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Author Topic: Pony express was faster than USPS  (Read 1997 times)

Online rollingb

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Pony express was faster than USPS
« on: August 01, 2020, 03:52:59 PM »
Here's something a bit interesting to think about over the weekend,..........

It is 1,379 miles from Phillipsburg, KS -to- Kunkletown, PA,.... and it took the USPS 11+ days to deliver a money order in 2020.

It is 1,663 miles from St. Joseph, MO -to- Sacramento, CA,.... and the Pony Express covered that distance in 7 days and 17 hours on horse-back when delivering President Abraham Lincoln's inaugural address to the west coast in 1861.

Kind of interesting, huh?
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Online Hank in WV

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Re: Pony express was faster than USPS
« Reply #1 on: August 01, 2020, 05:21:01 PM »
Probably less traffic... :luff:
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Re: Pony express was faster than USPS
« Reply #2 on: August 01, 2020, 07:00:57 PM »
Thats about par for the course for the USPS, I sent a shooting bag that I made for Bigsmoke some years back to him Priority mail with tracking from just outside Seattle to Morro Bay Ca, ( about 1700 miles) PRIORITY MAIL 3 day delivery  with tracking, we watched the box go from here, to City of Industry south of LA, ( Morro Bay is at least 3 hours north of there) to Phoenix,AZ, to some po dunk town in Texas, to Louisiana? John may remember, then back to Pheonix, to LA then finally 2 Smoke, 15 day journey!
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Online Bigsmoke

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Re: Pony express was faster than USPS
« Reply #3 on: August 01, 2020, 07:16:14 PM »
Kinda makes you glad they don't charge you by the actual mile traveled, huh?
Yep, I remember that fiasco.
But it ain't nuttin' like what the airlines can do with a suitcase.  My suitcases have more miles on them than I do.
But really, when you get right down to it, when you consider the number of pieces of mail and the number of packages that they process, you gotta admit, they do a pretty awesome job.  Same with UPS and FedEx.
John (Bigsmoke)
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Re: Pony express was faster than USPS
« Reply #4 on: August 01, 2020, 09:11:12 PM »
Kinda makes you glad they don't charge you by the actual mile traveled, huh?
Yep, I remember that fiasco.
But it ain't nuttin' like what the airlines can do with a suitcase.  My suitcases have more miles on them than I do.
But really, when you get right down to it, when you consider the number of pieces of mail and the number of packages that they process, you gotta admit, they do a pretty awesome job.  Same with UPS and FedEx.
John (Bigsmoke)


Yea your correct as far as the USPS in all the years I've been dealing with shipping ML stuff PLUS literally the thousands of packages I've sent and received buying and selling Boy Scout memorabilia on ebay (since it's inception) the USPS have lost only a few items or delivered to wrong place,NOW UPS on the other hand has screwed up more deliveries to me and are slower than hell! just 2 weeks ago I ordered 2 16oz cans of Ballistol on ebay from a seller in Israel, 17.50 shipped each, best price on ebay or Amazon, made it to the states  in 3 days via whoever they use for international shipping, was transferred to UPS in NJ 9 days later the tracking said it was delivered to my front door, WE WERE HOME ALL DAY WITH THE FRONT DOOR AND WINDOW WIDE OPEN been a bit warm here,  from where we both sit we can see the porch and the driveway and street, I watched the UPS truck drive down the street passed us, thought maybe it was on another truck, checked the tracking at 3:30 and it said it was delivered at 2:20, still haven't seen the package, filed a claim with ebay and was refunded, hope whoever got my Ballistol actually knows what it's used for! I HAVE NO USE FOR UPS AT ALL!, fed ex has been great with any deliveries I've had shipped from sellers and their delivery time is half of Browns!
Jim Smith
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Online Bigsmoke

