FreightWaves Haul of Fame: Cole's Express was Maine's finest
A vintage Cole's Express truck. (Photo: Robert Gabrick) The story of Cole’s Express is a classic American “rags to riches” tale. Allie Cole struck out on his own at the age of 10 when he was old enough to understand that his widowed mother could not support him and several sisters and brothers on what she earned as a washer-woman. After leaving Lowell, Maine, Cole supported himself through a series of jobs, including farm and stable work. In 1910, at the age of 17, he was working as a baggage and freight handler at the Enfield, Maine, railroad station. He decided to go into ...
Source: freightwaves.com