Pacific Fruit Express

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Pacific Fruit Express (AAR reporting marks PFE) was a railroad refrigerator car leasing company that at one point was the largest refrigerator car operator in the world. The company was founded on December 7, 1906 as a joint venture between the Union Pacific and Southern Pacific railroads. It began operation on October 1, 1907, with a fleet of 6,600 refrigerator cars built by the American Car and Foundry Company (ACF).

PFE's assets were divided between the UP and SP when the company was split on April 1, 1978.

Pacific Fruit Express Roster, 1907–1970:

1907	1910	1920	1930	1940	1950	1960	1970
6,600	8,100	16,000	40,509	36,899	38,840	28,818	17,648

Source: The Great Yellow Fleet, p. 17.

A magazine ad for the Union Pacific Railroad and Pacific Fruit Express.

Crate label for Hewes' Transcontinental Brand of El Modena, California circa 1930.

1 Paint and markings
2 Legacy
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Paint and markings

Modern cars owned by PFE typically carried both UP and SP heralds and either "Union Pacific Fruit Express" or "Southern Pacific Fruit Express". The AAR reporting marks were UPFE for cars operated by Union Pacific or SPFE for cars operated by Southern Pacific.

Union Pacific gas-turbine-electric locomotive #57 pulls a block of Pacific Fruit Express refrigerator cars past the town of Dale, Wyoming in August, 1958.

[edit] Legacy

PFE's impact is still seen in Roseville, California, site of a major Union Pacific classification yard, where there is a road named "PFE Road".

[edit] References

Sacramento History Online (2004), Timeline - Transportation, Agriculture. Retrieved May 18, 2005 — company startup details.
Thompson, Anthony W. et al. (1992). Pacific Fruit Express. Signature Press, Wilton, CA. ISBN 1-930013-03-5.
White, John H. (1986). The Great Yellow Fleet. Golden West Books, San Marino, CA. ISBN 0-87095-091-6.

[edit] External links

Pacific Fruit Express Company #11207 — photo and short history of one of the last ice-type refrigerator cars built.
Pacific Fruit Express Company #300010 — photo and short history of one of the first mechanical-type refrigerator cars built.
Pacific Fruit Express photo gallery at the Union Pacific Railroad official website.

PFE refrigerator car #458330, photographed at Denver, Colorado in March, 1970. The steel car relies on a mechanical refrigeration unit to keep its perishable cargo within the specified temperature range.

Major Private Refrigerator Car Lines of the United States