Cryogenic Refrigerator Cars

The J.R. Simplot Co. can now officially add Othello to its list of 24 processing plants around the world. The plants are in the United States, Mexico, Canada, Australia and China.

Simplot signed an agreement in early August to purchase Nestle USA Inc.'s potato processing business, including three Northwest plants in Othello, Moses Lake and Nampa, Idaho.

The Federal Trade Commission approved the deal late last week, and Simplot took over operations Monday.

The addition of the Nestle plants, which produce french fries and other frozen potato products, increases Simplot's processing output by 50 percent. The company has 12,000 employees and annual revenues of $2.7 billion.

Nestle decided to pull out of the potato processing business after determining growth in other food and beverage sectors would be more profitable.

The acquisition puts the Boise-based company on par with McCain Foods and Lamb-Weston Inc., two of the world's largest potato powers. Simplot is No. 2 domestically, behind Lamb-Weston, and No. 3 worldwide, following McCain and Lamb-Weston.

McCain and Lamb-Weston are expanding on the East Coast. McCain recently announced plans to build a $100 million processing plant in Easton, Maine, while Lamb-Weston signed an option with the Loring Development Co., also in Maine, to build a $70 million processing plant at the former Loring Air Force Base.

In the summer of 1987, Simplot look the lead in the development of these cryogenic cars. The first generation would begin with the purchase of 58 RBL cars from the Southern Pacific and Cotton Belt railroads. Once these 5,360 cubic foot capacity cars were delivered by the Union Pacific to the Simplot car repair facility in Caldwell, Idaho, they were modified into Simplot's 5000 series. Plate C type. Modification included new framing to the bulkheads and floors. Bunker brackets were then welded to the bunker support stringers. Next 4,000 pounds of polyurethane foam was poured into cells of the floor, bulkheads, and ceiling. The doors were removed to attach the plug and insulation. The rest of the plumbing and pipe fitting was then completed. The final stage consisted of adding the fiberglass wall panels, an aluminum T-floor and stainless steel plate to the deck, along with the carbon dioxide manifold. The car was then sent to the paint shop for sandblasting, painting, and stenciling.

The second generation of cars in 1989, was a group of 51 cars of 6,550 cubic foot capacity from Gunderson of Portland, Oregon. These series 6000 ears are Plate F, which are larger than the first generation type. Gunderson built the basic carbody including underframe and running gear, then they were sent to Simplot's rail facility to be outfitted. As with the first run, retrofitting these ears with pretty much the same, except they lacked doors which had to be installed.

[photo caption] The Simplot car repair facility in Caldwell maintains a total fleet of 159 CO2 cars. Most any repair can be handled at the facility with its six full-time employees.

In August and September 1990, Simplot purchased from Gunderson another 50 cars of the same type, which became Simplot's 6100 series. What made these cars different from the 6000 series were the installation and the piping of CO2 under the flooring, besides the standard piping that is run along the ceiling. The second generation has a special T-flooring that when installed had the exposed rows of Ts facing up forming the floor, with the flat bottom section of the piece attached to the frame. This third generation car took the same type of flooring, except it was inverted. The T's attached faced down into the frame, while the deck is completely flat. With some new piping to reach under the flooring, CO can now be pumped under the floor as well, cooling the car faster. At present, there are no plans to build additional CO2 cars. At the Caldwell shop they have six employees to maintain their fleet of railcars. Work can range from repairing brakes, bolsters, trucks and running gear, to carpentry work for repairing the interior bulkheads. Any major work is contracted out.

Simplot developed the frozen french fry in the late 40s, and today is one of the world's largest producers of french fries, supplying many national and regional restaurant chains. Besides french fries, Simplot is a leading supplier of frozen vegetables and fruits under the Simplot Classic label and numerous private labels.

The cars transport frozen potato products from Simplot plants at Hermiston, Oregon and Aberdeen, Caldwell and Heyburn, Idaho. Major points of distribution are Illinois, Ohio, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Florida. The 5000 series cars are used mainly for shorter runs because of their smaller capacity and twelve day maximum travel time that the CO2 is able to handle. The 6000 and 6100 series cars are used for all the longer runs with their larger capacity and fifteen day maximum travel time.