I realize that UPS == Z Trains == own the railroad (Amtrak must take siding). But I didn't think they ran much over 50 mph or so average speed. So in principle it *should* take them 3 days or so from Chicago area to, say, SF Bay Area. However, I had a recent shipment that went via UPS Ground and the tracking showed it departing Rockford IL in the early evening and arriving in Richmond CA late the 2nd day (call it 50 hours or so). Either they threw it on a truck that stopped only for fuel, or the train from Rockford to Richmond Really Moves. Remember, this was UPS *Ground* not air.

The whole trip, of course, took a lot longer than that: a day or so from the shipper to Rockford; overnight from Richmond to my local distribution center, a weekend, then 2 days by USPS ("Sure Post") to me. UPS tracking, of course, washed its hands of the package when it was delivered to the USPS. So it took almost a day longer to go the last 100 miles than it did to get across country, ignoring the weekend. Oh well...