6/30/23 - The good news on this project is that the originally selected builder and his operation survived the COVID experience. We have been in contact now for a number of weeks and have been discussing a schedule for this project. It has been a matter of fact even prior to the COVID mess that producing rolling stock in South Korea was extremely difficult with the remaining builders reluctant to invest their time in these types of projects and when willing, the pricing was certainly less than attractive. So far so good and I am hopeful that we will begin making serious progress in the coming weeks.

2/12/23 - Please see the 2/12/23 update on the General News page of this website. Project specific updates will continue to be posted to the individual project sites. Many thanks for your interest!

11/13/22 - It has been a number of months since the last update regarding this project was posted, but If you are interested in this project, I hope that you have followed my General News posts so you know the current status of my efforts to restart this and other projects. In particular, the post dated 10/23/22 offers great hope that our situation following the COVID experience is now headed in the right direction. With the travel restrictions for South Korea lifted, the ability to travel there and manage projects returns! Going forward, there will be new posts here as progress is made, but be certain to continue checking the General News posts, it can be time consuming to post the same information on multiple project sites, so the General News page is the go to place for the latest information.

4/19/21 - With hope on the horizon and positive steps being taken to restructure the supplier situation, this high-demand project is starting to move in the right direction. The PFE project temporarily took a back seat to the new flat car project as a matter of necessity. The reefer project is a much more involved development and doing it totally remotely presented some troubling problems, so the new development process was aimed at a less demanding subject to help refine the new processes. Make no mistake, our PFE reefers are and will remain a definite project, I will move the project ahead at a pace that makes sense and that minimizes the risk to all involved.

I continue to receive numerous inquiries about this and other projects and the interest in our work is sincerely appreciated and valued!

7/27/20 - I have written elsewhere on this website about the challenges currently being faced in arranging for and proceeding with new projects as well as finishing up an existing project. Most everything revolves around the COVID-19 situation internationally and also the deteriorating relationship between the United States and China. Despite these challenges, Kohs & Company has never failed to deliver a project once reservations have been accepted or even withdrawn an active project from moving forward with reservations/production and we are not about to do that now. Needless to say, it is a scary time for the hobby with a number of importers closing their doors or dropping projects for lack of support whether as a result of the virus or other reasons.

Having capable builders is not an issue thankfully, the hangup is more an issue of logistics. For more than thirty years my approach to the business has been literally eyes on the prize with frequent visits overseas to see first-hand how my projects are being handled. With the builders that I have worked with and am planning to work with it's not a matter of trust, but rather a difference in perception at times that can potentially lead to problems and ultimately unhappy customers if issues are not caught early on. As all involved jointly consider the alternatives for moving forward, we are getting closer to a workable resolution despite the prohibition on travel to both South Korea and China.

Aside from the virus situation, the relationship between the United States and China provides additional concern and situations to be considered. I have already written about the fact that some well known South Korean builders actually have their production operations established in China or are relying on a considerable amount of labor by Chinese sub-contractors and of course there are China based companies. The most obvious concerns are about potential tariff impositions or general trade blockades. As a result, I have to be mindful of where our resources are based and where the work is actually being done.

I make mention of these issues not to discourage anyone interested in my projects, but rather to explain what the current situation is and to reinforce the fact that a great deal of thought and preparation is going into my future projects, all with my customers in mind. If you are looking at multiple projects on the website, you are likely to see a similar status report for all my pending projects. The research and pre-planning from a design standpoint for my PFE reefers are complete so it's a matter of waving the green flag for the builder and starting the actual reservation process, I am hopeful that will happen soon.

11/14/19 - The illustrations of the potential paint schemes for this project have been posted on the Project Paint Scheme page of this project site. Totaling nine in number, they cover a time period from 1942 to 1952 and beyond. I anticipate eliminating some of the variations depending on the level of interest for each. You'll note that some of the differences between arrangements are very subtle and of less importance than several of the major variations which will be my primary focus from an historic perspective.

