Interesting film from 1952 showing all the steps in building a steel refrigerator car from the ground up. Was filmed at the Despatch Shops Inc. in East Rochester, NY and shows a MDT refrigerator car.

go to http://origin.peg.tv/player/index/T01799?video=46789 then click on "ER Historical Shows" and then "A Day at the Car Shops". Interesting on how they make it look like childs play.

Richard Wilkens

That film is a gem, especially the metal forming and stamping operations. Imagine how much fault would be found with the machinery and hazards in that shop nowadays!

PC

Not when the shop is in Mexico. :(

Great movie, railway car design & building has sure changed since 1951.

Dave Huffman

I notice The Oscars are tomorrow so I'll cast my vote for this film (A Day at the Car Shops) as best picture.

Very true, but for a heavy industrial shop sixty years ago, it's actually a pretty safe work environment, safer than a few shops I've worked in far more recently.

Everything is clean and tidy, with adequate working space, there seems to be decent lighting, short sleeves, safety goggles, and other safety rules are obviously enforced.

Most of the machines are electric or hydraulic, but the belt driven machinery has adequate guarding to protect the workers. Even the table saw has a rudimentary guard that at least reminds the operator of the spinning blade's location.

The controls on the presses wouldn't be allowed today but perhaps the risk increases the worker's awareness and safety ethic. In one of my previous workplaces an operator managed to lose half of her hand on a well- guarded canning machine with two handed start, so it's obvious even "foolproof" safety devices can lull workers into a false sense of security.

Of course the sight of a machinist with his hand on the ways of a big lathe near the beginning of the film, right under the spinning chuck, gave me the willies!

A quick question if I may- have any of those steel MDT reefers survived, either preserved or derelict?

Thanks for posting this!

Steve Hunter

I believe a few survive hither and yon--I know of a couple in a side yard in the vicinity of the Verde Canyon RR, in plain sight of a major highway, owned by an obvious railfan. Unpainted but fairly well preserved in "high desert" air.....

Steve -

Two MDT steel ice bunker refrigerator cars survive at the Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum in North Judson, Indiana. They are MDT #13385 and MDT #14070, both donated to the museum by MDT. If you check out my photo on the recent "Getting to Know Our Fellow RYPN-ers" thread, you will get a photo of my working on cleaning the road grime off of MDT #13385 (modesty keeps me from resubmitting the photo here on this new thread). BTW, neither of our steel reefers was actually built by MDT at their Despatch Shops. Perhaps some of the other surviving MDT cars were actually built there.

Les

Steve -

I found a list I had of existing steel ice-bunker refrigerator cars and here are the other MDT cars that I know of:

#12549 at the Rochester & Genessee Valley Railroad Museum in Henrietta, NY

#13715 at the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum in Baltimore, MD

#13755 at the Fulton County Museum in Rochester, IN

#14053 at the Rochester & Genessee Valley Railroad Museum in Henrietta, NY


There may be others.

Les

Thanks, Les! It's good to see some of these reefers preserved.

Steve

The MDT 12549 was indeed built at Despatch Shops, in 1954.

Also, MDT 14053 (Pacific Car & Foundry, 1958) is used as a display car, with photos and other memorabilia from East Rochester, primarily from the Shops. Both DSI and the village of East Rochester have been quite generous, and helpful with donations and information. That video is among the many displays in the 14053, and DVD copies are for sale through the Store. If anyone is interested in purchasing a copy, please feel free to PM me.

John Redden
R&GV RR Museum