These ready-to-run cars feature prepainted and lettered, injection-molded styrene bodies. Models include free-rolling Delrin(R) trucks with contoured axles, truck-mounted Magne-Matic(R) couplers and diecast metal underframes. Cars also feature movable ice hatches and separate foot stirrups and brakewheel.
 
Steel underframes began to replace the truss rods on meat reefers as well as on other freight cars as early as the WWI era. During this period, most new cars had the modern underframe instead of truss rods. Both types of underframes were seen together into the mid-'50s at which time truss rod underframes were banned from interchange service (1952). Although these cars were built about 1931, 36' wood-bodied meat reefers were still being produced in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Some of these cars remained in revenue service into the 1970s. They generally carried light loads and were easier and less costly to rebuild. Swift reefers carrying the "Silverleaf" brand inside the large Swift herald were used for the purpose of promoting their products, most likely special cuts of meat, wrapped in foil. Large numbers of the Swift "Billboard" schemes, of which this is a fine example, were seen in consists in the early to mid-30s.