MSTS - Addon - SLI Union Pacific Fruit Express

SLI Union Pacific Fruit Express

Pacific Fruit Express (PFE) was a joint Union Pacific/Southern Pacific venture which started in 1906. Until the UP merger with the Western Pacific in 1982, the SP and UP moved PFE reefers from the Roseville and Salinas California regions to Chicago, and cities on the east coast. Once the UP/WP merger was completed, the Union Pacific was able to move the reefers almost entirely over their own steel. The UP developed a marketing term for the train, calling it the "Salad Bowl Express", a priority train of perishable goods from California to Chicago. By the mid-1980's, the UP was struggling to compete with trucking companies for the business, however, the train still runs today with more modern mechanical reefers.

The Union Pacific Fruit Express trainset is based on an early 1980's example. It includes 3 8000-series Union Pacific "snoot" SD40-2 locomotives. These locomotives were built by EMD for the UP in 1977 with higher gearing to allow for speeds up to 80 mph. Their original role was to operate with the DDA40X Centennials on high-priority intermodal trains, and were given the title "Fast Forties". When the Centennials were withdrawn from service in 1980 due to an economic downturn, the 8000-series "Fast Forties" remained in service, still appearing on priority freight trains.

The train consists of Pacific Car and Foundry 57' mechanical reefers, painted in various schemes including SPFE, PFE, UPFE, and UPRX. These reefers were common all over North America, and many are still in service today, although the PFE paint scheme has, for the most part, been replaced. Bringing up the rear of the train is the UP CA-11 caboose, one of 100 built by International Car Company in 1979. This caboose model has been revised from an earlier model with changes to the carbody, and the addition of the National Swing Motion trucks which were applied to these cars. These trucks were part of what gave these cars character, as they were a shift away from the typical Barber Bettendorf Caboose trucks which were typically applied to cabooses across North America. These were the last new cabooses to be delivered to the Union Pacific.

Product Features

3 UP "Snoot" SD40-2 locomotives ('Fast Forties")
4 PC&F 57' Mechanical Reefers painted in 4 different schemes ( PFE, SPFE, UPFE, and UPRX)
1 Union Pacific CA-11 Bay Window Caboose
Accurate Cabviews and Physics
Daytime and Nightime Cabviews
High Quality 22khz Audio (including Detroit Diesel reefer generator sounds)
A Ready to Run Union Pacific Fruit Express Consist