11/05/19 - Since the last posting the remaining two big issues regarding this project have been attended to, both with the help again of Dick Harley. The paint scheme illustrations and project artwork are now complete and will be shared in an appropriate format here on the project website as well as in the project reservation brochure/order form. It was also previously mentioned that there was a concern about the types of underframes that were used on all the rebuild classes of cars included in our project plan, Dick Harley undertook the time consuming and tedious job of analyzing the available data to determine which car numbers received what type of frame during the rebuild process. This data is newly available and has to be incorporated into the project planning which is happening now.

In doing what I do, good reference material, as I have mentioned many times, is the lifeblood of the projects I decide to undertake. I use to buy every railroad book in sight in hopes that something useful could be learned. I've tempered my expectations in more recent times and carefully consider not only the basic content, but also the author/authors involved as a means of evaluating the potential value of the data that is made available. Once in a great while a book comes along that is a must have addition for serious model railroaders, I have mentioned it before, but I have to plug again the book titled Southern Pacific Freight Car Painting and Lettering Guide co-authored by Dick Harley and Tony Thompson. Many people overlook the fact that this book has a comprehensive color section on the Pacific Fruit Express and all of the subtle paint scheme variations that company used on their rolling stock. This is one of those volumes that will be highly sought after once their sold out and you know what happens to the price then!.

I understand that many people often times wonder whether their particular project of interest will ever be produced and our PFE project certainly has had that sort of attention. What I have always said is that there is no point in knowingly doing something wrong, an honest mistake with a project is sometimes unavoidable, but rushing through a project to get it done without the proper preparation should be inexcusable and for Kohs & Company it is. For me, a major takeaway for every project is a sense of trying to do something 'right', because the financial return seldom justifies the level of effort and risk involved to produce a brass project.

6/11/19 - The paint scheme illustrations are nearly complete and once done, that will allow me to move forward with the reservation process. The paint schemes for this project are fundamental to the various version and with a lack of good color photos, the illustrations are likewise fundamental to allow buyers to make choices based on correctly presented information. Dick Harley is doing a fantastic job with the illustrations and with his expertise you can count on the illustrations being correct for the time periods indicated. When it comes to ordering with a specific time period in mind, a scheme dated before or after could well be appropriate for your consist since not all cars had their paint schemes updated on a tight time-line.

Another update will be posted yet this week.

3/22/19 - During the recent O Scale March Meet in Chicago, I had the opportunity to meet with Dick Harley again regarding this project, Dick is one of the most informed resources on PFE cars and has been of great help in formulating my plan for the project. There is a new wrinkle in the design data that now needs to be incorporated into the plan based on Dick's latest research and development of available data. The car versions will remain unchanged, but the new situation is that perhaps approximately half of the fleet of cars in the classes of choice for this project were equipped with Bettendorf underframes. The project was previously planned with the use of built-up frames exclusively. These variations will need to be factored into the project in order to correctly represent the class histories.

Another topic of discussion with Dick was how to represent the various paint schemes accurately especially since this aspect of the project is so very important. I believe we will have appropriate graphics soon that will illustrate precisely the differences. In the meantime, the best resource available to see the paint schemes is the book published by the Southern Pacific Historical & Technical Society titled Southern Pacific Freight Car Painting and Lettering Guide. Dick Harley co-authored the book with Anthony Thompson, but was responsible for the PFE section which was approximately half of the volume, highly recommended obviously!

Stay tuned for more information on changes to the project, I will be pushing hard to get things in order so the reservations can start.

3/12/19 - A critical point has been reached with our PFE project, a production agreement has been reached and we are ready to move forward with the final design and production development. I can tell you at this point that the project will be handled entirely in South Korea by a well established builder that I have had contact with for many years. I will share more information about the builder in due course at it becomes appropriate, the limiting factor at this point is the potential impact on another importer that is purported to have a new project lined up with this builder which would be a conflict, I would rather not deal with the questions that would ensue regarding the other importer's activity at this point. I will have photos of one of the builder's most recent rolling stock projects (which is one of the finest I have seen) at the O Scale March Meet in Chicago this coming weekend so anyone in attendance can have a peak for themselves. The couple of individuals that I have shared the photos with were very impressed by the simplicity, but yet fine detailing exhibited in the subject model. I feel that this builder is a great match for the work we have to do!

