50 Years of Freight: Jacksonville's REA Terminal

[thelakelander]

For nearly half a century, the Railway Express Agency shaped Jacksonville's economy and identity, leaving behind a legacy still felt today.

Read More: https://www.thejaxsonmag.com/article/50-years-of-freight-jacksonvilles-rea-terminal/

[Charles Hunter]

Another fascinating bit of local history.

A couple of tidbits about the JTA purchase of the property and the transformation into the bus maintenance facility and headquarters office.

If you look at the photo of the REA site, under the headline "Early Foundations and Expansion" there is a curved building, just to the left of the yellow "REA." That was a rail car repair facility, and there was large turntable in front of it. Rail cars or engines would enter the turntable from a single point, the table would rotate so the car or engine could be moved into the appropriate maintenance bay.

By the time JTA bought the property, only one of those large fuel tanks behind the roundhouse remained - capable of holding 500,000 gallons of fuel. As I recall, JTA used it for a few years, but removed it when structural problems appeared.