I picked up a flatcar with a delightful racing car load from a gent via Facebook (mostly because I liked the load.) The flat and the load are both painted R.E.A. green with logos (even the racing car - see pic.) Neat, eh?

But here’s the question. I was thinking about a caboose and discovered there are Railway Express Agency cabooses available from Aristo.

Then, further searching turned up tank cars, boxcars, and all sorts of stuff!

Researching the original company confirmed that they owned baggage cars to carry all their parcels, and also some refrigerated freight cars - presumably to ship fruit, etc. But cabooses? Tank cars?

I take it this is all flights of fancy on the part of Aristo and the guy who made my flatcar ?

Guess it is well known they had trucks, vans, tractors for baggage wagons, a pistol packing Wilma, and did business in air freight, so those are not in question.

https://penneyandkc.files.wordpress.com/2017/01/pistolpackingmamma1946.jpg

Oh, for entertainment value while waiting for time to leave to orthopedic appointment, what can be found in Google?

Hmm, wonder what the minimum radius of a Sikorsky S-40 flying boat would be. https://www.panam.org/images/igallery/resized/4701-4800/Pan_Am_Sikorsky_S40_being_loaded_with_Air_Express_cargo_at_Dinner_Key-4781-1400-900-100-c-rd-255-255-255.jpg

“Despite the fact that air express was started earlier its real development dates from August, 1934, when the entire network was linked with the domestic air express system of the Railway Express Agency, which gave more than 23,000 express stations in the cities and towns of the United States the facilities for shipping to any point in Pan American’s System. The contract between the two organizations, which runs for twenty years, is ironclad. The benefits to the two parties are mutual. On the one hand, the continents of the world are made available to the Express Agency which was formerly confined to domestic transportation. On the other hand, it has opened for Pan American the possibility for greatly enlarged intercontinental trade.”

https://www.panam.org/pan-am-stories/429-background-notes-on-pan-am-cargo

If you can get out to the Smithsonian they may have some documents which settle the matter.

Summary

Mainly forms, manuals, federal regulations, accounting instructions, and personnel materials. Included are labor agreements, an employee handbook, and information on the employees’ sick benefit association. Other materials include drawings of property owned; and photographs, engineering drawings, technical publications relating to railroad passenger car brake equipment; also a public relations publication, “The Pony Express Story.”

Cite as

Railway Express Agency Records,1898-1969, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Repository Loc.

Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of American History : Archives Center. P.O. Box 37012, Suite 1100, MRC 601, Constitution Ave., between 12th and 14th Sts., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20013-7012. Call 202-633-3270 for appointment. Fax: 202-786-2453

http://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/siris_arc_140327

(https://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cool.gif)

Aristocraft even made an Alco FA1 in REA

Welcome John