S. Berliner, III's Great Northern/Western Fruit Express Page
keywords = Great Northern Western Fruit Express GN WFEX WFCX RBWX model rail train Z HO scale Ztrack Berlinerwerke
Updated: 22 Nov 2008, 22:50
ET
(Created 10 Nov 2004)
[Ref: This is
gn-wfex.html
(URL
http://home.att.net/~Berliner-Ultrasonics/gn-wfex.html
)]
Great Northern/Western Fruit Express Page
Consultant in Ultrasonic Processing
"changing materials with high-intensity sound"
Technical and Historical Writer, Oral Historian
Popularizer of Science and Technology
Rail, Auto, Air, Ordnance, and Model Enthusiast
Light-weight Linguist, Lay Minister, and Putative Philosopher
Great Northern/Western Fruit Express Page
(Moved from Model Railroad Page 4 on 10 Nov 2004)
This site has now been visited 
times since the counter was installed.
NOTE: It would appear that my pages are limited by AT&T, without warning, to 30kB! Thus, I have been forced to add this continuation page and separate pages to fit the lengthy Berlinerwerke saga in HO and Z scales.
INDEX
(truncated to conserve space)
Sunrise Trail Division (STD) of the
Northeastern Region (NER) of the
National Model Railroad Association (NMRA)
Long Island - Sunrise Trail Chapter (LIST) of the
.
National Railway Historical Society (NRHS)
.
Long Island Live Steamers.
Great Northern/Western Fruit Express Reefers
(moved to this MRR page 4 on 07 May 01).
Vest Pocket Railroads You Can Model
Brooklyn Eastern District Terminal Railroad
(now on its own page)
Degnon Terminal Railroad, plus
Murrer's Sidings
Kearney Sidings,
Marion River Carry Railroad
(now on its own page)
REALLY HEAVY Electrics -
(moved from Main MRR Page - 18 Oct 99).
Model Railroad Miscellany -
(including material moved from Main MRR Page - 18 Oct 99).
and including:
A and B vs. F (and 1 and 2) Ends.
PRR/Wrong Island #007 Cabin Car.
Garden Railway Scales.
Making a Stacker from a Front End Loader.
Berlinerwerke-ALCo RSD-1m.
Model Railroading HELP!.
Great Northern/Western Fruit Express Reefers
(moved to this page 10 Nov 04).
Railroad Grades
Model Railroad Photography
More Model Railroad Miscellany, with
Hobbytown of Boston (Bear Locomotive Co.).
Vest Pocket Railroads You Can Model - continued
Atlas Terminal RR
On this Great Northern/Western Fruit Express page:
Great Northern/Western Fruit Express Reefers
(moved to MRR page 4 from the main page 07 May 2001
and to this page 10 Nov 2004).
Oops! - Mantua GN Boxcar.
See also the new Rail-Auto Page, with "critters" you can model.
On Z-Scale pages:
Z-Scale
Z-Scale Narrow Gauge (really)
Scale and Gauge
Scale Conversion Table
Z-Scale Miscellany
Z-Scale Wiring Conventions
Z-Scale Vehicles and Märklin Rubber Autos
and much more on Page 2 and noted below.
Z-Scale Page 3 with
Half-Z Scale - 1:440 Tiny Trains and even 1:900 Tiniest Trains!
Ztrack Magazine
On the LIRR Continuation Page 3:
Victorian Stations Still Standing on the LIRR
(with dimensions)
On separate pages:
S. Berliner, III's Pennsylvania Railroad Page
with THE SOUTH PENN RR
and PRR Modeling (Penn Line/Cary/Bowser)
Berlinerwerke Saga (HO, included with Horseshoe Curve info.)
Horseshoe Curve Cont. Page 3:
Dimensions of the Horseshoe Curve -
a mile-by-mile and even foot-by-foot guide to the Curve - and
Dimensions in N (1:160) and Z (1:220) scales -
Horseshoe Curve Cont. Page 4, with satellite photo and description.
Berlinerwerke-Z Saga (Z-Scale) and ff.
Berlinerwerke Apocrypha (tall tales of the BW and its equipment and such>
Berlinerwerke Guest Apocrypha (taller tales?)
ALCo (American Locomotive Works)
EMD - Electro-Motive Division of GM - models, etc.,
including the fabled BW DDP45 and other EMD engines
EMD may never have dreamed of!
HOW TO BOOT A STEAM LOCOMOTIVE or How to hostle without really tiring -
(Firing up a cold oil burner - in 1:1 scale).
Schnable and other Giant RR Cars, et seq..
The Whyte System of Classification (4-4-0, 4-6-2, B-B, etc.).
