Western Railroad Discussion > South City Team Track Reefer

Reefer at South City waiting to be picked up. IT's empty. 

Nice ex-Cotton Belt unit. I was wondering if there where any still wandering around.

Nice catch. In 1966-67 I worked in the South Yard at the old Bethlehem Steel South San Francisco Plant, which was sirectly across that team track (and the old brick SSF station). Besides watching the commute parade and freight action, I'd keep an eye out at what was on the team track. One time in 1966 a reefer derailed during the night on the switch leading to the team track. When I got to work Espee had its Bayshore steam hook to help rerailing the car. Oh how I wish I had a camera with me that day.

The reefer business still goes into SF and SSF.  A big cold storage facility on Carroll Street in SF gets reefers, with a unique signal protecting the MUNI streetcar crossing, and then this team track gets used sometimes, and Pacfic Agricultural Products in SSF up the hill gets reefers.

Oakland is also doing a big reefer business, with 6 reefers spotted near the Fruitvale District at a cold storage warehouse, plus UNICOLD (6-8) in the Port of Oakland, plus another transloader near the BART tracks (6-10), plus R & A is now accepting reefers for transloading down near 81st Ave, as DEAN'S REFRIGERATED TRUCKING is nearby, as well.  R & A used to do big coil steel hauls to the NUMMI auto plant in Fremont, but now with TESLA there making cars, they are doing coil ALUMINUM hauls, plus reefer transloadings on their rail spur.  I saw 8 cars there one day last week.

I figure on any given day, 30 reefers are being worked in the SF Bay Area.  Now if only they'd head down to Watsonville for produce loading after dropping their midwest meat shipments at these cold storage places.  That would be good utilization.

So this is how UP is stealing BNSF business, by swooping in and taking cars. (my railfan joke on the day)

I used to a see Cold Train reefers spotted here. Too bad they're out of business. Who are these for anyway?