1000 



Transport of Strawberries. 



[Feb., 



TRANSPORT OF STRAWBERRIES 

 FROM THE CHEDDAR VALLEY.* 



A. D. B. Walbank, N.D.A. 

 Ministry of Agriculture. 



A branch line of the Great Western Railway from Yatton to 

 Wells serves the Cheddar Valley district, and the three principal 

 stations, at which fruit is loaded are Cheddar, Axbridge, and 

 Draycott. The bulk of the fruit is dispatched to market by rail, 

 but a small quantity is conveyed to Bristol by road, and an 

 appreciable quantity meets a ready retail sale to the numerous 

 motor-coach parties and visitors to- Cheddar Cliffs and Caves. It 

 is estimated locally that during last season between forty and 

 fifty tons have reached Bristol by road, and about thirty tons 

 were sold to visitors at Cheddar. 



Bail way Arrangements. — The Great Western Railway Com- 

 pany provide special facilities for strawberry traffic, during the 

 season, at Cheddar, Axbridge, and Draycott Stations, and a 

 special fruit train is run when at least six vans can be filled with 

 fruit. The Cheddar Valley Fruit Growers' Association practically 

 controls the available railway transport, and has a strong Com- 

 mittee of growers, which meets nightly during the season. The 

 usual business is to decide (1) whether, in the opinion of the 

 growers, the supply of fruit will warrant a special train the 

 following day, in which case the Secretary of the Association 

 notifies the station master at Cheddar, and (2^ after discussion 

 of ruling prices, the destination of the following day's crop. 

 Non-members of the Association, who wish to take advantage of 

 the through vans, are thus forced to consign to the same markets 

 as the Association. Smaller consignments for other markets 

 are dispatched by ordinary passenger trains. 

 • In all nine special trains were run last year. The heaviest 

 dispatch was on June 6th, when twenty-one tons of fruit left 

 the Cheddar Valley. Special facilities are accorded by the rail- 

 way company for quick transit, to ensure prompt arrival at the 

 early morning markets. 



Types of Vans in Use. — There have been four types of van in 

 use on the Cheddar Valley Line : — 



(a) A. large ventilated van on eight wheels called a "Siphon C" 

 (Fig. 1). This has two rows of shelves suspended by chains on each side 



* See " StrawVrry Growing in the Cheddar Valley of Somerset," A. D. It. 

 Wallmnk, this Journal. Jan., 1921. p. 911. v . .. 