7/08/18 - The unique requirements of this project have been discussed with four builders and based on their feedback, I have reached a tentative decision about who should produce our PFE reefers. The decision was based primarily on the outstanding work done on rolling stock projects for another importer, not in the United States. The detail was exceptional on those other projects and there seemed to be a complete understanding of the requirements and more importantly a sincere desire to undertake the PFE project. The project flyer currently on the project download page will be updated near term with a listing and designation of versions, this will be the basis for the forthcoming reservations.

5/19/18 - Final decisions regarding project placement using multiple builders now for our projects will be coming very soon. Following the latest planned visit overseas, there should be little left to resolve. This and several other projects are included in the discussions. I am hopeful to finally have a workable plan to deliver projects at a more reasonable pace.

Please stay tuned.

3/15/18 - There are many questions already coming in about the next phase; for anyone interested in PFE reefers, while you consider the current offering, consider what versions/variations you would like to see in the next phase of this project and please let me know.

3/12/18 - The situation with our new building arrangement is nearly settled and the details of the production for this project are beginning to flesh out. You can see that we have an estimated price which should hold or may slightly improve and the versions and quantity have been settled. Depending on the level of interest, there can be another phase or two to this project including both earlier wooden cars and also steel bodied cars, but first things first. Additional details and reservation timing will be posted very soon.

9/19/17 - This is one of several projects that have been held back pending a reorganization of my production situation which has been made necessary by unforeseen and 'painful' delays with past projects. As has been discussed on the General News page, I am now close to being able to comfortably move ahead with multiple projects and following an upcoming overseas inspection/organizational visit reservations should begin shortly there after for this project.

11/05/16 - A great deal of thought has been given to the planning of this project and I have also reviewed numerous suggestions about what versions and how many variations should be included. Some time ago I suggested that I was considering both wooden and steel version builds and that is still the case, but at this point they will be separate projects assuming the actual support for the steel variations is strong enough. There are just too many significant differences to handle the two major types of cars together.

The focus of the first segment of this project (the wooden cars) will be on the rebuilt series of R-30 and R-40 cars in the following sub groups: 16, 18, 19, 21 & 24. These cars all have either Dreadnaught or improved Dreadnaught ends and do include a number of detail variations that will make this production a real challenge, in addition to working with the real wood sheathing made up of individual planking. The service era of these rebuilt cars extended from the late 30's into the early 60's so the prime modeling period for the vast majority of our modelers will be covered. This range of years will also allow for a variety of heralds on the cars to make things really interesting.

The base version for our steel cars will be the R-40-10's and depending on the level of interest that will be expanded. When it comes to painting, I plan to do something a little different on both segments of the project to provide the variety normally seen in prototypical consists. The overall paint color will be variously shaded slightly throughout the production so that all of the cars will not look exactly alike, this will simulate the variation of painting during different periods when the cars were built or rebuilt and will also provide a hint of weathering which the PFE colors were vary susceptible due to the color pigments.

The pricing, detailing and scheduling are all being finalized as of this writing and as soon as those issue are resolved, the reservations will begin. All current customers will automatically receive the offering information, if you indicate in advance that you are interested in this project, I will make sure that your information is among the first to go out. Please stay tuned, this promises to be one of our most exciting projects!!

11/04/15 - As our focus shifts to our PFE project, I have to acknowledge that there have surprisingly been numerous requests for 'steel' version cars to go along with the wood-sheathed variations that have been planned from the beginning. Based on what I have been hearing from potential customers I can't rule out the idea of these variations, but due to significant differences in the basic construction, steel variations would have to be done as a separate project. If you are someone that would be interested in steam-era steel version PFE reefers, I would like to hear from you to so I can register your specific desires.

