6: This superb photo by Jim Morley at Roseville shows
men actively handling ice. The 300-pound blocks on the
deck are being split into quarters. The man on the apron
is called the “passer,” and he uses a pickaroon to move
quarter blocks over a bridge, to the man working at the
hatch. With the bident, the “chopper” at the hatch chops
the ice to the needed size. – Author’s collection.
6
for loading, this process also meant that projects to repair,
upgrade, or repaint PFE cars were carried out efficiently and
rapidly. This is a major difference from free-running cars (box
cars, gondolas), which might roam throughout North America
for months or years without returning to home rails.
There was also a difference from most types of cars, for which
cleanliness was not important, such as coal hoppers. PFE
strongly believed that carrying food products made cleanliness
essential to customer service. Until the 1950s, PFE actually
washed its cars.
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