Boeing 737 fuselage train in Monroe, WA, 2-22-2015

I hadn't been able to railfan much at work lately. So I decided to head out on a nice sunny Sunday afternoon to see if I could catch a train.

I went to a new location in Everett that I haven't been to before. After about 90 minutes of sitting around with nothing happening, I saw a westbound train pop out of the Cascade Tunnel headed my way. I use ATCS Monitor to allow me to see what's happening on the railroad.

The train was 80 miles away from me, so I decided to move east about 15 miles to the small town of Monroe to catch it there.

I set up trackside and waited. I figured the train would be a stack train or a vehicle train, as they're common on this part of the Scenic Sub.

To my surprise, it turned out to be a Boeing fuselage train! Lead engine was BNSF 6519 (ES44C4). With two engines and only four fuselages, this is one seriously over-powered consist. With 8800hp and less than 500 tons in tow, it must have accelerated like a Ferrari!

Delivery of the fuselages are very time-critical. The Boeing plant in Renton, where the 737 is assembled, doesn't have a lot of space to stockpile fuselages so they must arrive on schedule.
Most of the time, these fuselages are found on the head end of a regularly scheduled stack or vehicle train. Sometimes, though, a special fuselage train must be used to make the delivery on time.

6519 / 5203
ES44C4 / C44-9W

Видео Boeing 737 fuselage train in Monroe, WA, 2-22-2015 канала SeattleRailFan