5/20/15 - As both of our old 'problem' rolling stock projects are nearing very successful completion, our next rolling stock projects are becoming more of a day to day factor in what we are working on. One of the newly active projects is this one and serious choices and decisions have to be made in the not too distant future. The main issue to be decided is the number of versions or variations that we will be producing and that is related to a consideration that I have not faced to a great degree with out projects thus far. More and more modelers interested in this project are informing me of their interest in acquiring more than just a couple of these models which is wonderful. This is important for two reasons, it will directly affect how many variations we need to produce in order to offer an adequate variety for those purchasing multiples and it will certainly affect the total production quantity. At this point, if you are interested in this project and have thoughts of acquiring multiples, it would be a great help if you would let me know what sort of quantity you are thinking of. I am not asking for firm commitments, that won't happen until the reservations start, but I can seriously use your feedback to avoid your disappointment further into the project.

9/10/14 - This project is already developing into one of our most popular efforts even before the build begins. Our new production arrangement will allow for simultaneous builds, so this project will begin advancing very quickly along with the C&O steel caboose project. I know that many modelers are interested in multiple units for their collections and with that in mind, we are making every effort to keep the pricing as reasonable as possible. A major factor in the cost of these models will be the wood used to sheath the exterior, we have already been experimenting with several approaches to minimize the cost, but we also have to be concerned with the longevity of the material. Once we have decided on the wood process, we'll be able to set the pricing Once the pricing is set, the reservations will begin, so we are getting very close.

2/26/14 - The specifications and version information has been substantially updated to reflect the change in focus for the PFE project. Further decisions need to be made in the near future to flesh-out the number of versions that will be offered along with other important details, but you will now have a better idea of my thinking which has been driven by the extensive feedback that has been received to date. I am still encouraging anyone that is interested in this project to let me know what your thoughts are.

8/13/13 - The updates for this project left off with the idea of changing the prototype versions that we will produce. Although the update page does not reflect it, I have had a number of discussions with people interested in the project that have whole heartedly supported the change idea. We may still produce the R-70's, but it seems that the real interest is in the smaller more typical versions used by the thousands over a period of several decades. What originally caught my eye when considering the R-70's was the combination of wood tongue and groove sheathing with the more modern dreadnought style end bulkheads and steel roof. There are a couple of photos posted below that illustrate the version types that I am referring to.

The photo immediately below was provided by Ernest Albright who lives in the Toronto area, he reports that he took the photo of the reefer on the team tracks on Esplanade Street in Toronto in August 1962. The photo shows an R-30-21 that was originally rebuilt into this configuration in the mid to late 40's, a perfect time period for our current and future UP and SP power.

The next photo is of an R-30-18 from a slightly earlier time period, but certainly still appropriate for our UP 'type' and Challenger locomotives. I am looking at both R-30 and R-40 variations, they look very similar and it's only the underbody that makes the difference, the R-30's having a thirty ton capacity and the R-40's having a forty ton load limit. There are a number of graphics variations so it's very possible to have at least a short 'string' of cars all with very different appearances which makes the project that much more interesting.

Additional ideas and photos will be posted soon, but if you have ideas, please do not hesitate to pass them along.....please!

4/22/10 - You'll notice that the status of this project has been changed to 'Current Project', we are actively planning and working towards our production objectives. The project will be changing considerably from what was originally planned and will include some more typical R-30 and R-40 variations. I have recently received a number of great suggestions and it seems that many new Challenger owners are looking for suitable rolling stock for their new locomotives. More details will be coming soon so stay tuned.

2/02/10 - Shown in the photo below is a sample of the new wood sheathing that will be used on our reefers, the sample is shown adjacent to the prototype for our first project that used exterior wood sheathing, our Norfolk & Western 'CF' series caboose. The new sheathing is made from laminating together individual wood strips to gain the random grain character that more closely replicates the prototype. Once the sheets are laminated they are laser cut to size and shape then treated using a specially formulated sealer to prepare the assembled models for painting.

12/10/09 - As we further consider our options on this project, we are now considering the inclusion of smaller more common variants to accompany the R-70-2. PFE reefers were a mainstay in west coast based consists for years and it seems appropriate that we develop a selection of models to run behind your UP 'types', Challengers, Big Boys and AC's.

Our PFE project site will be 'fleshed out' more in the coming weeks, including photos of the new tongue and groove wood sheeting produced using a new technique. Our PFE reefer project will provide for an exciting and very colorful historically relevant consist.