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Last Updated: 09 March 2021

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The Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR), also known formerly as CP Rail (reporting mark CP) between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railroad incorporated in 1881. The railroad is owned by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001. As of 1950, the CP owned the fourth largest fleet of box cars in North America.

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Last Updated: 09 March 2021

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The Canadian National was formed in 1919, The railway was referred to as the Canadian National Railways (CNR) between 1918 and 1960, and as Canadian National/Canadien National (CN) from 1960 to the present. As of 1950, the CN owned the second largest fleet of box cars in North America.

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Last Updated: 09 March 2021

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The Northern Pacific Railway (reporting mark NP) was a transcontinental railroad that operated across the northern tier of the western United States, from Minnesota to the Pacific Northwest. The NP merged with other lines in 1970 to form the Burlington Northern Railroad, which became BNSF Railway in 1996.

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Last Updated: 09 March 2021

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Pacific Fruit Express (reporting mark PFE) was an American railroad refrigerator car leasing company that at one point was the largest refrigerator car operator in the world.

The company was founded on December 7, 1906 as a joint venture between the Union Pacific and Southern Pacific railroads. It began operation on October 1, 1907, with a fleet of 6,600 refrigerator cars built by the American Car and Foundry Company (ACF). The company was founded on December 7, 1906 as a joint venture between the Union Pacific and Southern Pacific railroads. It began operation on October 1, 1907, with a fleet of 6,600 refrigerator cars built by the American Car and Foundry Company (ACF).

In 1923, the Western Pacific Railroad joined the venture by leasing its own new fleet of 2775 reefers to PFE. They were painted in standard PFE colors with only WP heralds on the cars instead of the paired UP-SP markings. The WP cars were all retired by the late 1950s, among the last wooden reefers in PFE's fleet. WP ended its partnership with PFE in late 1967 and joined Fruit Growers Express instead.

PFE's assets were divided between the UP and SP when the company was split on April 1, 1978. It is now a UP subsidiary.

Read more: Interchange: Pacific Fruit Express Express Reefers

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Last Updated: 25 October 2021

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Swift & Company (SRLX) traces it origins back to 1855 when 16-year-old Gustavus Franklin Swift, encouraged by his father, started in business for himself as a slaughterer, packager, and distributor of beef.

Swift saw his company grow into one of the nation's main meatpacking companies, with a reach throughout the United States. By 1900, it had also reached beyond national boundaries, opening shops in London, England. At home, the efforts of Swift and others helped transform Chicago into what poet Carl Sandburg styled "Hog-butcher to the World," that is, the world's largest slaughterhouse and meat-processing center. 

Modernization was one key to the company's success. For example, in 1915 Swift implemented a "safety first" campaign, reducing plant-level industrial accidents by 50 percent. By that time, the company had also developed thriving side-line businesses, and though by 1920, under a consent decree, it was forced to dispose of some of them, it still offered various meat and byproduct items at company-owned outlets across the country. Swift had also diversified, branching out from beef to other meats, notably pork. According to its own 1915 company yearbook, Swift was offering a wide variety of products, including hams, sausage, bacon, chickens, eggs, butter, lard, shortening, oleomargarine, bouillon cubes, and various soaps (including scented toilet soaps). Despite being legally required to divest some of its sidelines, in 1920 the company still had sales exceeding $1.1 billion, and by 1922 its branch houses were still selling fresh, cured, and smoked meats, meat specialties, poultry, eggs, butter, cheese, oleomargarine, lard, shortening, cooking and salad oils, and soaps. 

Read more: Interchange: Swift Reefers

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Last Updated: 22 October 2021

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The American Refrigerator Transit Company (ART) was a St. Louis, Missouri-based private refrigerator car line established in 1881 by the Missouri Pacific and Wabash railroads. It is now a subsidiary of the Union Pacific Corporation.

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Last Updated: 09 March 2021

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As of December 31, 1950, the following quantities of gondolas were rostered in North America, according to the Official Railway Equipment Register (ORER). These "Top 22" owners represented more than 80 percent of the total.

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Last Updated: 09 March 2021

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As of December 31, 1950, the following quantities of hoppers were rostered in North America, according to the Official Railway Equipment Register (ORER). These "Top 20" owners represented 80 percent of the total.

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Last Updated: 09 March 2021

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As of December 31, 1950, the following quantities of flat cars were rostered in North America, according to the Official Railway Equipment Register (ORER). These "Top 16" owners represented more than 75 percent of the total.

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Last Updated: 09 March 2021

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As of December 31, 1950, the following quantities of box cars were rostered in North America, according to the Official Railway Equipment Register (ORER):

Read more: Interchange: Ownership of Box Cars by Class I Railroads in 1950