Boeing 737 fuselages on a BNSF train in the West Bottoms of KC.

-

 On Memorial Day Weekend in 2007, I was in Kansas City, Missouri, visiting friends. While visiting, one of my friends and I ventured out to the West Bottoms of Kansas City for a photography outing. There we happened upon a northbound BNSF train hauling newly built Boeing 737 fuselages.

The Boeing 737 fuselages

The fuselages on this train are B737 Next Generation (NG) models. The B737 NG was first produced in 1996.  Boeing's 737 fuselages are built at Spirit AeroSystems' (SA) plant in Wichita, Kansas. According to SA's website, the company was founded when Boeing sold its Wichita plant to SA in 2005. SA then continued building fuselages at the plant for Boeing. After the fuselages are built by SA they take a train ride to Boeing's assembly plant at Renton, Washington.

Three Boeing 737 fuselages roll north in the West Bottoms of Kansas City, MO
Looking south toward the 12th Street viaduct, as the Boeing train rolls north through the West Bottoms.

Route of the fuselages

BNSF uses specially modified flatcars, like the ones seen in the photographs here, to haul the fuselages to Boeing's assembly plant at Renton, Washington, just to the south of Seattle, Washington. According to an article at Railway Age (Internet Archive link), Boeing has been shipping and receiving airplane components by rail since the 1960s. A typical route from Wichita, Kansas, to Renton, Washington, is via Newton, Kansas; Kansas City, Missouri; Lincoln, Nebraska; Alliance, Nebraska; Gillette, Wyoming; Laurel, Montana; Missoula, Montana; Sandpoint, Idaho; Spokane, Washington; and Seattle, Washington. The portion of this route from Laurel, Montana, to Sandpoint, Idaho, is over Montana Rail Link (MRL). This route is not set in stone and the fuselages have taken different routes in the past. The length of the route is about 1,800 miles.

A 737 fuselage sits on a custom modified flatcar
A B737-700 NG fuselage sits on a modified flatcar, as the train passes a southbound
coal train, while an empty coal train waits to go north in the background.

The green color

The green color of the fuselages is from a protective coating that is applied to them to prevent the bare aluminum surface from corrosion. Some aviation sites I've read state that it is removed once delivered to the assembly plant. A few other sites state it is a permanent coating that is painted over. 

Photographs taken on May 30, 2007, at Kansas City, MO.

Comments

  1. JimMarch 15, 2022 at 6:46 PM

    Interesting !!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tom G.March 16, 2022 at 12:13 PM

      Thanks, Jim. Glad you found it interesting!

      Delete
  2. Shelly GMarch 23, 2022 at 12:55 PM

    That is really interesting info! Neat pics as well. Newton is not far from me, it would have been cool to see these in person.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tom G.March 26, 2022 at 11:09 AM

      Hopefully, in the near future you can manage to capture one of these trains. If you are ever at Wichita, you can see a small yard at Southeast Blvd. and E MacArthur Rd., where some of the rail cars are kept. Here's a Google Maps link to the yard's location: https://goo.gl/maps/gUGydoR3FqewMGpB9

      Delete

Post a Comment

All comments are now reviewed before publishing on this blog. Comments may not appear on the blog for a day or two.

All images/photographs are copyrighted © by Tom Gatermann. All rights reserved. Contact me. Subscribe.

Popular Posts

Amtrak trains on the Syracuse Terminal Subdivision

-
Image
The CSX Syracuse Terminal Subdivision   The Syracuse Terminal Subdivision was formed from the western end of the CSX Mohawk Subdivision in January 2011. The Syracuse Terminal Subdivision starts at Control Point (CP) 263 (milepost QC 263.8) in Oneida, New York. It then goes west to CP296 (MP QC 296.8) at Airport Road, to the west of Solvay, New York. The Mohawk Subdivision now ends at the westbound absolute signals (WAS) of CP263, since CP263 is part of the Syracuse Terminal Subdivision. On the western end, the STS meets the CSX Rochester Subdivision and ends at the westbound absolute signals. CP296 is part of the Rochester Subdivision. Both the Syracuse Terminal Subdivision and the Rochester Subdivision are controlled by CSX's NF dispatcher in Jacksonville, Florida. Auto 280/CP280 On October 2, 2021, I caught AMTK 711 leading train P063 at Auto 280/CP280 (MP QC 280.5), along the three-track segment of the subdivision. Auto 280/CP280 sits along Saintsville Road in Kirkville, New Yo
Read more

