Layout #2, Video #19, Athearn Reefer Boxcars With Sound

[@edeinhorn6016]

Reefer cars: very cool (pun intended). How would I (or anyone) know the two box cars you showed are reefer cars? I didn't see a refrigeration unit anywhere and I didn't see "refrigerator car" painted on the side. Also, you said the sound changes as though the refrigeration unit is running and then turning off. Since these cars don't actually have a refrigerator (I think), does the sound just turn on and off at random times, or can you do a manual override to turn the sound on and off? I'm just curious, which is the reason for the questions. Take care, Ed.

[@Rothstein_Model_Trains]

Hi, Ed. There are two or three clues you can see if you get a close enough look. I don't know if I did get that close in the video though. The first two clues are that there will be a grill area on the side at one end of the car. This is where the reefer unit is mounted and it looks pretty much like the rest of the car but it has some small grills to allow air in and heat out. At the top by that end, you can also see a very short exhaust pipe exiting from the roof. Got to get the smoke out of the way. The third difference is one I am not sure about as a rule, but it looks like it is on these cars. The sliding doors look slightly heavier and have larger bars/locks on them. It makes sense that a reefer would have a heavier door because it would need to be insulated too, or it just wouldn't work very well. I am just not sure if this will show very well on the models. And no, there is no real cooling unit on them, just the recorded sounds. The recordings play automatically when the power is on and cycle on and off. I think there is a random timer on the card playing the sounds, but I haven't tried to check if it is a set time cycle or just random (yet). The only control I have on them is a volume control and I might want to try and see if it is set all the way up. I can barely hear the sounds over the locomotive, but that kind of makes sense too. When i drove a truck, I could not hear the reefer units unless I was stopped and standing outside near them. They really are not that loud.