Even further from New England, but into at least the mid-1980s, my family's shortline in Chester County, PA (Octoraro Railway, now the East Penn Railway) received potatoes from the northwest (Idaho, Montana, etc) in BN reefers, destined for Herr's Snack Foods in Nottingham, PA. No idea if any of this traffic from that region is left today, but given the massive quantities some food conglomerates must use, it wouldn't surprise me. (Herr's is a pretty small, regional company making potato chips, etc - nothing like the size of the national brands. Surprising they were still able to buy and ship in that volume then.)
The BN reefers used in the 80's for this traffic were, let's just say, not the pride of the fleet. They were pretty temperamental, and as a kid I tagged along with my dad on many occasion to check on reefers which ended up online over the weekend. The RR was responsible for monitoring them for proper temperature until they got to Herr's siding.
Wondering if I'll see the Western Route double-tracking finished before I retire...
Photo: Melbourne W7 No. 1019 on Route 78, Bridge & Church Streets, Richmond, Victoria. 10/21/2010