The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1901-12-16
RAILROAD NEWS.
Preparations For Moving the
California Fruit Crop.
Santa Fe Ready to Do a Big
Business.
5000 CARS OF LEMONS.
Citric Fruit Has Commenced to
Move.
5000 CARS OF LEMONS.
Crop This Year Estimated at
$4,000 Carloads.

Transcontinentaf railroad lines are
preparing to handle the largest crop of
California fruit this season in the his
tory of that industry. Last year was
the banner one, but the shipments this
year are expected to reach far beyond
those of any other season. The number
of cars is estimated as high as $4,000,
and it is possible there will be more.
Eighty per cent of this is oranges, the
remainder lemons, which constitute a
branch of the business that has expert
enced a marvellous growth recently.
Last year the losses were enormous
because the transportation companies
could not handle the output. 1t was an
experience which has kept the Santa F'e,
which is one of the three roads entering
the fruit district, busy for many months
getting ready for this seasons crop 1t
is believed that all the lines are ac-
cordingly prepared for any emergency
that may come. The trouble then was
the lack of motive power and equip
ment- The fruit lay on the ground and
rotted because the railroads could not
get it hauled away. There had been
heavy demands on the locomotives and
the number was not sufficient for what
was required of them.
But since then large additions have
been made to the number of lOcOmo-
tives, through orders with construction
companies; also by building new engines
and repairing old ones at the Santa Fe's
own shops. This number will not eall
below 100, and the class of engines is
such that they will do much more work
than those of the types heretofore in
service. Refrigerator cars in which the
product is handled are comparatively
plentiful. owing to the constant repairs
which have been kept up on them all
summer and fall. They have been put
in such shape that there will be no diff
Guilty in shipping perishables. A year
ago there was something of dearth of
fruit cars, but this did not begin to
compare with the power famine In
some cases the railroads offered to place
the cars on the tracks, but refused to
allow them to be loaded because they
realized it would be impossible to move
them within a period which would in
sure prompt delivery of the loads.
Those in touch with the fruit produc-
ton along the Santa Fe lines say it has
expanded immensely within the last few
years Only a short time ago it was
discovered that the climate. and soil
were conducive to producing lemons.
Now this part of the fruit Industry is
just getting a fair start with 5000 car
loads to it's credit. The growing of
oranges has also gained recently A
few years ago the southern portion of
California was the only district in which
this class of fruit could be grown. Now
the earliest of the seasons crop comes
from the north where the product is
already ripening. The Union Pacific is
doing the greater part of the handling
in that district, and the shipments have
already been begun. The middle sec
ton of California has not yet been
found to be the home of fruit. It is a
grain growing country, and for this it is
quite as much noted as is the remainder
of the state for salubrious climate and
luscious fruits
1t is believed that the main part of the
traffic will not move much before
March. From then on for several weeks
all the lines will be kept busy rushing
the product to eastern markets. There
is a probability that shippers will re-
alize high prices this year.