Visit these courtesy and official home pages:
Long Island Sunrise - Trail Chapter
(National Railway Historical Society)
Sunrise Trail Division
(Northeastern Region)
(National Model Railroad Association)
Ztrack Magazine
The Newsletter for Z Scale Model Railroading
Z-Scale is only 1:220 with rails only ¼" apart!
It is about 2½ times smaller than HO!
Long Island Live Steamers
You may also wish to jump to SB,III's RAILROAD Page
MODEL RAILROADING (continuation)
Great Northern (and Burlington Northern)
Western Fruit Express Reefers and Boxcars*
Image of Westerfield Kit #6002 TYPE 1 AC&F REEFER GN/WFEX Car No. 54198
[The list got so big that I moved this material from the main MRR page 07 May 2001
and then to this separate page 10 Nov 2004.]
As noted in the Berlinerwerke story, I became enamored early on of the
Great Northern - Western Fruit Express yellow reefers* and have amassed quite
a number of models (or kits) of them and their closest relatives; the list
which follows also includes a few which I never quite acquired (so far):
(HO, unless noted) Eff. Date: 05 Feb 00
IT. ROAD TYPE(ice, MODEL MFR'S KIT PROTOTYPE REP.
NO. NO. mech.) BUILDER or RTR NO. CLASSIFICATION RR. MARKS NOTES
--- ---- ---- ------- ----- -------------- --- ----- -----
H00 68232 Ice Mantua (orig.) ???? 40' Wood GN WFEX {wood/metal)#
[Finally got one on 23 Oct 04!]
H01 8100 Mech. Pacific HO G2003-345 50' Steel GN WFCX Golden Spike
H02 9345 Mech. Athearn 5466 57' Steel BN WFCX (outside braced)
H03 71034 Ice Athearn 5216 40' Wood GN WFEX
H04 67908 Mech. Model Power 9054 50' Steel BN WFEX Thermo King (Aluminum)
H05 66347 Ice Suncoast 6006 40' Wood GN WFEX (original, all wood)
H06 7954 Ice Suncoast 6007 40' Wood GN WFEX (modernized, all wood)
H07 71864 Ice Suncoast 6008 40' Wood BN WFBX (BN, all wood)
H08 64040 Ice RoCo 47900 40' Steel BN RBWX* (track cleaner)
H09 8813 Mech. Athearn 50' Steel GN WFCX (outside braced)
H10 69266 Ice (???) 40' Wood GN WFEX (ice platforms)
H11 68650 Ice Train Miniature 40' Wood GN WFEX
H12 49384 Ice Walthers 932-2303 40' Wood GN WFEX (ex-Train Miniature)
H13 49348 Ice Train Miniature 40' Wood GN WFEX
H14 67997 Ice G. F. Menzies 5-112 40' Steel GN WFEX (Athearn metal)
H15 62761 Ice Pacific HO 40' Wood GN WFEX Silver Streak (wood)
H16 67979 Ice D. J. Baker 5-112 40' Steel GN WFEX (Athearn metal)
H17 66357 Ice Life-Like 4711 38' Wood GN WFEX (Bev-Bel paint)
H18 62761 Ice Silver Streak S701-345 42' Wood GN WFEX (wood, 10-52)
H19 64189 Ice Tichy (undec.) 4024 40' Wood GN WFEX (ice platforms)
H20 62761 Ice Silver Streak S701-345 42' Wood GN WFEX (wood, very old)
H21 63175 Ice Red Ball/H. Day (from 99) 42' Wood GN WFEX (printed sides, only)
H22 54198 Ice Westerfield 6002 40' Wood GN WFEX AC&F Type 1 (pix above)
H23 63175 Ice Red Ball/H. Day 99 (R5) 42' Wood, Truss Rod GN WFEX (wood/printed sides, kit)
H24 401 Ice Mantua 739-180 40' Woodside, Heavy GN WFEX (plastic)
H25 49543 Ice Accurail 4803 40' Wood, Fish Belly GN WFEX (plastic)
H-- 67000s ??? Sunshine -- 36' Wood GN WFEX 1927 tall cars
H-- 65000s ??? Sunshine -- 36' Wood GN WFEX 1921 short cars
H-- ??? Ice Walthers 932-952 6-pk 40' Wood GN WFEX
H-- ??? Ice Intermountain -- 40' -- GN WFE? Riveted Sides
H-- 68650? Ice Walthers 932-2507 40' Steel GN WFEX (ex-Train Miniature?)
