Railroad Reporting Marks - Past & Present

handejector · May 12, 2023

Another member, Drewshooter, found this site which shows known marks used by railroad and shipping companies.
He posted it here-
Help smith model 10 Mfg 1960
Old guns sometimes turn up with railroad and/or shipping company markings.
Scroll down to the bottom of the page for the ALPHABETICAL LISTING to select the first letter in the marking.

RAILROAD REPORTING MARKS - PAST & PRESENT

I added this thread to the Notable Thread Index under "General" so you can find it when you need it.

brucev · May 12, 2023

Fascinating. Thank you. Sincerely. bruce.

mikepriwer · May 13, 2023

I have a .38 4" blue 1902 1st change revolver, with the marking "RWY. EX." on the backstrap of the frame. Here is a picture of the backstrap.

mikepriwer-albums-mlp9-bucheimer-clark-leather-picture26134-47824-backstrap-marking.jpg

I believe this is marking for the old Railway Express company. I went through the file that Lee posted, and only found "REA", for Railway Express Agency. I don't know the history of the company, and it's possible multiple names.

The serial number for the gun is 47824, and was shipped July 13 1904 to M W Robinson, probably the factories primary distributor at this point in time. Here is a picture of the serial number on the butt.

mikepriwer-albums-mlp9-bucheimer-clark-leather-picture26132-47824-butt-serial-number.jpg

The gun has the classical barrel marking for this time period. The two-line caliber roll marking is on the left side of the barrel, as shown in this next picture. ( A bit of magnification will show it more clearly.)

mikepriwer-albums-mlp9-bucheimer-clark-leather-picture26130-47824-left-side.jpg

The right side of the barrel has the 3-line patent date roll marking, normally found on the top of the barrel. The 1st engineering change put a shoulder on the barrel, and the earlier roll stamp would not longer fit on the top of the barrel, between the end of the shoulder and the rear of the front sight base. Placing it on the side of the barrel solved the problem.

mikepriwer-albums-mlp9-bucheimer-clark-leather-picture26131-47824-right-side.jpg

The gun shows wear to the finish, but if it rode the rails for several decades, in a smoky baggage car, this is not surprising!

Regards, Mike Priwer

opoefc · May 13, 2023

Mike, Interesting. That's the 1st time I've seen that type of stamping. All the other Railway Express guns I've seen, or owned ,had the REA stamp. Ed

mikepriwer · May 13, 2023

Ed

Did some fast research. The short answer is that Harden's First Express started in 1839, and went through several significant changes. On 6/20/1918 it assumed the name American Railway Express, and on Dec 7 1928 it became Railway Express Agency. I used google to look for the History of Railway Express Agency.

Best regards, Mike

bruce5781 · May 14, 2023

I have an old 32-20 with no stamp on backstrap, but is marked Pennsylvania Railroad Police.

Sent from my SM-G781U1 using Tapatalk

mikepriwer · May 14, 2023

Further research has provided mixed results so far, but is leading me in a good direction. Upon the death of its original founder, the new owner changed the name to Adams Express. There were also several other express companies over the years, with names like American Express, Southern Express, and several others. During WW1, the US Government took over the railroads and express companies (and Smith & Wesson), to ensure the moving of war personnel and materials. After the war, in 1918, the railroads were returned to private ownership, and several of the express companies were combined, and renamed as American Railway Express.

The express companies were also involved in business's other than railway-express package shipping. Adams Express, for example, survives to this day as a closed-end mutual fund, and American Express is, among other things, credit cards, travelers cheques, travel reservations, etc.

While I have not yet found a company named Railway Express, it seems plausible, to me, that they could have stamped something on the back-strap that related to a specific division of the company, rather than the name of the company.

However, and having said that, there are two different books about the railway express early history, and both use the generic name of the business. The titles of these two books are

"Railway Express: An Overview", and
"Ten Turtles to Tucumcari: A Personal History of The Railway Express"

The covers of these two books have the Railway Express Agency emblem. From what I have found, Railway Express seems to be a name that actually means Railway Express Agency, the final name of the company before its collapse.

I'll make a point of updating my findings here on this thread, as I gather more information.

Regards, Mike Priwer

mikepriwer · May 19, 2023

I acquired both of the books I mentioned earlier, and if nothing else, they are indeed interesting. In both books, the phrase 'Railway Express' is used at least 10 times more than the actual name of the company. However, I haven't found any company called Railway Express.

On Jan 1 1918, the US Government nationalized the express companies. Adams Express, American Express, and Wells Fargo were the principal companies involved. On Jan 30 1918 the three companies were sold to the government-controlled American Railway Express Company (AREC). As payment, each company received 1/3 of the shares of AREC. On Mar 1 1929, the three companies sold their shares to Railway Express Agency Inc, a monopoly formed by 86 US Railroads, for a total of $42,000,000.

At this point, it appears the Railway Express Agency consists of all the infrastructure of a package express company. Adams Express had no transportation assets, and became a closed-end investment fund, a business it had started earlier. It's still in that business today, and appears to be the 4th oldest NYSE-listed company, and its symbol is ADX.

American Express, with its travelers cheque business, became a financial company.

Wells Fargo, out of the stagecoach and express company business, became a vey large bank.

My tentative conclusion is that 1918 seems to be the first appearance of the phrase Railway Express, with the formation of American Railway Express Company. Perhaps, at that point, a tally was made of all the inventory, and firearms were stamped "RWY. EX." at that time.

Presumably, 11 years later in 1929, the final upheaval occured, with the formation of Railway Express Agency with a singular focus on the package express business.

Regards, Mike Priwer

Railroad Reporting Marks - Past & Present

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