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Railway Express Agency records, 1881-1967

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Railway Express Agency
Title
Railway Express Agency records
Dates
1881-1967 (inclusive)
Quantity
5.2 cubic feet, (10 document cases, 1 oversize folder)
Collection Number
Mss 2372
Summary
Materials relating to the northwestern U.S. operations of the freight shipping company Railway Express Agency (REA), consisting primarily of records created by the Seattle office of the Brotherhood of Railway Clerks in their relations with REA. Includes correspondence (1921-1943), bulletins (1939-1963), express rates, delivery sheets, and ephemera.
Repository
Oregon Historical Society Research Library
1200 SW Park Avenue
Portland, OR
97205
Telephone: 503-306-5240
Fax: 503-219-2040
libreference@ohs.org
Access Restrictions

The collection is open to the public.

Languages
English
Sponsor
Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
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Historical Note

The Railway Express Agency had its origins in the overland stagecoach and pony express services that linked the eastern and western U.S. prior to the building of the transcontinental railroad. In the railroad era, express companies worked with the railroads in handling door-to-door freight shipping. By 1914 there were seven major express companies, and these were consolidated by the Federal Government during World War I into the American Railway Express Agency. In the late 1920s a group of U.S. railroads purchased the company and changed its name to the Railway Express Agency, Inc. It had a monopoly on the shipment of freight on railroads and was obliged to ship all manner of goods, including motion pictures, circus animals, and hazardous materials. In 1960 the company adopted the trade name REA Express. In 1961 it formed a trailer leasing company called REA Leasing Corporation, and in 1965 it joined with Seven Arts Associated Corp. and Travel Theaters, Inc., to form REA Express-Seven Arts Transvision Inc.

By the mid 1970s the company's profits were decreasing due, in part, to the domination of the railroad companies, high inflation, and a decline in express shipments. In 1975 it filed for Chapter XI bankruptcy.

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Content Description

The collection consists primarily of records collected by the Seattle office of the Brotherhood of Railway Clerks (B.R.C.). These detail the union's dealings with REA over issues of wages, promotions, and employment classification. Included is correspondence (1921-1943), bulletins (1939-1963), lists of express rates, delivery sheets, signs, tags, labels, pamphlets, and other ephemera.

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

The Oregon Historical Society is the owner of the materials in the Research Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. Written permission must be obtained from the Research Library prior to any use of reproductions. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all the materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use of reproductions may require seeking additional authorization from the copyright holders.

Preferred Citation

Railway Express Agency records, Mss 2372, Oregon Historical Society Research Library

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

The collection is arranged in the following series:

  • Series A: Bulletins and Notices, 1939-1963
  • Sereis B: Correspondence, 1921-1943
  • Series C: Forms, labels, and printed matter, circa 1881-1963
  • Series D: General papers, 1921-1963
  • Series E: Company rules, circa 1946-1962

Acquisition Information

Library Accession 13539, 1976.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Express service--Employees--Labor unions.
  • Express service--United States--Northwest, Pacific--History.
  • Labor unions--Northwest, Pacific--History.
  • Railroads--Northwest, Pacific--History.

Corporate Names

  • Railway Express Agency (creator)

Form or Genre Terms

  • Ephemera
  • Letters (correspondence)

Other Creators

  • Corporate Names

    • Brotherhood of Railway Clerks (creator)

Finding aid prepared by Geoffrey B. Wexler
2006

CC0

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