H-- Ice Huff-N-Puff 40 36' Wood
H-- ??? Ice Huff-N-Puff 71 50' Wood GN WFEX "Angular Roof"
H-- Mech. Rail-Runner/CMS 286 57' BN BNFE WFE
H-- Mech. Rail-Runner/CMS 286-1 57' BN BNFE WFE
H-- 78058 Mech.? Walthers 931-631 40' Steel GN WFEX (ex-Train Line)
H-- 66372 Ice Accurail 4803 40' Wood, Fish Belly GN WFEX (plastic)
H-- 101 Ice MDC/RoundHouse 03617 50' Wood, Fish Belly GN WFEX (plastic) Express Reefer (21 Nov 08)
(22 Nov 08)
O01 9919 Ice Lionel 6-9819 40' Wood GN WFEX O scale, tinplate
O02 72065 Ice Atlas 6737 40' Wood GN WFEX O scale, fifth series
S01 69384 Boxcar American Models 2205 40' Wood, Plug Door GN WFEX* S-scale
N01 8813 Mech. Con Cor 1671-B 50' Steel GN WFCX N scale
N02 64040 Ice RoCo 40' Steel BN RBWX* N scale track cleaner
N03 8812 Mech. Kadee (2 of 6) 70030 51' 3¾"St. GN WFCX N scale, Vertical Ribs
N04 8839 Mech. Kadee (6 of 6) 70030 51' 3¾"St. GN WFCX N scale, Vertical Ribs
N05 72102 Ice Kadee 47330 40' Wd., dbl.sh. GN WFEX N scale, working hatches
N06 812 Mech. Kadee (2 of 6) 69012 51' 3¾"St. GN WFCX N scale, Riveted Sides
N07 848 Mech. Kadee (6 of 6) 69012 51' 3¾" Steel GN WFCX N scale, Riveted Sides
N08 8522 Mech. Con-Cor 001-148211-2 57' GN WFCX N-scale, Vertical Ribs
-- ???? Ice Atlas 40' Wood GN W??X N scale
N09 Ice Intermountain -- 40' -- GN WFE? N-scale, Riveted Sides
N10 9310 Mech. MDC/Roundhouse 8433 57' Steel Plug Door BN WFCX N-scale (05 Feb 00)
N11 60292 Boxcar Micro-Trains 21460 40' Boxcar, Plug Door GN RBWX N-scale, Vertical Ribs
N12 101 Ice MDC/Roundhouse 82904 50' Wood, Fish Belly GN WFEX N-scale Express Reefer (20 May 05)
-- 68116 Ice Intermountain RTR 65505 40' Wood R40-23 GN WFEX N-scale 12#s (17 Apr 07)
-- 73264 Ice Intermountain RTR 67703 40' Wood R40-23 GN WFEX N-scale - large goat 12#s (17 Apr 07)
T01 54739 Ice Railtech/Tempe TEMR12 40' Wood GN WFEX TT scale {06 Dec 95}
Z01 Insul. Micro-Trains 13606-2 40' Boxcar, Plug Door BN BREX Z scale, 40', Wood Sides (ersatz)
Z02 67753 Ice Freudenreich ZF312/ZB312 50' Reefer GN WFEX Z scale, 50', Wood Sides
Z03 68242 Ice PennZee WFE 2007 40' Steel GN WFEX Z scale, 40', Steel
--- ---- ---- ------- ----- -------------- --- ----- -----
IT. ROAD TYPE(ice, MODEL MFR'S KIT PROTOTYPE REP.
NO. NO. mech.) BUILDER or RTR NO. CLASSIFICATION RR. MARKS NOTES
--- ---- ---- ------- ----- -------------- --- ----- -----
Broken Sets (sold off):
-- 801 Mech. Kadee (1 of 6) 69012 51' 3¾" GN WFCX N scale, Riveted Sides
-- 827 Mech. Kadee (3 of 6) 69012 51' 3¾" GN WFCX N scale, Riveted Sides
-- 837 Mech. Kadee (4 of 6) 69012 51' 3¾" GN WFCX N scale, Riveted Sides
-- 840 Mech. Kadee (5 of 6) 69012 51' 3¾" GN WFCX N scale, Riveted Sides
-- 8808 Mech. Kadee (1 of 6) 70030 51' 3¾" GN WFCX N scale, Vertical Ribs
-- 8823 Mech. Kadee (3 of 6) 70030 51' 3¾" GN WFCX N scale, Vertical Ribs
-- 8829 Mech. Kadee (4 of 6) 70030 51' 3¾" GN WFCX N scale, Vertical Ribs
-- 8832 Mech. Kadee (5 of 6) 70030 51' 3¾" GN WFCX N scale, Vertical Ribs
--- ---- ---- ------- ----- -------------- --- ----- -----
IT. ROAD TYPE(ice, MODEL MFR'S KIT PROTOTYPE REP.
