OT: Farmallhal, a new job for our tractors.

The way I've got it figured, our Farmall 140s could make a 100 miles per day, running 10 hours. looking at the weight of this letter a Farmall 140 should haul 10,000 letters. The postal service charged you $0.63. That would be $6,300. per trip, one way for the 140.

Now, I know I forgot the charges for administration, I forgot we will not be allowed on the Interstate with a 140 and I doubt if there are 10,000 letters every 9 days between Strathroy ON and Rollo MO.

Folks I raise this as people generally think, I'll get it off via air mail, it will be much faster. Generally that is true, however when that air mail crosses the Canada-US border that theory goes to the wind. I've been mailing back and forth with US citizens for years. Land mail has always been just as fast as air mail, and since 9-11, land mail will be 40% faster between the two countries. Just a little tip for you would be mailers.

I've found YT to be quite dull this winter, doesn't seem to be the good old nuts and bolts, discuss it type of questions, like we once had. The numbers of questions that seem to go unresolved are on the increase, or at least it seems that way to me. It's close to 7 years on here for me now, I've heard the same questions many times. You tend to think, why don't these folks go to the archives. That is not as easy as some folks would have you believe, so many tractor problems can have different titles, yet they are all correct questions. Computers don't do a good job of sorting that. It's clearly time for me to find something else.

I thought about getting couple hundred acres and do some small time farming. However just look at the collection of old iron Allan has. He must like grease better than I do. To go at it with all new iron, one would need 5,000 acres today. No, it's got to be simpler than that.

After posting it hit me, this is also a bit of swipe at a guy like you, retired from Boeing. Somehow I doubt that one bothered you a whole lot.

I did intend this thread to be a satirical look at how big business and big systems have not made our services more efficient. Somehow I believe I could make money running from here to MO at $6,300. per trip with my 140. However I doubt if there is anyway around busy traffic locations and Interstate crossings of big rivers.

My intention was to remind folks mailing cross border, air mail, even though it costs more is actually slower that land mail. This is particularly true since 9-11, and I expect you'll find mail going onboard a plane gets just about as close scrutiny as we do. I rather doubt if there is as much mail going air as there once was. I know there are numerous crossings of US and Canadian mail trucks cross border daily. Not small trucks either, but 53 footers and trains. I could see those 26' to 30' train trailers being exceptionally useful.

My real point on this matter was don't go air mail. In the past 5 years I discovered all air mail cross border takes 8-10 days. I've had land mail both ways go in as little as 3 days even as far as IA and never more than 7 days regardlees of distance. This is the one I wanted to make folks aware of.