Model Train Journal

So some parts I ordered went from Ohio, to PA (departed twice ), to a PO 2 miles from my house, out to another USPS facility near the airport, back to the PO 2 miles from my house, arrived there twice and departed twice, then over to the PO that actually handles my mail, and then back to Ohio........all in the space of 2 days (somehow got from VA to OH in 20 minutes!) while delivery is scheduled for Friday.

Apr 22, 2020
3:23am

PRE-SHIPMENT INFO SENT USPS AWAITS ITEM
NORTH JACKSON, OH 44451

Apr 22, 2020
3:19am

ARRIVE USPS FACILITY
ANNANDALE, VA 22003

Apr 22, 2020
2:59am

DEPART USPS FACILITY
MERRIFIELD, VA 22081

Apr 22, 2020
2:49am

DEPART USPS FACILITY
MERRIFIELD, VA 22081

Apr 22, 2020
2:09am

ARRIVE USPS FACILITY
MERRIFIELD, VA 22081

Apr 21, 2020
11:35pm

ARRIVE USPS FACILITY
MERRIFIELD, VA 22081

Apr 21, 2020
10:58pm

DEPART USPS FACILITY
DULLES, VA 20101

Apr 21, 2020
9:49pm

DEPART USPS FACILITY
DULLES, VA 20101

Apr 21, 2020
7:32pm

PROCESSED THROUGH USPS FACILITY
DULLES, VA 20101

Apr 21, 2020
5:54pm

ARRIVE USPS FACILITY
DULLES, VA 20101

Apr 21, 2020
5:45pm

ARRIVE USPS FACILITY
DULLES, VA 20101

Apr 21, 2020
5:02pm

DEPART USPS FACILITY
MERRIFIELD, VA 22081

Apr 21, 2020
4:14pm

DEPART USPS FACILITY
MERRIFIELD, VA 22081

Apr 21, 2020
1:06pm

ARRIVE USPS FACILITY
MERRIFIELD, VA 22081

Apr 21, 2020
12:16pm

ARRIVE USPS FACILITY
MERRIFIELD, VA 22081

Apr 21, 2020
7:35am

DEPART USPS FACILITY
WARRENDALE, PA 15086

Apr 21, 2020
4:23am

DEPART USPS FACILITY
WARRENDALE, PA 15086

Apr 21, 2020
3:45am

PROCESSED THROUGH USPS FACILITY
WARRENDALE, PA 15086

Apr 21, 2020
2:45am

ACCEPTED AT USPS FACILITY 10
WARRENDALE, PA 15086

Apr 20, 2020
1:51am

SHIPPING LBL CREATED USPS AWAITS ITEM
NORTH JACKSON, OH 44451

Apr 19, 2020
6:51pm

Tracking number provided

Mine is just the opposite:

April 22, 2020, 5:03 pm
Delivered, Left with Individual
CHESTER, SC 29706
Your item was delivered to an individual at the address at 5:03 pm on April 22, 2020 in CHESTER, SC 29706.

April 22, 2020, 12:12 pm
Out for Delivery
CHESTER, SC 29706

April 22, 2020, 12:01 pm
Arrived at Post Office
CHESTER, SC 29706

April 21, 2020, 12:18 am
Departed USPS Facility
REDDING, CA 96002

April 20, 2020, 8:54 pm
Arrived at USPS Origin Facility
REDDING, CA 96002

April 20, 2020, 4:03 pm
Departed Post Office
MILLVILLE, CA 96062

April 20, 2020, 3:06 pm
USPS in possession of item
MILLVILLE, CA 96062

Redding, CA direct to Chester, SC??? I do not think so. But the package did get here in three days.

The inconsistency of the system is what is beyond perplexing......and my item that traveled from VA to Ohio in 20 min was then delivered a day early.

If something is mailed in our local post office to a box in that same post office it must first be sent via Savannah, Ga., 25 miles away and then to
Jacksonville, Fl., 120 miles south and then returned by reverse route to be delivered 20 feet from where it was first mailed. USPS says this is so
each piece of mail can be counted and the system can run more efficiently.

