The Atlas O Reefers started shipping in May of 2000 and they have come out in waves ever since. They are coveted by many of us in the hobby for their attention to detail and their accurate representation of the original prototypes. They were first offered in the 40' variety, and then recently Atlas has also offered up the older 36' cars. To date, there have been over 70 different unique paint schemes offered - and for most of the designs - the cars come in 2 numbers. There are a few cars that have been offered in 4, 6 or even 8 numbers. In our collection, we have at least one of every paint scheme - and, as of December 2003, have over 160 Atlas O Reefers in total. The picture below shows one of our display shelves with about half of our collection.

The original Billboard Reefers, as they are often called, were a great way for a company to advertise their products. Like moving bill boards, they were seen by thousands as the reefers transported their cargo. Begun in the late 1800's, the heyday of the billboard reefer began with the repeal of Prohibition in 1933. Beer companies utilized the billboard reefer to advertise the returning of their products.

Unfortunately, many organizations argued that the cost of their shipping was subsidizing the advertising for the billboard owner, and there were even situations where a reefer with one owners markings, say a brewery, was sent to ship a product from a chocolate company - or worse yet, a competitors product. As a result of many such complaints, they were outlawed by the Interstate Commerce Commission in July 1934 when they ruled that the lessee's name could be no more than 12" high. By law, all billboard reefers had to be removed from service by January 1937. Of course, many were repainted and continued to provide useful service into the 1960's. 

Atlas O's 40' Reefer Runs:       

May2000                                                                                   

October 2000

April 2001

November 2001

May 2002

July 2003

Special Runs

Atlas O's 36' Reefers:

September 2002

July 2003

December 2003

Special Runs

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Last modified: 11/23/07