www.robertsoncounty.info   H E A R N E   O N   T H E   B R A Z O S Introduction • Brazos River • Sterling Clack Robertson • The Hearnes • Hearne • Hearne & Brazos Valley RR • Houston & Texas Central RR • International & Great Northern RR • Pacific Fruit Express • Confederate Cotton Mill • Folklore • Old Railroad Stories • It Happened In Hearne • Early Hearne Churches • Port Sullivan • Organizations • These Are Our People • Old-Timers From Black Jack • Early Mexican Citizens • Our Negro Friends • Not The End • Biographical Sketches • Authors Links To Biographical Sketches For Surnames Beginning With The Letters A B C D E F G H J K L M N O P R S T V W Y Z By Norman Lowell McCarver, Sr. & Norman Lowell McCarver, Jr. Century Press Of Texas, San Antonio, Texas © 1958 by Norman Lowell McCarver Lone Star Printing Company, San Antonio, Texas Used with permission of Norman Lowell McCarver, Jr.  These electronic pages may not be reproduced in any format by other organizations or individuals. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material must obtain the written consent of McCarver family relatives or contact William Kent Brunette, Robertson County TXGenWeb coordinator.  A limited number of copies of this hard-to-find, out-of-print book are available for purchase at $40 each.  To make arrangements (including credit card sales):

Pacific Fruit Express Company

It is through the Pacific Fruit Express Company that the Southern Pacific Railroad Company is provided with refrigerator car equipment for the heavy and fast movement of fresh fruit and vegetables to markets; special equipment for heater service also is provided.

At the time the company was organized by the Southern Pacific and the Union Pacific in 1906 the relatively small tonnage of perishables moving to eastern markets was handled by a limited number of cars owned by private interests.  Pacific Fruit Express started its operation with 6000 refrigerated cars. By mid-1955 it had nearly 39,000 refrigerator cars in service.  Included were 337 mechanically operated "super-giant" refrigerator cars designed to serve the frozen food industry.  Starting in 1951 mechanical icing machines were being installed progressively at a number of major terminals - Hearne, Texas was included in this installation. 

Cars of the Pacific Fruit Express Company operate over most railroad lines in the nation, also in Mexico and Canada.  Icing platforms, icing plants, and car shops are located in 15 states.  More than 465,000 carloads of perishables were handled by PFE in the peak year of 1946.  In 1954 the total was almost 400,000 cars.

The Pacific Fruit Express Company began operations in Hearne in 1929 when a 45 car icing platform was constructed.  The operation of this platform during the peak season requires the services of 30 workmen.  An average of ten to twelve thousand cars are iced at the Hearne platform annually. 

Phillip J. Haas has served the Pacific Fruit Express Company as Agent for the Hearne icing platform since 1929.  The company has recently placed an order for a thousand new mechanical refrigerator cars which will bring the total to 1800 mechanical refrigerated cars on the system.