Refrigerated Rail Cars

Refrigerated rail cars, also known as reefers, are insulated boxcars that keep their cargo at a regulated temperature, usually around 2 or 3 degrees Celsius. The first reefers relied on ice to cool their load, but now diesel-powered refrigeration units have replaced the ice as a more effective way to cool the load. The refrigerated rail car was patented by J.B. Sutherland in Detroit, Michigan in 1867. He designed an insulated car with ice at either end. This allowed air to come in from the top, pass through the compartment, and circulate the car. This was all controlled by the use of hanging flaps that created the differences in air temperature.  Now, we are able to preserve and cool food, which makes people a lot less wasteful and a lot