Post by af3020 on Jun 10, 2023 3:24:23 GMT
Well detailed, prototypically correct, beer reefers are a fact of life in the postwar period. Atlas, for instance has offered a number very well detailed wood sided beer reefers over the years. What isn't generally known is that reasonably prototypically correct beer reefers were offered in tinplate in the prewar period. The tinplate cars were not dimensionally correct but their markings either exactly or very closely matched the markings of the real beer reefers of the time. Bing, Fandor, and Marklin all exported tinplate beer reefers to the U.S. and all three chose the same three brands - Budweiser, Pabst, and Schlitz.
If we compare the scale model of the Atlas Schlitz car to its Bing counterpart the similarities are obvious.
Atlas Car
Bing Schlitz Car
Given the size of the tinplate car some selective compression was needed in order to get the globe and the slogan on the Bing car side. The Atlas car has the ad on both sides of the car but an internet search turns up models of Schlitz cars with the logo on one side only. Since Bing paid close attention to real U.S. railroad markings it is possible the Bing car was based on the variation of the Schlitz car with the one side only ad.
Bing Pabst Car
Bing Budweiser Car
Fandor's offerings matched the graphics of the Bing Budweiser and Pabst cars, however, their Schlitz car was a simple black and white lithographic treatment.
Marklin's offered two versions of the Budweiser car. One of the versions was similar to the Bing Budweiser offering. The same was true for their Schlitz car. Marklin's Pabst car had a completely different treatment with the car painted in blues and grays. The second Marklin Budweiser car did not look anything like the Bing car. It was painted in brown, white, and blue and the ad on the left side was for Malt Nutrine - Greatest of Malt Tonics. It was a 2% alcohol beer advertised as non-alcoholic and was sold as a sleeping aid for mothers who wanted to sleep soundly (wink, nudge, say no more
).It is worth noting that the real world intruded into the world of toy trains by way of the 18th Amendment to the Constitution - Prohibition. Not only was alcohol banned but so was any advertising - this included toys. Therefore after the amendment went into effect the beer cars exported to the U.S. were censored.
Censored Bing Schlitz
One has to wonder how a kid at the time would have reacted to a car like this in his train consist - Who was Schlitz? How did he make Milwaukee famous? ...Hmmmm "That Made Milwaukee Famous"...so maybe he isn't a guy? If not then what was Schlitz?...and if the kid lived in Milwaukee - Why can't I find this guy/thing in my history book?
