Western Fruit Express (WFE) was a

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

refrigerator car leasing company formed by the

Fruit Growers Express Fruit Growers Express (FGE) was a railroad refrigerator car leasing company that began as a produce-hauling subsidiary of Armour and Company's private refrigerator car line. Armour controlled both the packing operations and the transport insulate ...

and the Great Northern Railway on July 18, 1923 in order to compete with the

Pacific Fruit Express Pacific Fruit Express was an American railroad refrigerator car leasing company that at one point was the largest refrigerator car operator in the world. History The company was founded on December 7, 1906, as a joint venture between the Union P ...

and

Santa Fe Refrigerator Despatch The Santa Fe Refrigerator Despatch was a railroad refrigerator car line established as a subsidiary of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one ...

in the

Western United States The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the Wes ...

. The arrangement added 3,000 cars to the FGE's existing equipment pool. It is now a wholly owned subsidiary of the

Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation Burlington Northern Santa Fe, LLC is the parent company of the BNSF Railway (formerly the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway). The company is an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, which is controlled by investor Warre ...

(BNSF),

BNSF Railway BNSF Railway is one of the largest freight railroads in North America. One of seven North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 35,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and nearly 8,000 locomotives. It has three transcontinental routes that ...

Class I Railroad Annual Report To The Surface Transportation Board For the Year Ending December 31, 2007
/ref> the Great Northern's successor. The success of the WFE led to the creation of the

Burlington Refrigerator Express Burlington Refrigerator Express (BREX) was a railroad refrigerator car leasing company that was formed on May 1, 1926 as a joint venture between the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad (CB&Q) and the Fruit Growers Express Company. The move help ...

(BREX) in May 1926. Western Fruit Express Roster, 1930–1970: Source: ''The Great Yellow Fleet'', p. 17.

Notes

References

* White, John H. (1986). ''The Great Yellow Fleet''.

Golden West Books Golden West Books is a privately owned American publishing company specializing in American Railroads. Donald Duke founded the company in 1960, and wrote some of its titles. Its headquarters are in San Marino, California. The company's titles ...

San Marino, CA San Marino is a residential city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. It was incorporated on April 25, 1913. At the 2010 census the population was 13,147. The city is one of the wealthiest places in the nation in terms of househo ...

. . *

External links

The Florida Railroad Company Inc. / The Fruit Growers Express Company
History of FGE Transport companies established in 1923 Refrigerator car lines of the United States Great Northern Railway (U.S.) Burlington Northern Railroad BNSF Railway Joint ventures 1923 establishments in the United States {{US-rail-transport-stub