Speed of Shipping.

I read somewhere that at one point you could order a item in the morning and have it delivered to you (by rail) by the afternoon.

Now how true is that statement?

I mean we seem to expect that level of service from a truck today, but was rail service really that good at one point?

Now the article did not site the example, but I am guessing it was a straight shot service with no classification.

Not really. Might have been true for some “Express” traffic like packages from stores, and perhaps some “Less than Carload Lot” or “LCL” traffic (also packages), but little else.

The Reading Railroad, in its last days, had a “Bee-Line” service that would dispatch a crew and locomotive(s) to pick up a cut of cars and haul it direct to the receiver - usually also on the RDG - the same day, but that was definitely an exception to the rule.

  • Paul North.

Yes, the Reading’s Bee Line service, which was an on line only service, is the only one I remember being marketed. There were some flukes that happened to fall into place that way. Both plants of Thatcher Glass in Elmira, NY and Wharton, NJ were on the DL&W and would often get same day or at least overnight deliveries between plants. And of course the United States Post Office, through its Railway Post Office and other mobile services like Highway Post Office, waterbourne services, and the like (before and after Air Mail service) did often do wonders overnight (to say the least) with enroute sorting of First Class mail only. And there were probably some pre STB unit style trains that did a good job at short shipping time…industrial roads, for instance, like in the steele belt, where cars of molten steel and other products would be shifted from one end of town or a short distance, as part of a conveyer belt like operation.

Had a call from an old acquaintance, we both worked in LTL trucking a couple of decades ago.

He now works for Greyhound. They offer same day package and parcel service from Chicago on their bus routes. Actually, it is next bus out service.

Company must arrange for delivery the bus terminal and arrange for pickup at destination. Pretty slick service. He says they do pretty well.

Ed

I forgot about the Off Color Dog…didn’t realize in this day and age they stll did it! We used to ferry newsfilm from stringers in the outland to the TV studio two or three times a day back in the 60’s.

Well I’ll be…

I didn’t realize they still that either. We used to ship parts by bus all the time back in the 60’s and 70’s, though we mostly used Trailways because they were closer to our offices. Their depots were fascinating places–auto fenders and all kinds of interesting stuff.

Greyhound’s rates were very reasonable when I used them several years ago to ship a out-sized fiberglass part to my son in Kansas…UPS Ground wanted $180 to ship it…it went Greyhound package express for about $30 and was there, over 1000 miles away, on the 2nd day.

My friend indicated they have a good business out of Chicago and actually have regular customers:

  1. Auto parts - as mentioned…large body panels, etc.

  2. Seafood distributor

  3. Newspaper (Chicago Tribune, Sun Times, WSJ, NYT) printed in Chicago for distribution to smaller towns.

  4. Medical

Interesting mix of passenger and freight service. Didnt Amtrak try this years ago?

Ed

Yes, Amtrak did try it. But it was labor intensive; couldn’t hire any more people; rate of return too low for bottom liners to accept. It was competitive with other package services like UPS and FEDEX; so political pressure would not allow expansion of service. It was not liked by the railroads; they had gotten out of the package business and didn’t want to be shown up; they claimed it was freight and otherwise not Amtrak’s purview to pursue. It was unreliable; as long as the freight railroads and the highway carriers controlled Congress and the traffic, no way could Amtrak maintain reliable service. Choose anyone or all of the above as excuses put forth at the time.

I volunteered for an organization that shipped items to a number of small towns and villages in southern Alberta. Greyhound basically stepped in an took over the business that used to be handled by CN and CP mixed trains before about 1965. They do it very well and go to places even too small for FedEx and UPS.

Bruce

I had a feeling that this was a rare case that he mentioned.