Ten Turtles to Tucumcari: A Personal History of the Railway Express Agency - Softcover

Garrett, Klink

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0826330797 ISBN 13: 9780826330796

Publisher: University of New Mexico Press, 2009

Synopsis

From its founding in 1929, Railway Express Agency dominated the transportation industry until the 1960s. In return for a monopoly on passenger train service, the express company was obligated to accept any and all shipments within the United States. REA handled carloads of cattle, race horses, and fruits and vegetables. Radioactive material was moved on regular schedules for the Atomic Energy Commission. When companies or individuals wanted to ship something (even ten turtles) to any place in the world (even Tucumcari, New Mexico), they called REA. The history of REA coincides with the career of Klink Garrett, who began as a temporary employee in Rapid City, South Dakota, in 1934 and stayed with REA until 1973, by which time he was a senior executive and member of the company's board of directors. Garrett spent the first half of his tenure working in small offices, usually one-man operations, in the West. In 1956 he was promoted to a national sales position with offices in both New York City and Washington, D.C. His main job was to coordinate the transportation needs of the Defense Department and the emerging nuclear industry via REA. His entrepreneurial ethic--a combination of extraordinary customer service and good old-fashioned ingenuity--gave him lots of good stories to tell, many of which are related here. His last fifteen years at REA were the years of the company's decline and the decline of the nation's railroads; by 1976 the company was bankrupt and out of business.

About this title

Review

Before there was Federal Express or UPS there was REA, the Railway Express Agency. Even though it pioneered the techniques employed by today's shippers, it succumbed to the same forces that devastated the US railroad industry following World War II.... [Klink] Garrett does more than simply reminisce about his long and varied career. [He and Toby Smith] provide a detailed description of the REA organization, covering everything from waybill preparation to corporate structure. - The Journal of Transportation

About the Author

Toby Smith, an award-winning journalist and author of seven books, is a longtime resident of Albuquerque.

Edition details

• Publisher: University of New Mexico Press
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0826330797
• ISBN 13: 9780826330796
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 186