Uncataloged O Scale Premier 40’ Steel Sided Reefer Car Announced

October 2, 2026 - M.T.H. Electric Trains has announced an exclusive and uncataloged Premier O Scale 40’ Steel Sided Reefer Car in unique Clover Refrigerator Transit Co. livery for exclusive distribution for M.T.H. Authorized Retailers E-Z Catch, and the Somerset County, New Jersey 4-H Trainmasters. The cars will be offered in two unique numbers, each in extremely limited quantities beginning in October 2026.

Item No. 20-94876 Clover Refrigerator Transit Co. 40’ Steel Sided Reefer Car
Car No. 19001
Early Order Price: $84.99
Click HERE to order from E-Z Catch
Click HERE to download the order form from the Somerset County 4-H Trainmasters.

Item No. 20-94877 Clover Refrigerator Transit Co. 40’ Steel Sided Reefer Car
Car No. 81946
Early Order Price: $84.99
Click HERE to order from E-Z Catch
Click HERE to download the order form from the Somerset County 4-H Trainmasters.

ABOUT THE PREMIER O SCALE 40' STEEL REEFER

The coming of the railroad changed the way America ate and drank. Before the iron horse connected every town of any importance to the outside world, most food was grown or produced locally. The arrival of cheap, fast, refrigerated transport — in the form of the woodsided reefer with ice bunkers at each end — enabled local brewers, dairies, meat processors, and other food businesses to become players on a national scale. Among other things, the reefer enabled Chicago to become "Hog Butcher for the World"; in pre-reefer days, livestock had been transported to local markets and butchered as close as possible to the final consumer.

In the 19th Century, ice for reefers was harvested from frozen ponds each winter and stored as well as possible in insulated icehouses. The advent of mechanical ice making around 1900 greatly increased the capacity of the reefer fleet, which at its height consumed over one million tons of ice annually. Since loaded cars needed to be re-iced about once per day, icing stations were erected around the country on shipping routes that could be as long as coast-to-coast.

Famed railroad historian John H. White referred to reefers as "the most conservative of all American freight cars," as reefers retained wood frames and sides long after other types of cars had converted to steel construction. Steel-sided reefers like this Premier model became common only after 1940, and many wood reefers ran well into the 1960s. Mechanical reefers, with self-powered refrigeration units in each car, became the norm in the second half of the 20th century, and the practice of stopping a train to re-ice during shipment gradually disappeared.

FEATURES

• Intricately Detailed Durable ABS Body
• Metal Wheels and Axles
• Die-Cast 4-Wheel Trucks
• Operating Die-Cast Metal Couplers
• Colorful, Attractive Paint Schemes
• Decorative Brake Wheels
• Separate Metal Handrails
• Fast-Angle Wheel Sets
• Needle-Point Axles
• 1:48 Scale Dimensions
• Opening Car Doors
• O Scale Kadee Compatible Coupler Mounting Pads
• Unit Measures: 11 3/4" x 2 9/16" x 3 1/2"
• Operates On O-31 Curves

EXCLUSIVELY AVAILABLE THRU

E-Z Catch Train Shop
5 Tysen Street
Staten Island, New York 10301
718-727-7373 - Ask for Pat
www.e-zcatchworld.com
e-zcatch@verizon.net

- OR -

New Long Island Paint Scheme Added To Premier RS-3 Production

September 8, 2026 - M.T.H. Electric Trains will be adding a third Long Island Premier O Scale RS-3 Diesel Locomotive to this winter's production run announced during the week of August 30th. The third scheme will feature the classic Dashing Dan paint scheme and comes in two different cab numbers in both hi-rail and scale wheel configurations. The locomotives are expected to begin shipping to M.T.H. Authorized Retailers in December 2026.

Check out all 12 paint schemes by going HERE.

These items are available to order from your local M.T.H. Authorized Retailer.

M.T.H. Electric Trains will be releasing the 2026 Premier O Scale 40’ AAR Box Car in SIX different livery configurations next Spring. Each of these offerings are limited in production and expected to begin shipping to M.T.H. Authorized Retailers in May 2027.

Check out each of these offerings HERE.

These items are available to order from your local M.T.H. Authorized Retailer.

M.T.H. Electric Trains will be releasing RailKing O Gauge 60' Streamlined Passenger Cars in two different schemes this Winter to complement the 2026 Norfolk Southern and Canadian National ES44 Imperial Series diesels announced this past Spring. Like the locomotives these cars will be available in extremely limited quantities and are expected to begin shipping to M.T.H. Authorized Retailers in February 2027.

Check out each of these offerings HERE.

These items are available to order from your local M.T.H. Authorized Retailer.