Railway Express Agency

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Railway Express Agency refrigerator car #6687, a converted World War II "troop sleeper." Note the square panels along the sides that cover the former window openings.

The Railway Express Agency (REA) was a rail express service, at one point the only one in the United States. Originally the American Railway Express Agency, founded on March 29, 1839,^[1] its name was changed in 1927. The company filed for bankruptcy in 1975.

[edit] History

In 1860, there were three principal transcontinental mail and express routes: the first route was by ship from New York to Panama then by portage across the Isthmus to the West Coast and finally back to sea for the last leg to San Francisco; second, the Butterfield and Fargo Stage line operating from St. Louis through the Indian Territory along the Santa Fe Trail and up to Los Angeles to San Francisco; and third, the stage line of Russell, Majors, and Waddell, which traveled from Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas to Denver, then over the Rocky Mountains to Salt Lake City, Utah, and to California terminating in San Francisco.

Early in 1860, the Pony Express concept was formed and operated from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Sacramento, California. The end of the Pony Express came in 1861 when the telegraph line connected Omaha and San Francisco and officially ended on October 26, 1861.

On November 1, 1866, Wells Fargo & Co. purchased the stage and Pony Express operations from Ben Holladay. At this time, there were several express companies; however, by 1914 there were only seven. During World War I, these seven companies were consolidated at the direction of the US Federal Government into one nationwide organization, the American Railway Express Agency. In 1929, the nation's railroads bought the express business and changed the name to Railway Express Agency, Inc. In October 1960, they acquired Fast Service Shipping Terminals Inc. In November 1960, REA Express was adopted as the Company's trade name. In January 1961, they formed REA Leasing Corp, a trailer leasing company. In February 1965, they formed with Seven Arts Associated Corp. and Travel Theaters Inc., REA Express-Seven Arts Transvision, Inc. In 1965, they sold 32 terminals and leased them back. In April 1967, they formed REA Express Canada, Ltd. In May 1967, they formed Rexco Supply Corp. to conduct tire recapping and automotive parts distribution business. In February 1970, they formed The Express Co., Inc. as a subsidiary of REA Holding Corp to conduct an international air freight forwarding business.

On February 21, 1975, the Company filed a petition under Chapter XI of the Bankruptcy Act in Federal Court in New York County listing assets of $41,000,000 and liabilities of $55,000,000. The Company said the reasons for the petition included losses created by years of railroad domination as well as high rate of inflation, a recent decline in express shipments, and limited availability of credit.

[edit] Refrigerator car line

The Railway Express Agency operated a Chicago, Illinois-based refrigerator (reefer) car line beginning in the early 1900s. REA concentrated on express refrigerator service from 1940 on, and continued to expand its fleet of express reefers until the mid- to late-1950s, when business declined dramatically due to the increase in refrigerated motor truck shipments. By 1965 many of REA's reefers were in lease service as bulk mail carriers (stripped of their refrigeration equipment); many ended their days relegated to work train service.

Railway Express Agency, 1920–1970:

*American Railway Express Agency.

Source: The Great Yellow Fleet, pp. 16–17.

[edit] References

• White, John W. (1986). The Great Yellow Fleet. Golden West Books, San Marino, CA. ISBN 0-87095-091-6.
• White, Jr., John H. (1993). The American Railroad Freight Car. The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Maryland. ISBN 0-8018-5236-6.

1. ^ Rivanna Chapter National Railway Historical Society. This month in railroad history: March. Retrieved on March 28, 2006.

[edit] External links

• RAILWAY EXPRESS AGENCY COLLECTION, 1899-1970 Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution.