I just read in TRAINS magazine about a new Seattle to Chicago/Memphis express service on BNSF. Today I saw two BNSF units hauling sixteen cars carrying containers hustling down the BNSF triple track main towards Chicago. Does anybody know the routing this new service is taking to Chicago and could the train I saw be one of the early editions of this service?
I think it’s a good idea provided the stuff coming into Corwith Yard (or wherever) gets to its ultimate addressee. DHL has a program (can’t recall name) whereby they air-express parcels and then turn them over to a (in our case, large) sorting post office for local delivery. Low-priority packages take a while, but in our experience no longer than USPS Media-Mail or low-priority UPS.
I CAN tell you (up to last time we visited at least), that we 've seen ever so many UPS trailers (not COFC’s, pigs mostly) going thru Rochelle, Illinois. We’ve seen more WB than EB, but that’s probably due to time-of-day considerations (unless the BNSF is using different routes for different directions). That route would be Savannah (IL) on the Mississppi River to (correct me if I’m wrong, guys) Eola Yard near Aurora, IL, but then there are lots of options going into Chicago Metro.
Jim, I would think (but then, I do not know the condition of all the track) that the BNSF would handle the express all the way to Memphis–either Lincoln to KC or Omaha to KC, and then down the old Frisco to Memphis. Perhaps, as Al - in - Chicago suggests, BNSF to Chicago and CN to Memphis is better. Anybody know the relative merits of the routes, or, better yet, has anybody seen such a train between Lincoln/Omaha and Memphis?
Johnny
The DHL program was called “the last mile” (actually a fairly common term in the logistics industry) according to a friend who is a USPS employee but given that DHL has now exited the US domestic parcel business (their US subsidiary went bankrupt) I surmise it was not a big success. They were trying to compete with the “Dynamic Duo” of US couriers:UPS and FEDEX and just could not get their network running efficiently (DHL is a strong competitor to the those two companies in the international market). I had a bad experience with DHL and I’ve heard the same from other people so I was not surprised…