We often have packages delivered by UPS and FedEx that are in rather poor condition and have been retaped several times.
I have made drivers wait while I checked to see if all was there. They didn't like that.
Packages delivered by USPS have always been in good condition.

rogruth wrote:We often have packages delivered by UPS and FedEx that are in rather poor condition and have been retaped several times.
I have made drivers wait while I checked to see if all was there. They didn't like that.

You'd be lucky to even catch those guys here - they run to the porch, drop the box, and run to the truck.

Packages delivered by USPS have always been in good condition.

Rarely see damage by USPS, too.

Rufus T. Firefly wrote:

rogruth wrote:We often have packages delivered by UPS and FedEx that are in rather poor condition and have been retaped several times.
I have made drivers wait while I checked to see if all was there. They didn't like that.

You'd be lucky to even catch those guys here - they run to the porch, drop the box, and run to the truck.

Packages delivered by USPS have always been in good condition.

Rarely see damage by USPS, too.

The USPS has been good for me also.

It used to be a federal crime (don't know if it still is) to 'mess with the mail'...
...since they are no longer federally funded.

It still takes as long a time (or longer) (in 2020) for mail to get to CA to MI (or vice versa) as it did in 1960.
Unless you ask for it (hand cancel to be added), received mail will bear the postmark of a 'not so near' processing center, as noted above.

You will be pleased to know that the USPS is delivering a lot of stuff shipped through UPS and Fedex....that straight from my mail carrier.

E7 wrote:You will be pleased to know that the USPS is delivering a lot of stuff shipped through UPS and Fedex....that straight from my mail carrier.

Yes. I got a package last week that was Fed-Ex until the final USPS leg - only took 10 days to go 6 miles from my home and crossed over 3 states back and forth to get here. Impressive......

Rufus T. Firefly wrote:

E7 wrote:You will be pleased to know that the USPS is delivering a lot of stuff shipped through UPS and Fedex....that straight from my mail carrier.

Yes. I got a package last week that was Fed-Ex until the final USPS leg - only took 10 days to go 6 miles from my home and crossed over 3 states back and forth to get here. Impressive......

The machinations of the USPS are sometimes a total enigma. I've seen packages sit in a PO for two days before they went on their merry way. More often than not, when I mail a westbound package, it will go east before heading west (do they not have any centers to the west of me?

I've had packages shipped to me from the same person go totally different routes. I would think there is ONE route that is most efficient, but what the H*ll do I know?

These days I am happy if it arrives in one piece!

E7 wrote:

Rufus T. Firefly wrote:

E7 wrote:You will be pleased to know that the USPS is delivering a lot of stuff shipped through UPS and Fedex....that straight from my mail carrier.

Yes. I got a package last week that was Fed-Ex until the final USPS leg - only took 10 days to go 6 miles from my home and crossed over 3 states back and forth to get here. Impressive......

The machinations of the USPS are sometimes a total enigma. I've seen packages sit in a PO for two days before they went on their merry way. More often than not, when I mail a westbound package, it will go east before heading west (do they not have any centers to the west of me?

I've had packages shipped to me from the same person go totally different routes. I would think there is ONE route that is most efficient, but what the H*ll do I know?

These days I am happy if it arrives in one piece!

While it can be totally perplexing as to their machinations, it does provide some level of entertainment. I am still scratching my head over how my one package got from VA to Ohio in 20 mins and then got delivered to me the next day. I suspect that they are testing out teleporter tech,

Rufus T. Firefly wrote:While it can be totally perplexing as to their machinations, it does provide some level of entertainment. I am still scratching my head over how my one package got from VA to Ohio in 20 mins and then got delivered to me the next day. I suspect that they are testing out teleporter tech,

Tardis!