NO. NO. mech.) BUILDER or RTR NO. CLASSIFICATION RR. MARKS NOTES
NOTE: None of the above are brass (except in Z) - only wood or plastic models are noted. One is painted silver (Model Power? - I'll have to check). There are (or have been) other sets, as well, and brass and wood models of WFEX express reefers, which are quite different in appearance and are not listed here. This, of course, overllooks the fact that the old Mantua car had a stamped metal body and ends.
Well - I received a mailing (18 Oct 99) from Mountaineer Brass (Route 8, Box 148A, Fairmont, West Virginia 26554-8720, 304-363-8327) which included Shoreham Shops Limited HO factory-finished brass GNEX4 Express Reefer 50' #100-1999 by Boo-Rim Precision and #400-499 (same car, after renumbering in 1945) at $171.
With the digital SLR up and running, here are
the main HO WFEX cars in a single string
(panned in two shots) and a bunch of N, HO, and O cars in temporary storage on the HO Berlinerwerke (29 Jan 99):
S and TT cars are on hand but not yet built;
an ersatz Z car exists (a production model follows:)
WOW! - There are two Z-scale (1:220) WFEX model!
Image of developmental 50' model from Freudenreich Feinwerktechnik.
(image courtesy Freudenreich Feinwerktechnik)
[Thumbnail image; click on picture for larger image.]
Image of pre-production 50' model from Freudenreich Feinwerktechnik (21 Oct 99).
[See FREUDENREICH FEINWERKTECHNIK's site
and, for more detailed info., see my own "FREUDENREICH Z-scale page, et seq..]
and, of course, my ersatz 40' one (see my Berlinerwerke-Z Saga:
Here is my brand-new (17 Nov 02) PennZee 40' steel reefer:
18 Nov 02 photo by and © 2002 S. Berliner, III - all rights reserved
(image to be reshot when I find my missing closeup lenses)
* - This is very embarrassing but I never realized until 10 Nov 2004
that there actually were Great Northern Western Fruit Express
BOXCARS! I had always assumed that the models
were just sloppy versions of the reefers.
# - On 23 Oct 04, I finally found an original Mantua car, a bit shopworn, and missing a
few details, but, for a very few bucks, I have one! Note that it has the old
Mantua loop couplers, which are missing their threaded actuator rods (I have some in
my ancient junk box, if I can find it, but I'll substitute Kadee MKD-5s):
23 Oct 04 photo by and © 2004 S. Berliner, III -
all rights reserved
The step castings are broken off and one end (right, above) is sprung loose,
I'll need to fabricate new door latches (the one on the other side is gone), and
I wonder if ANY amount of cleaning can pry that dust of ages loose from the
roof, but her trucks are lightly sprung and free-rolling and she'll soon take her
rightful place as the queen of my HO string!
I got my Mantua HO set when I was 7; that's well over a half-century ago and
I was pretty darned pleased to spot that car in a pile of junk cars at the
Greenburg Show at Hofstra University today! I am one happy camper!
Ooops! At the Great South Bay Model RR Show on Sunday, 07 Dec
2007, I was wandering the aisles and spotted this for $10:
(09 Jan 07)
08 Jan 07 photos by and © 2007 S. Berliner, III - all rights reserved
Only $10? I scooped it up without haggling and even brought it home and took
these photos before I realized it was a GN "BOXCAR", NOT a reefer,
let alone a WFEX reefer! Oh, well; it is an original Mantua in
its original box. More on this on my Model RR
Page 1. At the very least, they got Rocky in white, as he should be.
I had completely forgotten about the N-scale WFEX 50' wood Express
Refrigerator car (N12 in the list) and, when a friend showed me the
same car, #101, in HO by MDC-Roundhouse, I got wildly excited (who, me,
exaggerate?) and arranged a trade for my almost-identical older car
(decorated for REA):
(22 Nov 08)
22 Nov 08 photo by and © 2008 S. Berliner, III - all rights reserved
The only major difference is that my old one had steel axles (rusted);
this newer one has brass axles. Now, all I have to do is swap
those X2fs for Kadees and re-shoot the picture (focused, this time)
and shoot the N-scale car with it.
There is an incredible simulation program by Charlie Dockstadter on steam valve gear available on the Alaska Live Steamers VALVE GEAR ON THE COMPUTER page.
If you like model railroading nonsense (and good tips), take a gander at Jim Wells' incredible 
and at the AW NUTS Magazine site, "A Publication of the A.W. N.U.T.S. Garden Railway Society".
THUMBS UP!
THUMBS UP! - Support your local police, fire, and emergency personnel!
S. Berliner, III
To contact S. Berliner, III, please click here.
of this series of Model Railroad pages.
© Copyright S. Berliner, III -
1990, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007,
2008
- All rights reserved.
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