vintage railroad "Railway Express" metal strongbox REDUCED 0 REAL HISTORY

Description

Original Metal strongbox used on the railroads in the 1940's.  The sticker on the box is dated 6/1/1946.  It also mentions that there were three pieces at a weight of 200 pounds with a declared value of 0. That was a lot of money in 1946, what could have they been shipping in this box.  The bottom shows rust, the inside looks brand new. The outside shows some were and tear and surface rust and a few bangs her and there. Over all in very good original used condition with a great overall patina.
Overall size is 30.75' long, 12.25" high, 15.50 wide.  There are two clasps that shut it tightly and one clasp for a lock in the middle.
This is a real antique item with a great patina for any decorating situation.
Super rare and scarce.  Will be packed well and shipped in a sturdy box.
WE ALSO HAVE A LISTING UP NOW OF A RAILWAY EXPRES LEATHER HOLSTER ON EBAY RIGHT NOW, THAT WAS ACTUALLY STORED IN THIS BOX FOR THE LAST 5O YEARS OR SO.
HISTORY OF THE 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 federal near-monopoly to ensure the rapid and safe movement of parcels, money, and goods during
World War I
.
REA ceased operations in 1975, when its business model ceased to be viable.
Express delivery in the early 19th century was almost all by horse, whether by stagecoach or riders. The first parcel express agency in the United States is generally considered to have been started by William Frederick Harnden (1812-1845), who in 1839 began regular trips between
New York City
and
Boston, Massachusetts
, as a courier transporting small parcels, currency and other valuables. Another one,
Wells Fargo & Co.
, was founded in 1853 by
William G. Fargo
, a
New York Central
freight clerk at
Auburn, New York
, and
Henry Wells
, a leather worker at
Batavia, New York
. Other parcel express pioneers include
Henry B. Plant
, who formed
Southern Express Company
;
Alvin Adams
, who founded
Adams Express Company
; and
John Warren Butterfield
.
The express business flourished in the latter half of the 19th century, and by 1900 there were four principal parcel express companies, all of which included the rapidly advancing railways as one of their means of transport: Adams Express Company, Southern Express Company,
American Express
Company, and Wells Fargo. Another competitor arrived in 1913: the
U.S. Post Office
with its
Parcel Post
service. Still, private railway express business increased steadily through the end of World War I.
EARLY HISTORY
During the winter of 1917, the United States suffered a severe coal shortage. On December 26,
President
Woodrow Wilson
commandeered the railroads on behalf of the United States government to move
federal troops
, their supplies, and coal. Treasury Secretary
William Gibbs McAdoo
was assigned to consolidate the railway lines for the
war effort
. All contracts between express companies and railroads were nullified and McAdoo proposed that all existing express companies be consolidated into a single company to serve the country's needs. The result was that a new company called the American Railway Express Agency formed in July 1918. The new entity took custody of all the pooled equipment and property of existing express companies (the largest share of which, 40%, came from
American Express
, who had owned the rights to the express business over 71,280 miles (114,710 km) of railroad lines, and had 10,000 offices, with over 30,000 employees). During World War I, the
United States Railroad Administration
(USRA) took over the nation's railroads. Under the USRA, the four major and three minor express companies were consolidated as American Railway Express, Inc., except for the portion of Southern Express that operated over the Southern Railway and the Mobile & Ohio.
In March 1929, the assets and operations of American Railway Express Inc. were transferred to Railway Express Agency (REA). REA was owned by 86 railroads in proportion to the express traffic on their lines; no one railroad or group of railroads controlled the agency. In response to customer demand, REA added a
Chicago, Illinois
-based
refrigerator car
line. In 1927, REA began an Air Express Division.
[2]
In 1938, the remainder of Southern Express also joined the consolidated REA.
POST WORLD WAR TWO
Due to rate increases, express operations remained profitable into the 1950s. REA concentrated on express refrigerator service after 1940, and continued to expand its fleet of express reefers until the mid- to late-1950s, business declined dramatically thanks to competition from refrigerated motor trucks. By this time, overall rail express volume had also decreased substantially.
In 1959, REA negotiated a new contract allowing it to use any mode of transportation. It also acquired rights to allow continued service by truck freight after passenger trains were discontinued. REA also attempted to enter the piggyback and container operations business, without success. Another blow came when the
Civil Aeronautics Board
terminated REA's exclusive agreement with the airlines for air express.
REA EXPRESS AND DECLINE
In the early 1960s Railway Express Agency was renamed REA Express.
[3]
By 1965 many of REA's refrigerator cars, now stripped of their refrigeration equipment, were in lease service as bulk mail carriers. Many ended their days relegated to work train service.
In 1969, after several years of losses, REA was sold to five of its corporate officers. By then its entire business constituted less than ten percent of all intercity parcel traffic, while only ten percent of its business moved by rail.
REA Express became embroiled in extensive litigation with the railroads and the
United Parcel Service
as well as with the Brotherhood of Railway Workers' Union. In November 1975, REA Express terminated operations and filed for bankruptcy. During the strike in October 1974, the first
Altair 8800
microcomputer
was lost, as it had been shipped from Albuquerque to New York heading for Popular Electronics magazine a few weeks earlier via REA and never arrived.
Will quote shipping to the winning bidder, weights about twenty-five pounds, will ship anywhere in the world,
except
Ethiopia, and Russia.  Will not accept buyers with under 20 positive feedbacks.
If any questions, please email us thru Ebay.
Thanks for Looking