RIDE-CT – Classic Cars Celebrating Classic Cars in Connecticut
FALLS VILLAGE, CT – A vintage Railway Express Agency delivery truck that has been fostered for seven years by the owners of Jacobs Garage has found its forever home. The Railway Museum of New England this week paid $12,000 for the 1946 Dodge model and plans to use it for special events and displays.
Orion Newall, passenger operations director of the Naugatuck Railroad, which the museum owns and operates, took possession of the truck on Wednesday and got behind the wheel to bring to the museum’s home in Thomaston, CT.
The purchase ended a lengthy quest. “It’s been on the museum’s list for 15 years to find one of these things,” said Newall. “We’ve been kind of casually looking and it came up, and it’s in the same county as us.”
Newall said the museum has photos from the 1940s and 1950s that show REA trucks parked near the baggage room at the Thomaston train station. Acquiring the authentic REA truck provides the museum with a relic that will attract attention. “The whole point is telling the story and the history, and this helps even more,” he said.
The Railway Express Agency was a package delivery company that operated from 1918 to 1975. Similar to Fed Ex or UPS today, REA worked in conjunction with many of the nation’s railroads.
The owners of Jacobs Garage – Judy and Denny Jacobs and their son Dave – have had possession of the REA truck for seven years. The family rescued it from a frozen field in New Hampshire where it had been decaying after Dave spotted it in an online ad.
“It was in the middle of a field. We had to winch it out. It was a nightmare. Took a couple of hours to get it out,” Judy said. Denny added, “Luckily, we had enough chains in our trailer. We didn’t have an inch to spare.”
The deal came together quickly. The truck was only put up for sale a week ago. “There was a lot of interest in it,” said Judy. “It made sense (to sell it). We really didn’t have a place to keep it.”
Newall spotted the ad on Monday, went to inspect the truck on Tuesday morning, and returned Wednesday morning with a check. He returned to Falls Village a third time on Wednesday evening to retrieve it.
The acquisition thrilled Newall. “They’re rare, especially the Dodge version. They’re usually Fords or Internationals,” he said.
Selling the 78-year-old truck to a railway museum less than 30 miles away in Litchfield County made sense. “We could have made a lot more,” said Judy, who is president of The Falls Village – Canaan Historical Society. “It’s going to a really good home, plus we can go down and visit it.”
The dark green REA delivery truck looks its age. Newall likes the patina, though. He suggested minor restoration of the truck might be done over the coming winter to make it better suit the museum’s needs.
(Photos by Bud Wilkinson)
