Looking for something cool to add to your N scale freight car fleet? Then you’ll want to check out the Santa Fe Refrigerator Department (SFRD) class RR-56, RR-60, and RR-61 mechanical reefers from Rapido Trains. The models feature plastic construction, factory-applied details, and body-mounted couplers.
Prototype history
The 2,995-cubic-foot capacity class RR-56 cars (SFRD 2000-2019, 2020-2188, and 2500-2510) were built at the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe shops in Wichita, Kan., in 1955. Between 1958 and 1960, class RR-60 (SFRD 2189-2213) and RR-61 (SFRD 2214-2238 and 2239-2263) cars were constructed. The reefers followed the lines of the class RR-56 cars but had extra insulation.
Our review sample is decorated as SFRD No. 2164, part of the 2020- 2188 series. As built, the car wore SFRD reporting marks. Between 1963 and 1965, the reporting marks were changed to SFRP. In 1979, cars from the 2020-2188 series were converted from mechanical reefers to insulated boxcars.
Model features
The Rapido refrigerator car has a one-piece plastic body with a mix of freestanding and molded details. The door rods, latches, and lower door track are a single plastic casting. The side and end ladders are also factory applied. On the B end of the car, the Champion brake wheel, hand brake, retaining valve, and brake platform are all separately applied.
Molded details include stirrup steps, grab irons, and route and tack boards. The bump-out along the roofline to the right of the running board on the B end is the diesel exhaust port.
A see-through, etched-metal running board with wire corner grab irons is attached to the car’s roof. From the box, the hatch cover for the roof vent on the B end is closed. A modeler-installed open hatch cover is included. The vent has an etched-metal grill.
The sides on the B end also have see-through grills. A Trane diesel generator, attached to the top of the underbody, is visible through the grills.
The underbody is a separate plastic casting. Two steel weights are attached to the top with screws. The bottom of the underbody has molded floor board, crossmember, body bolster, and center sill detail. The four 100-gallon fuel tanks and battery box are also molded.
A separate plastic casting for the AB brake system includes the air reservoir, brake cylinder, control valve, and related pipes, rods, and levers. The protection bracket for the fuel line is also depicted. Though much of the brake pipe is molded, the angle cock and air hose on both ends are factory-installed parts.
Model vs. prototype
The model we received is neatly painted in its as-built scheme with Refrigerator Yellow sides and ends, Baltic Blue doors, and black side sill support tabs and underframe. The grayish-brown roof color depicts car cement covered with slate granules.
Graphic placement matches prototype images in Mechanical Refrigerator Cars and Insulated Refrigerator Cars of the Santa Fe Railway 1949-1988 by John B. Moore Jr. (Santa Fe Railway Historical & Modeling Society, 2007). The dimensions of the N scale car closely follow data published in the book.
To see how the model performed in an operating layout environment, I put the refrigerator car in a train on our Milwaukee, Racine & Troy State Line Route. The reefer ran without issue while being pushed and pulled around the layout’s 18″ radius curves and through the No. 6 turnouts.
Rapido offers the class RR-56, RR-60, and RR-61 mechanical reefers in multiple paint schemes covering their service lives — the full-size BNSF rail train buffer car lasted until 2009! Regardless your modeling era, these cars will add a splash of color to your 1:160 rolling stock fleet.
Facts & features
Price: Single car, $41.95; four-pack, $167.80
Manufacturer
Rapido Trains
382 High St.
Buffalo, NY 14204
rapidotrains.com
Era: 1955 to 1963-1965 (as decorated)
Road names: Santa Fe Refrigerator Department (SFRD reporting marks [RR-56, RR-60, and RR-61] and SFRP marks [RR-56] in multiple paint schemes); Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe (RR-56, silver maintenance-of-way scheme); and Burlington Northern Santa Fe (RR-56, silver rail train buffer car scheme).
Features
- 33″ metal wheelsets, correctly gauged
- Body-mounted couplers, at correct height
- Weight: 1.2 ounces, .1 ounce too heavy per National Model Railroad Association Recommended Practice 20.1
