Cryo-Trans Refrigerator Cars

Index For This Page

This page was last updated on January 9, 2026.

Cryo-Trans Inc.

(Sources include a wide variety of internet searches, including the abandoned Cryo-Trans website, along with various issues of the Freight Car Journal.)

(These are incomplete research notes. Comment or correction is most welcome.)

The first Cryo-Trans rail cars were delivered in 1986, with several new groups added after that. The first cars were unique in that they used CO2 to maintain the cold temperatures, but in 1998 Cryo-Trans abandoned the CO2 technology and maintained a fleet of mechanical refrigerator cars. Cryo-Trans was sold in 2021 to Lineage Logistics, a large multi-national logistics conglomerate, and later in 2021, Lineage began receiving more new mechanical refrigerators cars.

During the early 1980s the availability of mechanical refrigerated rail cars owned and/or operated by the nation's railroads was becoming a critical issue that confronted the ever-expanding frozen food industry. Rising fuel prices, escalating truck equipment costs, and driver shortages increased the shippers' dependency on the truck transportation that had replaced the railroad systems as an effective mode of transportation.

The railroads have maintained a posture of declining interest towards the replacement of, or adding to their refrigerated car fleets. A couple of reasons are cited for this attitude on the part of the railroads. The first reason was the high cost to maintain the typical mechanical refrigerator rail car. A second reason is the high cost of new equipment replacement. As a result, the availability of mechanically refrigerated boxcars had declined more than fifty percent since late 1970s and the numbers continued to dwindle at a rate of three to five percent per year. As a result, finding an alternative to the mechanically refrigerated railcar became an industry top priority.

Cryo-Trans was established in late 1985. Since that time, Cryo-Trans had evolved into a major source for a 100-ton capacity refrigerated car with its patented CO2 railcar refrigeration technology.

In early 1986, Cryo-Trans introduced to the industry a refurbished cryogenic insulated and refrigerated Plate "C" railcar, successfully transporting frozen product from the Pacific Northwest to the East Coast. From the single prototype test car in early 1986, Cryo-Trans quickly grew its fleet to more than 200 Plate "C" cryogenically-cooled rail cars. The Plate "C" cryogenic car contained a capacity of 4,825 cubic feet in contrast to the typical mechanical refrigerated Plate "C" railcar with an average of 4,200 cubic feet.

Shortly after the introduction of its Plate "C" fleet, together with engineers of the Greenbrier Companies' Gunderson railcar manufacturing unit, Cryo-Trans designed a new Plate "F" 68 foot interior length high cube car with a 6,902 cubic foot interior capacity. Compared to the 4,825 cubic foot interior of the Plate "C" refurbished railcar, the new Plate "F" car effectively increases cubic capacity by 50 percent and nearly 70 percent over the 4,200 cubic foot mechanically refrigerated railcar. With a 6,902 cubic foot interior capacity and an allowable gross vehicle weight capacity of 263,000 pounds, Cryo-Trans' Plate "F" rail cars provide up to 70 percent more cargo space and a weight carrying capacity of up to 40 percent more than the 50 foot conventional mechanically refrigerated railcar.

For Cryo-Trans Plate "F" equipment manufactured after 1995 with the AAR’s new Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW) standards, the allowable GVW is increased from 263,000 pounds to 286,000 pounds. The upgraded GVW standard on newly built Plate "F" rail cars translates into an increase in weight carrying capacity of up to 60 percent more than the 50 foot conventional mechanical car. Today Cryo-Trans operates a fleet in excess of 515 cryogenic rail cars.

Cryo-Trans, Inc. built its first patented cryogenic railcar in 1986 which revolutionized the frozen food rail transportation industry. In the next ten years we built and leased 500 cryogenic cars to the marketplace.

Cryo-Trans, Inc. introduced its patented cryogenic railcar by converting two hundred 60' Plate "C" rail cars that revolutionized the transportation of frozen French Fries. Hence the origin of our name Cryo-Trans!

Cryo-Trans designed a new "prototype" interior length 64' Plate "F" cryogenic railcar (the "CRYX 1200"). This raised the interior inside height 2' and the interior length 4' allowing for two additional layers of product throughout the car and four more pallet spaces, significantly lowering the cost per pound for rail transportation.

1985
Cryo-Trans, Inc. introduced its patented cryogenic railcar by converting two hundred 60' Plate "C" rail cars that revolutionized the transportation of frozen French Fries. Hence the origin of our name Cryo-Trans!

The original Cryo-Trans cars are rebuilt Pullman-built cars bought from the Santa Fe. They have 200 of them. The first Cryo-Trans car (CRYX 1000 "Alexandria") was rebuilt from a FGE mechanical reefer.)

