Western Fruit Express
Western Fruit Express was a railroad refrigerator car leasing company formed by the Fruit Growers Express and the Great Northern Railway on July 18, 1923 in order to compete with the Pacific Fruit Express and Santa Fe Refrigerator Despatch in the Western United States. The arrangement added 3,000 cars to the FGE's existing equipment pool. It was a wholly owned subsidiary of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation, the Great Northern's successor until 2005, when it became a wholly owned subsidiary of Pacific Belt System, after BNSF's share was bought out.
The success of the WFE led to the creation of the Burlington Refrigerator Express in May 1926.
Western Fruit Express Roster, 1930-1970:
| 1930 | 1940 | 1950 | 1960 | 1970 |
| 7,177 | 7,036 | 5,265 | 5,702 | 5,893 |
Source: The Great Yellow Fleet, p. 17.
