The ''Fruit Flyer'' was a fast overnight freight train operated by the

Victorian Railways The Victorian Railways (VR), trading from 1974 as VicRail, was the state-owned operator of most rail transport in the Australian state of Victoria from 1859 to 1983. The first railways in Victoria were private companies, but when these companie ...

to bring fruit produce from the Mildura district to the

Melbourne Markets Melbourne Market, more formally the Melbourne Wholesale Fruit & Vegetable Markets, is the main wholesale produce market for Melbourne, Australia, and the wider state of Victoria. Located in the outer northern suburb of Epping and operated by the M ...

. It first ran on 13 October 1958."Express Freight Service" ''

Railway Gazette ''Railway Gazette International'' is a monthly business magazine and news website covering the railway, metro, light rail and tram industries worldwide. Available by annual subscription, the magazine is read in over 140 countries by transport ...

'' 14 November 1958 page 592 It departed Mildura at 17:00, loading at Irymple, Red Cliffs,

Carwarp Carwarp is a locality in Victoria, Australia, approximately 36 km from Mildura, Victoria. Carwarp was the home town of Percy Stewart, a founding member of the Victorian Farmers Union, from which the Country Party (now National Party of ...

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

bogie A bogie ( ) (in some senses called a truck in North American English) is a chassis or framework that carries a wheelset, attached to a vehicle—a modular subassembly of wheels and axles. Bogies take various forms in various modes of transp ...

s similar to those fitted on passenger carriages. It initially operated three times weekly on Monday, Wednesday and Friday nights, but within a few weeks this had increased to four times. By 1961 it was running six times a week, Sunday to Friday.

References

{{Named trains of the Victorian Railways Night trains of Australia Railway services introduced in 1958 Rail transport in Victoria (state) 1958 establishments in Australia Discontinued railway services in Australia Rail freight transport in Australia History of transport in Victoria (state) Mildura