Transcontinental Railroad

For instance; a study of the Thurn and Taxis route from Antwerp to Florence via Mantua would include much of the early postal history of Western Europe and the Postal History of the First Transcontinental Railroad[3] can show a good range of stamps, ...

I've no idea how long either journey took, but it must have been several months; and the idea that it was faster via Nicaragua amazes me, as well as the fact that completion of the Transcontinental Railroad cut the travel time to less than a week.

See also: Control, USPS, Pony Express, Trans, Philatelist