1987
Cryo-Trans designed a new "prototype" interior length 64' Plate "F" cryogenic railcar (the "CRYX 1200"). This raised the interior inside height 2' and the interior length 4' allowing for two additional layers of product throughout the car and four more pallet spaces, significantly lowering the cost per pound for rail transportation.

1987
"Cryo-Trans acquired a number of former ATSF Bx-132 RBL reefers that were rebuilt by CEECO (Washington) into carbon dioxide cooled refrigerator cars." (FCJ #24, 1987, page 4)

1988
"Cryo-Trans received a new-built refrigerator car in October 1987. The car, built by Gunderson in August 1987 is the first refrigerator car to be built since 1982. It is also the first new built (not converted) CO-2 cooled car and has a new AAR designation. "RC". CRYX 1200 is a 173 RC, 89,800 pounds lightweight, 63-8" IL. 6446-cuft , Plate F car with a 12' plug door. The car is named 'Colorado Springs.'" (FCJ #26, 1988, page 4)

Cryo-Trans is receiving another batch of fifty-two cars converted by CEECO to AAR "RC" cryogenic refrigerators. The newer cars have a new slogan on the right side of the car, 'Protecting Today's Perishables For Tomorrow'." (FCJ #30, 1989, page 7)

1990
223 new Plate "F" cryogenic cars were built with an increased interior length of 68' allowing for another additional four pallets. The last cars were delivered in 1997.

1991
"Cryo-Trans has added another 100 cryogenic refrigerator cars to its fleet numbered CRYX 1223-1322. These have no geographic name on the door and instead of having the "Protecting Todays Perishables For Tomorrow" lettering on the right half of the side there is a "Carnation" trademark lettering." -- C. W. Shaver. (FCJ #40, 1991, page 4)

1998
Due to a substantial CO2 price increase, Cryo-Trans made a decision to convert each of the 223 rail cars to mechanical refrigeration. The car length was shortened to accommodate the mechanical refrigeration system. The program continued through 2000.

2003
Cryo-Trans, with innovative engineering, expanded the interior length of its Plate "F" mechanical refrigerated railcar to 72', thereby increasing the number of pallets to further lower the delivered per hundred weight cost.

2013
Cryo-Trans introduces a new 68' interior Plate "F" Insulated railcar.

2017
The CRYX 1200, featuring an interactive display of the history of refrigerated rail cars, is placed on permanent display at the B&O Railroad Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

2018
The Cryo-Trans mechanical railcar fleet has grown to 1,436 rail cars. The Cryo-Trans insulated railcar fleet has grown to 842 rail cars.

January 2021
Lineage Logistics LLC acquired Cryo-Trans, North America's largest provider of temperature-controlled rail cars, further expands the company's transportation solution with the addition of rail. In January, Lineage announced plans to acquire Cryo-Trans, which is best known for owning and operating North America’s largest private fleet of refrigerated and insulated rail cars, more than 2,200 of them. The reported purchase price was $500 million.

Lineage Logistics LLC is a large multi-national corporation with a presence in Australia, New Zealand, Belgium, Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Poland, Spain, England, Wales, Canada, Hong Kong, Vietnam, and a large presence all across the United States.

Lineage Logistics LLC represents the largest network of temperature-controlled warehouses globally, with more than 330 strategically located facilities offering nearly 2 billion cubic feet of capacity and spanning 15 countries across North America, Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and South America. Lineage also offers transportation solutions, including less-than-truckload (LTL) consolidation, port logistics, customs brokerage, import-export, drayage and last-mile delivery.

September 2021
Lineage began receiving new LINX cars built in Mexico, beginning in Fall 2021. The order includes 61 new reefers, and next will 150 60-foot insulated cars.

Lineage is also painting the former Cryo-Trans cars, and applying a new LINX reporting mark, replacing the previous CRYX mark. The new all-white paint scheme includes the Lineage logo and a green horizontal stripe along the roof line. Lineage has retained the car names, unique to the Cryo-Trans fleet.

In 2021, Lineage Logistics acquired Cryo-Trans and placed more orders for the Greenbrier 72 IL 7780 Reefers, which have 7,780 cubic feet capacity and a 72'-3" inside length. The new deliveries came with different features and slightly changed exterior details, including a more prominent notch for the end step on the B-end. The platform and cage around the refrigerator unit changed, and the truck centers are slightly closer. Lineage Logistics continued the tradition of applying a colorful paint scheme and individual car naming.

August 2025
"Cryo-Trans is owned by Lineage now. UP isn't shutting down Cryo-Trans. My guess is to why UP now has ownership/reporting marks on some Cryo-Trans reefers is that these were the one's that Railex had when it was operating (so now officially owned by UP when UP bought out Railex). The big white painted over blank space on the ARMN reefer is where the former Railex logo was located." (anonymous on internet)

###