The Walthers Cornerstone Icehouse and Icing Platform brings back the heady days of railroading when fast freights forwarded meat and produce to market in ice-cooled reefers. From the 1880s to the 1970s, ice-cooled reefers were a fixture of railroading. Solid trains raced across country with their perishable loads riding in long strings of refrigerator cars. Supplying ice for the cars in transit was a huge industry. Railroads built ice houses and platforms, like this kit, about every 250-300 miles. Here, entire trains could be serviced and on the move in minutes. This complete kit includes a detailed icehouse, based on a prototype in Antigo, Wisconsin, plus a modular icing platform, from a Pacific Fruit Express design. Lots of add-on details, including an optional platform roof (used in warm areas to shade ice and slow melting), roof vents and 24 ice blocks are included. The plastic parts are molded in color for easy assembly and complete instructions are provided.