- yes, that's plural, because where you would expect one regular. refrigerator doors there seem to be two, each with its own latch bar and just two hinges only at its outer edge -- as viewed head on, with General American downward pointing triangular herald between t ack board left of it and left latch bar, big Swift with only the S capitalized in a font that has serifs but isn't Roman. All data is sans serif, including built and new 8-54. Some small data on black rectangles one above the other next to grower grab iron at left of side. Truck side frames either a much duller red or very weathered black. Photo made by George Berksheimer at. the big Swift plant in Sioux City, Iowa in the Fall of 1954. I used to have three models I built from Walthers mostly plastic kits that are in the same scheme but don't have the unusual doors; I still have at least one.

Inside front cover: by the same lensman at the same time and place, showing only one old reefer with yellow sides and ends, red or brown roof, black lettering with just S.R.L.X. in sans serif under a horizontal line and above car number, something like 6255 above another, plus REFRIGERATOR in sans serif right of the conventional door.

Inside back cover, ditto as to lensman, date and location, showing just six wood reefers with part of the Swift & Company plant topped with a billboard for Swift's Brookfield Sausage in the right background. Four of the cars are in the red and white scheme; Two have yellow sides with black Roman lettering, left of the single door of each is SWIFT above REFRIGEATOR LINE above a horizontal line above SRLX above the car number, which on the nearer one is 4555.

On p. 9, by the same photographer in Sioux City in 1951, is SRLX in the red and white scheme, a 37' wood car the caption says was built in 1936 and in a series from 5800 tp 6099. Also that the car has meat rails but can't handle chunk ice.

On p. 11, another photo by Berkstresser at the same time & place as the others, with only SRLX 625 in yellow. Two of the nearest cars, one being 15307, are steel and its side door (or doors) are open, as are those of the car right of it, with a number ending in 78,.

On p. 10, a photo by Richard Kuelbs made in Dallas, Texas in May 1961 of wood-sided reefer of 80,000 lbs. capacity painted silver except for underbody and trucks, with black Roman SWIFT above REFRIGERATOR LINE above SRLX 1929 left of the conventional door; centered right of the door is a large bright red vertical oval with Swift's in a condensed version of the non-Roman serifed font above Premium, both in silver; fancy red curlicues flank that logo. Small triangular General American logo in black left of the door. The car looks like a 40 footer to me. The same livery was used on steel cars such as SRLX 5650, partly shown right of the 1929. It was used on 50-footers, too.

Finally, I'll mention that I saw quite a few 40' reefers still being cooled by ice while on a solo expedition by train that took me from Massachusetts to Chicago, Milwaukee, South Bend and Champaign in April 1970. Also, 40' meat reefers still came to Boston in the early 1970s. 36' reefers served meat distributors on the west side of Manhattan in New York City long after most had been retired because of the spacing of the doors on the receivers' buildings.

[wagnersteve]

12/18/23, about 9:15

Joshua, I should have looked at my own copy of Gene Green's Refrigerator Car Color Guide before sending my first reply to your post.  It has at least some of the same photos that I described!  And I do have other things to do!  Ah well . . .