Milwaukee, Wis. - Walthers announces a new run of Gold Line™ General American new paint schemes for its 40' Meat Reefers. These ready-to-run freight cars will be available in July 2007. Single cars will retail for $17.98 each and two-packs at $31.98.

Meat traffic was big business for many railroads in the 1950s, 60s and early 70s. On many roads, long trains of ice-cooled meat reefers were some of the “hottest” trains on the line, moving meat from slaughterhouses to processors on expedited schedules. Solid reefer blocks were given top priority, not only because of the perishable cargo, but to avoid re-icing, which was an added expense.

Although outwardly similar to produce reefers, 40' meat reefers were specially built to haul their cargo. Some cars were equipped with hooks riding on overhead rails, identical to those used in the slaughterhouses and processing plants, to simplify loading and unloading. Meat reefers were cooled with ice, or a brine mixture of ice and salt, loaded through rooftop hatches into bunkers on the ends of the cars.

General American 40' Meat Reefers, the prototypes for these Walthers Gold Line models, were some of the most colorful cars ever, with many wearing billboard-style logos and lettering schemes. The prototypes for these models were easily identified by the belt rail on the car side and their full-height doors; these details are faithfully reproduced on the models. Since the cars operated from the 1940s to the 70s, they’re natural additions to any transition- or diesel-era layout.

As with other Gold Line ready-to-run cars, the models feature knuckle couplers and include a set of modeler-applied wire grab irons; molded-in drill starter points aid modelers in applying these details. Other features include applied roofwalks and brakewheels. General American 40' Meat Reefers are available individually and in two-packs for a total of three roadnumbers per roadname.

Single Cars, $17.98 Each
932-2584 Bookey #65070
932-2585 Schuyler -- WCLX #2099
932-2586 Central Packing #91499
932-2587 Kansas Beef #91662
932-2588 Greenlee #69101
932-2589 Hormel -- NADX #159
932-2590 Spencer #60067

Limited-Run Two-Packs, $31.98
932-22584 Bookey #65071, #65074
932-22585 Schuyler -- WCLX #2107, #2115
932-22586 Central Packing #91495, #91497
932-22587 Kansas Beef #91663, #91665
932-22588 Greenlee #69102, #69104
932-22589 Hormel -- NADX #115, #186
932-22590 Spencer #60064, #60069

HO Scale Gold Line General American 40' Meat Reefers will be available from Walthers in July 2007. For information or to locate a dealer, visit Walthers at www.walthers.com. Call 414-527-0770 or write Walthers, P.O. Box 3039, Milwaukee, WI 53201-3039.