BRAKES REPAIR

The name, solid cold comes from my all time favorite boxcar: The mechanically refrigerated Solid Cold "reefer". The story of the Solid Cold is as follows: In 1982 Fruit Growers Express, or FGE (owned by CSX) needed to repair and upgrade their 20 year old existing fleet of RBL boxcars (insulated plug door cars with moveable load dividers). 2500 of these RBL cars were to be retrofitted with a modified load divider system, as well as installing Chemply fiberglass resistant lining to the sidewalls and upgrading the cushioned underframe and plug door system.

The new refurbished RBL cars cost a fraction of the price of what a new car would have cost ($12,000 vs $60,000). These rebuilt cars were as good as “gold” and as “solid” as a new car. To market these new cars to shippers, FGE had the new cars re-painted with a 3D looking scheme that read Solid Gold.

The first prototype out of shop (in Alexandria, VA) was to be stenciled “Solid Gold” on the right side. During stenciling however, part of the ‘G’ had slipped and the horizontal leg of the ‘G’ was missing therefore making it look like a ‘C’. The stencil blunder gave FGE the idea to market their mechanical reefer cars in companion-like fashion to the Solid Gold and at that moment the name SOLID COLD was born.

In 1987 CSX replaced their marketing director with someone new. In an effort to establish his “identity”, he changed the “Solid Cold” to “Real Cold”. About 50 cars were repainted in this new scheme. The concept and the individual behind it were laughed off the property. As another interesting note, in 1983 FGE retrofitted 50 RPL cars for Stroh’s beer, in which they installed a 20,000 gal stainless steel tank for moving product at a protected temperature. These 50 cars had “The Chiller” logo in the same script as the Solid Cold cars.

During later years and subsequent changes in ownership, Solid Colds began to bare reporting marks such as SFLC, BNFE, ARMH and UPFE. These days, catching a Solid Cold is like finding a peice of hay in a needle stack. The majority of Solid Colds these days have been retired or upgraded/rebuilt under OT-37 or greater to make interchange rules. Rumor has it that many of the Solid Colds have been refurbished into the new UP Chilled Express cars. But that is another story. If anyone knows more on the whereabouts, history or even wants to trade photos of Solid Cold's feel free to drop me a line anytime."
- loadstone

This is impact area behind new gray water tank location. Note fracture/delamination left to right above two through hull holes. New cabinet dismantled for large fiberglass repair, including glassing over old bilge pump through hull holes. Then new fridge cabinet bulkhead gets glassed to hull to begin final assembly of new cabinet.