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Re: Pony express was faster than USPS
« Reply #5 on: August 01, 2020, 11:20:04 PM »
I had a problem with FedEx a while back.  The guys down at Guns and Ammo magazine, I think it was, wanted to do a story about my itty, bitty 8 bore double rifle, so I sent it down via UPS.  They received my little popgun, did some photo work with it, took it out and test fired it, packed it up and sent it back via FedEx.
They used my original packing.  It was a Doscosil plastic gun case with layers of cardboard fore and aft to keep the rifle from sliding back and forth.  So, you have 3 or 4 layer of cardboard in front of the muzzle, and about the same in back.  Not much room for movement inside the case.  Then you have the thickness of the plastic case walls.  Then you have maybe four layers of cardboard where the endflaps of the box cross over.
So, a few days after it was sent off to me, I receive the delivery.  I just happen to look at the end of the box and I see the muzzle of the rifle sticking through the box.  What the ??????  I call the driver's attention  to it and he was sort of blasee about it.  Turn it in, he said and walked away.
So, I opened the box and the case and looked at the rifle.  Sure enough, the muzzle was bent in on the left barrel.  I have no idea how high that gun had to be when it dropped, but to get through all that, and then bend in the edge of the muzzle, it had to have had quite a shock.
Fortunately, when the rifle was shipped they insured it.  And it cost FedEx dearly. Had to disassemble the barrel set and cut about an inch off the tubes, then put the gun back together, then test fire it to re-regulate them, then solder the ribs back on then reblue the barrels.  What a PITA.  Plus I was planning on using that rifle on my buffalo hunt that year.  Didn't happen, used my 12 bore rifle instead.  It was all good.  But I did want to see what that rifle would do to an 1,800 pound critter.  Guess I'll never know.  The rifle has gone down the trail since then.

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Offline Oldetexian

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Re: Pony express was faster than USPS
« Reply #6 on: August 02, 2020, 06:39:09 AM »
As slow as USPS has been, it is now getting even slower due to the intentional efforts of the new Postmaster General.  ;banghead;
He needs to be taken out behind the barn and given a good "military style" talking to...just my humble opinion, of course.
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Online dmarsh

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Pony express was faster than USPS
« Reply #7 on: August 02, 2020, 10:08:59 AM »
Generally I was pleased with USPS up until about a month ago.  Here is why it has changed.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/us-postmaster-general-tells-postal-workers-to-leave-mail-behind-if-it-slows-down-their-route/ar-BB16Jyzg

dave
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Offline Ohio Joe

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Re: Pony express was faster than USPS
« Reply #8 on: August 02, 2020, 10:49:25 AM »
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Offline Doc Nock

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Re: Pony express was faster than USPS
« Reply #9 on: August 02, 2020, 11:35:23 AM »
Generally I was pleased with USPS up until about a month ago.  Here is why it has changed.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/us-postmaster-general-tells-postal-workers-to-leave-mail-behind-if-it-slows-down-their-route/ar-BB16Jyzg

dave

Yup...glad someone bothered to post that...times they are a changing... :( ;banghead;

Offline Winter Hawk

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Re: Pony express was faster than USPS
« Reply #10 on: August 02, 2020, 02:35:26 PM »
Ben Franklin is rolling in his grave!

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Offline Doc Nock

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Re: Pony express was faster than USPS
« Reply #11 on: August 02, 2020, 05:31:15 PM »
Ben Franklin is rolling in his grave!

~Kees~

Nobody to blame by us'ins... almost biblical way things are going... :Doh! :pray:

Online Craig Tx

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Re: Pony express was faster than USPS
« Reply #12 on: August 04, 2020, 03:39:35 AM »
I once had a package go from France to NY, Georgia, Florida, Illinois, back to France, to NY, IL, and finally to me in Washington.  Well traveled it was...
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Re: Pony express was faster than USPS
« Reply #13 on: August 04, 2020, 11:48:26 AM »
I once had a package go from France to NY, Georgia, Florida, Illinois, back to France, to NY, IL, and finally to me in Washington.  Well traveled it was...

Did that package need a passport? :lol sign
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Re: Pony express was faster than USPS
« Reply #14 on: August 04, 2020, 01:42:33 PM »
I once had a package go from France to NY, Georgia, Florida, Illinois, back to France, to NY, IL, and finally to me in Washington.  Well traveled it was...

Once had a package go through Paris, Corinth, Athens to Palestine.

But never left Texas!