America's Railway Express

The Railway Express Agency (REA), founded as the American Railway Express Agency and later renamed the American Railway Express Inc., was a national package delivery service that operated in the United States from 1918 to 1975. REA arranged transport and delivery via existing railroad infrastructure, much as today's UPS or DHL companies use roads and air transport. It was created through the forced consolidation of existing services into a national near-monopoly to ensure the rapid and safe movement of parcels, money, and goods during World Wars. REA ceased operations in 1975, when its business model ceased to be viable. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0; additional terms may apply Wikipedia.® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. Image copyright Stan Feldman July 18 1999