A tour of Union Pacific's De Soto carshop

-
Image
 Back in June of 2008, Union Pacific's (UP) Desoto carshop had an open house, so my dad and I headed down to DeSoto, Missouri, to take a tour of the facility. De Soto carshop The settlement of the De Soto area dates back to 1803, and the town of De Soto was later incorporated in 1869. The town's website says that the St. Louis & Iron Mountain and Southern Railroad (StLIM&S) came to the De Soto area in 1859 and built a depot for the town. However, Union Pacific's (UP) website states the railroad came to De Soto in 1857. Perhaps the two-year difference is due to when the railroad was first being built at De Soto and when it was completed. The first carshop was built by the StLIM&S Railway in 1865.  Later the StLIM&S was merged into the Missouri Pacific Railroad , which continued to expand and use the carshop. A tool chest at the UP carshop in Desoto, MO.  Today, the carshop and De Soto Subdivision, which the carshop sits along, are part of UP, which merged wit
Read more

The "Green Bridge" over CP282 and the east side of DeWitt Yard

-
Image
The "Green Bridge" is a nickname for a pedestrian bridge in Minoa, New York. The bridge crosses over the eastern edge of CSX's DeWitt Yard and Syracuse Terminal Subdivision between North Main Street and South Main Street. There is no road crossing connecting the two streets, so the bridge allows pedestrians to cross safely over the tracks. It also gives railfans access to safely watch and photograph train movements on the eastern end of DeWitt Yard.  The "Green Bridge" at CP282 Looking at the north access ramp, as an ex-Wisconsin Central boxcar on train Q626-06 begins to roll under the Green Bridge. The Green Bridge earned its nickname because it is painted green. Though these days, the green color is faded, and reddish-brown rust seems to be more prominent. The bridge crosses directly over the top of control point (CP) 282 of CSX's Syracuse Terminal Subdivision. The bridge is a popular railfan hangout, even though the bridge can make photography difficult.
Read more

CSX 7570 - TRRA Merchants Subdivision - St Louis - July 2008

-
Image
CSXT 7570 - St. Louis, MO CSX 7570 rolls south (away from the camera) on TRRA's Merchants Subdivision , in North St. Louis. CSX 7570 and another locomotive were trying to make a quick run past the mini-Death Star in the background. The large "Death Star" dome is part of Continental Cement Company. This photograph is looking south, from just north of Clinton Street.  CSX 7570 is a  General Electric built C40-8 model locomotive. The locomotive was built in 1989, for the CSX railroad. Since this photograph was taken, the locomotive has been sold off to GECX , a railroad leasing company, and is now GECX 7570. Photograph taken: July 14, 2008, at St. Louis, Missouri.
Read more

CSX M368 with a group of five GECX (ex-BNSF) locomotives at Canastota, NY

-
Image
  CSXT 3206, and five GECX locomotives lead M368 east among the fall foliage at Canastota, NY.   Yesterday, while bike riding, I caught CSX's M368-29 at BeeBe Bridge Road at Canastota, NY. M368 had a group of five GECX locomotives (ex-BNSF) trailing behind CSXT 3206. M368 was photographed as it came around the curve to the west of BeeBe Bridge Road, where the tracks intersect with the old Erie Canal, which is out of sight to the right of the photograph. This location is milepost (MP) QC271 of CSX's Syracuse Terminal Subdivision . The five locomotives are GECX 4528, GECX 4827, GECX 4933, GECX 4851, GECX 4923. A going-away photograph of the five GECX locomotives on M368-29 at BeeBe Bridge Rd. Photograph taken on September 29, 2023.
Read more