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The New Zealand Railways Magazine, Volume 10, Issue 5 (August 1, 1935)

Carriage of Perishable Freights

Carriage of Perishable Freights.

Spring and early summer bring special demands upon the Home railways in connection with the movement of perishable and seasonable commodities, like flowers, fruit and vegetables. This year the spring flower traffic was exceptionally heavy. 10,000 tons of spring blooms (60,000 blooms to the ton) were conveyed from the Channel Islands, Cornwall, Lincolnshire, and other growing districts to London, high-speed trains and fast railway-operated highway vans joining in the flowery flight. At present, the railways are busy transporting fresh fruit from Worcester, Hereford and Hampshire to the London markets. During the summer Hampshire sends 4,000 tons of strawberries to London, while Worcestershire and Herefordshire stations rail about 30,000 wagons of fruit to the metropolis each summer.

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Fruit Special, Southampton-London, Southern Railway.

Fruit Special, Southampton-London, Southern Railway.

Fish is another perishable traffic, for the transport of which the railways make special arrangements. 180,000 tons of fish are landed at Grimsby annually; 253,000 tons at Hull; and 53,000 tons at Fleetwood. Fish landed at the various ports in the morning or early afternoon, is carried by special trains and delivered direct to the London market for sale and distribution in time for breakfast next morning.