Guide to the Pacific Fruit Express Co. Drawings MS 852 MS 852
California State Railroad Museum Library & Archives
2019
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
California State Railroad Museum Library & Archives
Title: Pacific Fruit Express Co. drawings
creator:
Pacific Fruit Express
Identifier/Call Number: MS 852
Physical Description:
300 Linear Feet
Date (inclusive): 1901-1981
Language of Material: English
Abstract: This collection includes 7,396 Pacific Fruit Express Company structural and component ice plant and car shop drawings.
Physical Location: Statewide Museum Collections Center
This collection is open for research.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of the Pacific Fruit Express Co., 1985
The Pacific Fruit Express Company (PFE) was incorporated in 1906 and began operations the following year. A joint project
of the Edward H. Harriman-controlled Southern Pacific and Union Pacific railroads, the PFE handled shipments of vegetables,
fruit and other perishables primarily from western growing areas to markets in the northern and eastern states. At its height,
the company had a total of almost 41,000 ice refrigerator cars. To service these, the PFE operated a number of ice plants
and docks, as well as car and repair shops throughout the west. After World War II, the number of cars owned by the company
declined, although their size increased. Mechanical refrigerators began supplanting the older ice bunker cars. By 1972 the
ice cars had been totally replaced. Joint ownership between Southern Pacific and Union Pacific ended in 1978, with the two
railroads dividing the rolling stock and SP keeping the Pacific Fruit Express name.
[Identification of item], Pacific Fruit Express Co. drawings, MS 852, California State Railroad Museum Library & Archives,
Sacramento, California.
This collection includes 7,396 Pacific Fruit Express Company structural and component ice plant and car shop drawings.
Drawings of ice plants, icing platforms, car repair shops and other structures, as well as component parts and standards to
operating equipment are in the collection.
Locations of ice plants include: Roseville, Colton, Los Angeles, Fresno, and Bakersfield (California), Tucson (Arizona), Pocatello
and Nampa (Idaho), Sparks and Las Vegas (Nevada), Laramie (Wyoming), Ogden and Salt Lake City (Utah), Council Bluffs (Iowa),
North Platte (Nebraska), various locations in Oregon.
The Pacific Fruit Express drawings are primarily composed of paper negatives. There are a few drawings that use ink on linen,
pencil on paper, and mylar formats.
Copyright has not been assigned to the California State Railroad Museum. All requests for permission to publish or quote from
manuscripts must be submitted in writing to CSRM Library & Archives. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the
CSRM as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which
must also be obtained by the reader.
See MS 49 Pacific Fruit Express Company Records for information about financial matters, equipment, and structures:
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Railroads--Buildings and structures