E7 wrote:

Rufus T. Firefly wrote:While it can be totally perplexing as to their machinations, it does provide some level of entertainment. I am still scratching my head over how my one package got from VA to Ohio in 20 mins and then got delivered to me the next day. I suspect that they are testing out teleporter tech,

Tardis!

This would also explain why mail disappears for long periods only to reappear delivered.

Rufus T. Firefly wrote:So some parts I ordered went from Ohio, to PA (departed twice ), to a PO 2 miles from my house, out to another USPS facility near the airport, back to the PO 2 miles from my house, arrived there twice and departed twice, then over to the PO that actually handles my mail, and then back to Ohio........all in the space of 2 days (somehow got from VA to OH in 20 minutes!) while delivery is scheduled for Friday.

Apr 22, 2020
3:23am

PRE-SHIPMENT INFO SENT USPS AWAITS ITEM
NORTH JACKSON, OH 44451

Apr 22, 2020
3:19am

ARRIVE USPS FACILITY
ANNANDALE, VA 22003

Apr 22, 2020
2:59am

DEPART USPS FACILITY
MERRIFIELD, VA 22081

Apr 22, 2020
2:49am

DEPART USPS FACILITY
MERRIFIELD, VA 22081

Apr 22, 2020
2:09am

ARRIVE USPS FACILITY
MERRIFIELD, VA 22081

Apr 21, 2020
11:35pm

ARRIVE USPS FACILITY
MERRIFIELD, VA 22081

Apr 21, 2020
10:58pm

DEPART USPS FACILITY
DULLES, VA 20101

Apr 21, 2020
9:49pm

DEPART USPS FACILITY
DULLES, VA 20101

Apr 21, 2020
7:32pm

PROCESSED THROUGH USPS FACILITY
DULLES, VA 20101

Apr 21, 2020
5:54pm

ARRIVE USPS FACILITY
DULLES, VA 20101

Apr 21, 2020
5:45pm

ARRIVE USPS FACILITY
DULLES, VA 20101

Apr 21, 2020
5:02pm

DEPART USPS FACILITY
MERRIFIELD, VA 22081

Apr 21, 2020
4:14pm

DEPART USPS FACILITY
MERRIFIELD, VA 22081

Apr 21, 2020
1:06pm

ARRIVE USPS FACILITY
MERRIFIELD, VA 22081

Apr 21, 2020
12:16pm

ARRIVE USPS FACILITY
MERRIFIELD, VA 22081

Apr 21, 2020
7:35am

DEPART USPS FACILITY
WARRENDALE, PA 15086

Apr 21, 2020
4:23am

DEPART USPS FACILITY
WARRENDALE, PA 15086

Apr 21, 2020
3:45am

PROCESSED THROUGH USPS FACILITY
WARRENDALE, PA 15086

Apr 21, 2020
2:45am

ACCEPTED AT USPS FACILITY 10
WARRENDALE, PA 15086

Apr 20, 2020
1:51am

SHIPPING LBL CREATED USPS AWAITS ITEM
NORTH JACKSON, OH 44451

Apr 19, 2020
6:51pm

Tracking number provided

your package did not make all these trips. The thing that made all these trips was the shipping bin it was placed in origanally . Nobody scanned your package after removing it from the bin. This cause the system to think it is moving with that bin. when its just sitting in the post office.
Ps they are really short handed and overworked the last 2 months.

robert. wrote:your package did not make all these trips. The thing that made all these trips was the shipping bin it was placed in origanally . Nobody scanned your package after removing it from the bin. This cause the system to think it is moving with that bin. when its just sitting in the post office.

Still impressive that the bin moved from VA to OH in 20 min.

they are really short handed and overworked the last 2 months.

Actually, I go to the PO once a week. I've not found it to be short-handed in any way - it's the local regional sorting station and the big trucks fly in/out of there. However, the number of patrons there has dropped and there is rarely a line of any significance.

My mailman, who tells me he has been working double shifts for the past week, says package volume at the local post office is running at the same rate as the week before Christmas. Must be everyone blowing their economic-stabilization money on-line.