Fruit Growers Express facts for kids
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| Subsidiary | |
| Industry | Transportation |
| Founded | 1920 |
| Headquarters |
,
U.S.
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Area served
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Eastern United States |
| Services | Freight Car Repair |
| Parent | CSX Corporation |
Fruit Growers Express (FGE) was a company that leased special railroad cars called refrigerated cars. These cars were like giant refrigerators on wheels, used to carry fresh produce like fruits and vegetables. FGE started in 1920. It was originally part of a bigger company called Armour and Company. However, the government stepped in because customers felt they were being charged too much. So, FGE became its own separate company.
Contents
What FGE Did
FGE took over 4,280 refrigerated train cars. It also got repair shops in places like Alexandria, Virginia, and Jacksonville, Florida. The company had many ice houses and service spots along the East Coast of the United States. These were important for keeping the refrigerated cars cold.
Who Owned FGE?
A group of major railroads owned FGE together. This included big names like the Norfolk & Western and the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad. Sharing ownership of FGE helped these railroads. It meant they didn't each have to pay all the high costs for refrigerated cars. It also helped them handle busy times when lots of produce needed to be shipped.
Growing Across the Country
FGE wanted to compete with other large refrigerated car companies. To do this, FGE teamed up with the Great Northern Railway in 1923. They formed a new company called Western Fruit Express (WFE). This added 3,000 more cars to their fleet.
By 1926, FGE had expanded its services. It reached the Pacific Northwest and the Midwest. This was thanks to WFE and another company called Burlington Refrigerator Express (BREX). BREX was formed with the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad.
Building and Changing Cars
Besides leasing and servicing cars, FGE also built its own freight cars. In 1928, FGE created the National Car Company. This was their own car-building part of the business. FGE became a major builder of railroad cars. They mostly made insulated or refrigerated boxcars.
Types of Cars Built
FGE built "reefers," which are mechanical refrigerated cars. They also made insulated boxcars. These insulated cars were built with wood because wood is a good insulator. They were used for items that needed protection from heat or cold but not full refrigeration.
In the 1970s, FGE started building other types of railcars. They made cabooses, which are cars at the end of a train. They also built equipment for moving containers between different types of transport.
Why FGE Changed
In the 1980s, things started to change for FGE. Trucks began to carry more produce on highways. Also, many railroad companies merged together. This meant there were fewer, but much larger, railroad companies. These big companies had their own resources.
Because of these changes, the need for FGE as a separate company decreased. Today, Fruit Growers Express is part of CSX Corporation. CSX is one of the major railroad companies that grew from those mergers.
FGE Car Numbers Over Time
| 1920 | 1930 | 1940 | 1950 | 1960 | 1970 | 1980 |
| 4,280 | 8,025 | 14,114 | 12,063 | 12,446 | 8,384 | 3,182 |
FGE Locations
FGE's main office was in Washington, DC. They had large railcar shops in Alexandria, Virginia, and Jacksonville, Florida. The Alexandria facility was very busy. At its peak, it could build 1,000 railcars each year. The Alexandria car-building facility closed in 1981. The maintenance facility there closed in 1994. Today, the building in Alexandria is used as the headquarters for the city's DASH bus service.
