Can You Say...R.E.A. ?

Greetings Blog Followers,
The newest addition to the layout is a Railway Express Agency Building. The Railway Express Agency, also known as the R.E.A., was a monopoly set up by the the United States government in 1917. Concerned about the safe rapid transportation of parcels, currency and goods during World War I, the Railway Express Agency provided a solution to those problems. After tough times and dwindling freight in the 1960s the Railway Express Agency was sold off in 1969 to five of it's corporate officers who formed the REA Express. The R.E.A. ceased business operations in 1975 after the building of the Interstate Highway System allowed United Parcel Service trucks to offer a better rate to the shipping customers.

The R.E.A. concentrated on express refrigerator shipments from the 1940s on. Freight traffic continued to be profitable into the late 1950s but refrigerator traffic started to diminish rapidly as refrigerated motor trucks became more prevalent. Much of the R.E.A. refrigerator fleet was stripped of it's refrigerator equipment and were in lease service as bulk mail carriers. Many ended their lives in work train service.

Interestingly the R.E.A. formed the Air Express Division in 1927. This lasted until 1959 when the Civil Aeronautics Board terminated the R.E.A.s exclusive shipping agreement for air express shipments. Another interesting tidbit is that the R.E.A.also tried to enter piggyback and container operations without success. Today R.E.A. predecessor U.P.S. ships many of it's long distance shipments as T.O.F.C. (Trailer on Flatcar).    

The R.E.A. building started out as some D.P.M. modular brick wall pieces.

 The building after it's second painting with decals and windows added

 The building has been given train and truck loading docks and some details

 A side shot of employee vehicles, trucks and the shipping foreman on the dock

A late running R.E.A. employee being questioned by the police

 A view of the truck loading docks

 An Aerial View

 Looking towards the passenger station

 Showing both the train and truck loading docks

 The layout corned is now occupied

 The R.E.A. Building is now in service.