Reinhart Vinegars (now Reinhart Foods) is a company based in Stayner, Ontario that was founded in 1910 and has historically produced and sold a variety of apple products. A freight car was purchased by them in 1964, designated RVLX 101, and subsequently refitted with a specialized wooden tank to transport vinegar. It’s unknown who the car’s original owner or manufacturer was, although we do know it was first built in 1938. RVLX 101 was used to transport vinegar from Reinhart to an industrial customer in Dallas, Texas and it was a regular feature of local freight trains in the Toronto area for several years. We are aware of at least three other wooden vinegar cars that have been preserved in the United States but RVLX 101 is believed to be the only surviving freight car of its kind in Canada.

RVLX 101 was eventually acquired by the Canadian Railway Historical Association’s Toronto & York Division and put on display at their Harbourfront Railway Museum in 1976, just after it opened near Spadina Quay the year prior. The car spent another nine years at that museum before it permanently shut down in 1985, after which it was brought to the John Street Roundhouse where it was stored until another railway museum could be established there. RVLX 101 was donated to the Toronto Railway Museum shortly before its grand opening in 2010 and it currently remains on display in Roundhouse Park. Its exterior has suffered serious deterioration over the years and while we don’t have any immediate plans to restore the car, we are currently in the process of determining the best course of action to ensure this unique piece of railway history is not lost.