The service was called ICE (Ice Cold Express). Bowser makes a model of the trailers. Interestingly they used nose mounted reefer units. There were something like 160 total ReeferRailers built for this service. The train departed from San Bernadino on Friday mornings. The service began in 1999. Service expanded to twice weekly in June 2000. They tried to expand it to a run-through train with CSXT in 2001. But as I recall, east of Chicago, the ReeferRailers ended up in TOFC service, which is probably one reason the service died. My guess is the interline service killed equipment utilization, complicated the management of the equipment and using the ReeferRailers in TOFC service east of Chicago turned this equipment into expensive trailers.

I could turn up nothing about when the service was discontinued, but these things have a way of being born with great fanfare and then dying quietly. I have no idea what happend to the RoadRailers. I would guess they were converted/used as regular reefer trailers after the train was discontinued.

Jason Kuehn