In the United States today, we can send a letter from coast to coast in just a few days for well under half dollar. But in the mid 1800s, trains and horse-drawn coaches carried mail. It took many weeks for news to travel from New York to California. In 1860, the railroad and telegraph reached only from the East coast to Missouri. Horse-drawn coaches, which were very slow, then carried the mail from Missouri to California. In April 1860, the Pony Express began to carry the mail from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Sacramento, California. The trip took just ten days -- half the time the coaches took. The Pony Express was a horse relay system. There were stations every ten or 15 miles along the route, which was nearly 3,200 kilometers long.