My handout on PFE operations

My current talk on Pacific Fruit Express (PFE) covers the company itself (what it was, what it did), along with a summary of car operations (movement of empties; loading cars; movement of loads; icing, ventilation and protective services; and the car fleet). The emphasis is on understanding the prototype, but modeling comments are offered throughout the talk, particularly about modeling PFE cars.
     Since the prototype operations side is often poorly understood, my handout emphasizes that, and gives an outline summary of how this was all done. The two-page PDF version of it is available on Google Drive, at this link:

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0Bz_ctrHrDz4wbnRWd1pkeE5rWHM/edit?usp=sharing

This is available to anyone to read or download, and to print if desired.
     As I have already mentioned in a previous post, the on-line magazine Model Railroad Hobbyist (MRH), for which I am a regular columnist, has just published a two-part article about PFE. The first part, entitled “Operations,” was published in the September 2013 issue, and the second part, about the “Car Fleet,” is about to be in the October 2013 issue. These and any issues of MRH are available free, to read on line, or to download. You will find them at this link: http://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/magazine/ .
     As with all the talks I present at model railroad meetings, this PFE talk is intended to inform, and to deepen understanding of both the prototype and of avenues to model it.
Tony Thompson