Model
K-5 Express Delivery Truck
Railway Express Agency
International Harvester Co. & York Body Corp. – 1945
Railway Express Agency
International Harvester Co. & York Body Corp. – 1945
The
Museum Foundation is currently restoring a historic 1945 Railway
Express Agency delivery truck for interpretive display and outreach use
in conjunction with our museum-support work at Travel Town. The truck
was donated to the Foundation by Mr. & Mrs. Charles Conrad,
formerly of nearby Glendale, California.
The Conrads had purchased the used truck in
the 1960s and had used it as an extra "storage container" in their
backyard for several decades. The historic truck has had a
full mechanical and cosmetic refurbishment, both to restore its proper
visual appearance and to return it to operational use as an
“ambassadorial vehicle” for the Foundation. Throughout the first half
of the 20th Century, the Railway Express Agency was a vital link in
America’s transportation network. The Travel Town Museum collection
currently includes three other artifacts that directly served as part
of the Railway Express Agency operations during the first half of the
Twentieth Century: Southern Pacific Lines narrow-gage Baggage-R.P.O.
Car No. 12; Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Motorcar M.177;
and a recently refurbished Railway Express Agency baggage wagon. The
addition of the 1945 International Harvester R.E.A. Delivery
Truck offers the museum visitors a more complete interpretive
look at the “door to door” aspect of Railway Express Agency
service from
customer pick-up, to depot handling, to long-distance rail
transportation,
to delivery at the final destination. Accolades to the folks at A
& A Fleet Painting in Long Beach for a wonderful refinishing
job on the historic truck!
BUILT: 1945 BY INTERNATIONAL HARVESTER COMPANY
BODY BY: YORK HOOVER BODY CORPORATION
MODEL: K5-21
GROSS WEIGHT: 13,500 POUNDS
DONATED: 2007 BY CHARLES & CAROL CONRAD
SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR PROJECT SUPPORT SPONSORS
Coker Tire Company
Chattanooga, TN
B & B Automotive
Canoga Park, CA
The Conrads had purchased the used truck in
the 1960s and had used it as an extra "storage container" in their
backyard for several decades. The historic truck has had a
full mechanical and cosmetic refurbishment, both to restore its proper
visual appearance and to return it to operational use as an
“ambassadorial vehicle” for the Foundation. Throughout the first half
of the 20th Century, the Railway Express Agency was a vital link in
America’s transportation network. The Travel Town Museum collection
currently includes three other artifacts that directly served as part
of the Railway Express Agency operations during the first half of the
Twentieth Century: Southern Pacific Lines narrow-gage Baggage-R.P.O.
Car No. 12; Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Motorcar M.177;
and a recently refurbished Railway Express Agency baggage wagon. The
addition of the 1945 International Harvester R.E.A. Delivery
Truck offers the museum visitors a more complete interpretive
look at the “door to door” aspect of Railway Express Agency
service from
customer pick-up, to depot handling, to long-distance rail
transportation,
to delivery at the final destination. Accolades to the folks at A
& A Fleet Painting in Long Beach for a wonderful refinishing
job on the historic truck!BUILT: 1945 BY INTERNATIONAL HARVESTER COMPANY
BODY BY: YORK HOOVER BODY CORPORATION
MODEL: K5-21
GROSS WEIGHT: 13,500 POUNDS
DONATED: 2007 BY CHARLES & CAROL CONRAD
| Before: Here is the truck as it looked at Travel Town in 2009. Restoration work was just getting started. Notice the new Cocker tires! |
SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR PROJECT SUPPORT SPONSORS
Coker Tire Company
Chattanooga, TN
B & B Automotive
Canoga Park, CA
| After: The restored truck pictured on the "Red Carpet" on Hollywood Boulevard in front of Grauman's Chinese Theater during it's debut appearance in the Hollywood Christmas Parade in November 2012. |