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Re: Help needed



Tom et al:

I can't tell you how many individual patrons have asked me this same
question in my past years with CA State Railroad Museum Library.

If anyone out there does know, I too, would like some leads.

Last I heard and read, REA completely dissolved in 1967, leaving no known
corporate archive in its broad wake.

For those of you who aren't aware of the impact of Railway Express Agency,
the shortest version is this: REA was formed roughly a century ago by a
consolidation of several dominant express package shippers. Its breadth was
equal to the service reach of the United States Post Office/Railway Mail
Service. Every major passenger train (and plenty of minor ones) had at least
some form -- if not a whole express-baggage car up front which was devoted
to REA use. There were even whole trains of nothing but REA express baggage
and refrigerated cars carrying rush/priority express parcel cargos over
interstate and transcontinental routes.

REA -- until the rise of highway and airline competition -- was the service
equivalent of a combined Federal Express and United Parcel Service, and it's
service was (relatively speaking) just as prompt and dependable.

Kevin V. Bunker
Student Assistant
California State Archives

> ----------
> From:         Tom Berry[SMTP:tberry@HCEA.NET]
> Reply To:     Tom Berry
> Sent:         Tuesday, June 05, 2001 10:09 AM
> To:   ARCHIVES@LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU
> Subject:      Help needed
>
> Good afternoon!
>
> One of our members is looking for the archives of the Railway Express
> Agency. Does anyone know where they are?
>
> Best wishes,
>
> Thomas Berry, Archivist
> Historical Construction Equipment Association
> 16623 Liberty Hi Road
> Bowling Green, Ohio 43402
> Phone 419-352-5616
> Fax 419-352-6086
> tberry@wcnet.org
> http://www.hcea.net
>
> A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List!
>
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> Problems?  Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <rschmidt@lib.muohio.edu>
>

A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List!

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      In body of message:  SUB ARCHIVES firstname lastname
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Or to do *anything* (and enjoy doing it!), use the web interface at
     http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/archives.html

Problems?  Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <rschmidt@lib.muohio.edu>