Refrigerated Railcar

The refrigerated railcar created the first long-distance cold chain, letting perishable food be processed in one region and sold fresh in another. Earlier attempts packed meat directly against ice, which discolored it. Chase's design kept the ice in a separate compartment, so Swift could ship beef slaughtered in Chicago to Eastern cities instead of moving live cattle. Major railroads, invested in stock cars and pens, at first refused to carry the cars, so Swift shipped via the Grand Trunk. Reefer trailers, cold storage warehouses, and temperature-controlled parcel services follow the same principle of holding product within a set temperature range from plant to customer.

• Cold Chain ShippingShipping goods that must stay cold
• Refrigerated TrailerReeferTrailer with its own refrigeration unit
• Temperature-Controlled StorageStorage kept in a set temperature range

• Gustavus Swift1839–1903 · Meatpacker, refrigerated rail pioneer
• Joseph Numero1896–1991 · Co-founder of Thermo King

• First Transcontinental Railroad1869 · Rails from east and west meet at Promontory Summit
• SS Dunedin Refrigerated Shipment1882 · Frozen meat sails from New Zealand to London intact
• Penn Central Bankruptcy1970 · The largest US railroad files for bankruptcy

1. Refrigerator car en.wikipedia.org
2. Gustavus Swift britannica.com
3. Swift Refrigerator Line en.wikipedia.org