Fruit Flyer
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]
| 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 | 
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
    
- "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, Australian National Travel Association, 29 (11): 7, ISSN 0043-0064
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