The fuselages range in
length from 100 to 130 feet,
depending on the version of the
- The longer airliners
require the use of special idler
cars that also carry aircraft
components in an enclosed
structure at the rear of the car.
The fuselages are attached to
the 89-foot flatcars at several
points. Large icicle breakers are
fitted at each end of the cars to
protect the thin-skinned air-
craft from icicles that may be
found inside tunnels in the
Rockies and the northern U.S.
Most 737 fuselages are
accompanied by large brown
cars that carry other airframe
components. These “skybox”
cars are unique and contrast
with the teal green of the fuse-
lages. That coloring is a protec-
tive coating called Spraylat.
This thin coating is applied at
the Wichita factory andprotects the aluminum skin
from oxidation as well as pro-
tects the frame from scratches
to the aluminum surface.
Operating over the Cascade
Mountains, BNSF takes special
care to handle these trains, espe-
cially through the Cascade Tun-
nel. Usual train speed through
the tunnel is 25 mph, but trains
carrying Boeing cars are limited
to 13 mph. This is done to pre-
vent harmonic rocking that canoccur when trains travel be-
tween 13 and 21 mph. Such
rocking could result in the cars
and fuselages striking the inside
of the tunnel. The railroad takes
special care along its routing to
ensure any close clearance
hazard along the right-of-way
is mitigated or reduced.
The transport of these
special trains is key for Boeing
to remain on its production
schedule. The average32 SEPTEMBER 2019On Feb. 18, 2018, the 10,000th delivery of a Boeing 737 fuselage
arrived in Seattle on car MTTX 971483. Note the “10,000 Deliveries”
marking spray-painted below the windows. Two photos, David Honan
With a string of 737 fuselages in tow, BNSF GP38-2 No. 2075 leads the
Renton local along Houser Way South in downtown with a delivery
for Boeing’s 737 production line in February 2018.