The Last Of . . . G Gauge 40' Reefers

Hamm's Beer Livery

December 9, 2020 - The M.T.H. G Gauge Hamm's Beer Reefer cars are in-stock and now shipping to M.T.H. Authorized Retailers. The cars are available in limited quantities at your local M.T.H. Authorized Retailer or directly from the M.T.H. website.

About the 40' 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 wood-sided 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.

These cars are still available to order from your local M.T.H. Authorized Retailer. They can also be ordered directly from M.T.H. by calling the M.T.H. Sales Department at 410-381-2580 or by visiting the M.T.H. website.

Hurry Before They're Gone, Just Five Or Fewer Of These G Gauge Items Remain In Stock

December 9, 2020 - Each week, M.T.H. releases product lists spotlighting quantities of Five Or Fewer RailKing One Gauge items that are remaining in our onhand inventory. In many cases, these items will NOT be re-run in the future and these lists could be your last chance for ordering them before they're GONE FOR GOOD. Don't miss out on these items! Click on the product line link below and then any item number in the corresponding list to purchase that item from the M.T.H. Online Store or order directly from your local M.T.H. Authorized Retailer.

RailKing One Gauge

Fourth Archive Auction Scheduled

Cabin Fever Auctions will be conducting the fourth of several auctions of the official M.T.H. Archive Collection from M.T.H.'s 124,000 sq. ft. Maryland warehouse.

The fourth auction is December 30, 2020, and can be previewed online by visiting the auction preview listing.

www.CabinFeverAuctions.com

or call 800-789-5068 or 610-587-8139