Pacific Fruit Express

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

Pacific Fruit Express (reporting mark 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).

In 1923, the Western Pacific Railroad joined the venture by leasing its own, brand new fleet of 2775 reefers to PFE. They were painted in standard PFE colors with only WP heralds on the cars instead of the paired UP-SP markings. The WP cars were all retired by the late 1950s, among the last wooden reefers in PFE's fleet. WP ended its partnership with PFE in late 1967 and joined Fruit Growers Express instead.

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

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.

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 reporting marks were UPFE for cars operated by Union Pacific or SPFE for cars operated by Southern Pacific.

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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.

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".

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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.

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.

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.

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