More (Mechanical) Reefer Madness
CN 235116 in Winnipeg MB in the early 1990's - it has seen better days Hot on the heels of the Hawker Siddeley 231xxx and 233xxx series mechanical refrigerators, Kaslo Shops brought out the 235000-235299 series reefers. These were a more common car on CN, with 300 cars delivered in 1966. Some of these cars were in use until the mid 2000's with most being retired in the 1990's. Their silver body with blue doors were distinctive, and when they were clean they were nice looking cars. Unfortunately they didn't seem to stay clean very long. These cars were common on the Hudson Bay Railway, with service to most communities in the north that CN served. There was at least one car in semi-captive service hauling groceries from the freight house in The Pas to Lynn Lake. These were also frequent visitors to Churchill, Thompson and Gillam, at least until improved roads to Thompson and Gillam arrived in the mid 1980's. These cars have long been on my w...