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Story: Freight and warehousing

Freight train

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Freight train

A goods train pulling refrigerated carriages, loaded with meat, rounds a bend on its way to a port. The specialist transport needed for frozen meat and chilled dairy products was usually provided by the railways. Freezing works were often located on rail lines, allowing stock to be brought in by rail without losing condition, and frozen meat to be carried quickly and cheaply to a port. Coal, on which the works depended, was also transported in by rail.

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Alexander Turnbull Library

Reference: B-064-002

by W. W. Stewart

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page

Matthew Wright and Megan Cook, Freight and warehousing – Road and rail to the early 20th century, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/artwork/23458/freight-train (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Matthew Wright and Megan Cook, published 4 March 2010.