Fruit Flyer
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Service type | Freight train |
| First service | 13 October 1958 |
| Former operator(s) | Victorian Railways |
| Route | |
| Termini | Mildura Dynon Freight Terminal |
| Stops | Irymple Red Cliffs Carwarp Hattah |
| Distance travelled | 566 kilometres |
| Average journey time | 10 hours |
| Service frequency | 6 x weekly (Sun-Fri) |
| Line(s) used | Mildura Serviceton |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in) |
| Operating speed | 110 km/h |
The Fruit Flyer was a fast overnight freight train operated by the Victorian Railways to bring fruit produce from the Mildura district to the Melbourne Markets. It first ran on 13 October 1958.[1]
It departed Mildura at 17:00, loading at Irymple, Red Cliffs, Carwarp and Hattah before running express to Dynon Freight Terminal arriving at 03:00. To allow it to operate at the line speed of 110 km/h, the wagons were fitted with bogies similar to those fitted on passenger carriages.[1]
It initially operated three times weekly on Monday, Wednesday and Friday nights, but within a few weeks this had increased to four times.[1][2] By 1961 it was running six times a week, Sunday to Friday.[3][4][5][6]
References
- ^ a b c "Express Freight Service" Railway Gazette 14 November 1958 page 592
- ^ "Express Freight Service" Railway Gazette 2 January 1959 page 8
- ^ ”Fruit Flyer” Railway Gazette 14 April 1961 page 417
- ^ ”By Fruit Flyer” The Age 28 November 1969 page 20
- ^ ABC-TV (Australia); Terry Gallagher (1960), Mildura fruit flyer, retrieved 10 June 2023
- ^ Australian Geographical Society (31 October 1963), "MILDURA'S BIG DAY (31 October 1963)", Walkabout, 29 (11), Australian National Travel Association: 7, ISSN 0043-0064