Way
back in June 2009 there was a thread on the group regarding trains and cars on
the Q used to transport airplane parts to Boeing in Washington. I have just run
across some interesting photos and facts I hope everyone will find interesting.
On
10-06-07 (yes, almost 8 years past to the day) in message 27891 Rupert Gamlen asked about five
flat cars #91900-91904 that were built by Thrall Maxson in 1968-9 and were
apparently assigned to Boeing, possibly at Long Island. According to a BN
equipment list, the first two cars had "canopies".
Astoundingly a
photo of 91901 showed up on eBay about three weeks ago. The eBay item number is
400993594535 and you can still look it up. It was shot around 1980 and the
seller info says it was used to transport Boeing 747 aircraft parts. So we now
have photo evidence of the cars.
More
recently, the May 2013 NMRA magazine has an article on Boeing Movements and
Cars. The author has built an N-Scale Boeing train based on the prototype cars
that deliver(ed) 737 and 747 parts to Boeing. Of interest is the following
comment:
The
prototype Boeing Train (sometimes referred to as the Plane Train) moved
aircraft subassemblies from Boeing’s Wichita, Kansas plant to the Seattle,
Washington area for final assembly. In 1968 that included the Boeing 737 and
747. One early Boeing Train route was Wichita on the Santa Fe (AT&SF) to
Kansas City, then Chicago, Burlington & Quincy via Galesburg, Illinois, to
Minneapolis and Great Northern to the northwest. The train operated with only
Boeing cars all the way from Wichita to Seattle until early 1999.
Back in
June 2009 I had asked about the GN Boeing parts cars that were used on the “Plane
Train”. As I mentioned then:
I was
looking through one of my brother's freight car books and saw a photo of GN
60716 (only car in the series), a Thrall enclosed flatcar for transporting 747
parts. The car was built in August 1968, so it fits my era. What caught my
attention is that the car was shot in Farmingdale (Long Island), NY heading to
Seattle, WA (the Boeing 747 plant is in Everett, WA). Photo was taken in
September, 1969 - again, my pre-BN era.
Some
good info came back on the GN cars probably going via NYC then IHB in Chicago
to the Q and on to Minneapolis. Steven Holding posted that he recalled “we ran
Boeing cars KC to Twin Cities and then west. Most were wide loads as the cars
were in the order of 12' 4" wide (10' 6" Normal size) parts headed to
the Assembly Plant. They would be covered by restrictions as on the Savanna to
Twin Cities line there were places wide loads could not meet due to the track
centers.”
(BTW, since
that time I have procured an LBF model of one of these cars.)
I also
found two articles in Mainline Modeler (1991 and 1992) regarding some specialized cars Boeing
had built for carrying the 747 Freighter nose cones, which lifted on the
freighter. Two of these were built in 1968, so these would no doubt have been
on the Plane Train on the Q. And per Steven remembrance, the cars were 12’
wide! The one article refers to BN routing but mentions the Wichita-Galesburg-Minneapolis route.
So now
to resurrect the topic:
Anyone
recall running across any photos of the Plane Train on the Q?
Steven
Holding remembers the train from KC to Savanna. Does anyone (Steven?) remember
if it did indeed the “train operated with only Boeing cars all the way from
Wichita to Seattle”? If so, it would be interesting to learn how many
locomotives and cars were on the Q segment.
I
would assume based on the fact that only Galesburg and Savanna are mentioned (and
not Chicago) that the train went via the Pea Vine from Galesburg to Savanna.
Does anyone recall seeing a Plane Train on this route?
Does
anyone recall how often these trains operated? Around 1969, according to one of
the Mainline Modeler magazines, orders for the 747-F really picked up. So I am
wondering how often the trains operated.
Does
anyone recall seeing the GN parts cars on the KC to Savanna route, or were
these mainly used Long Island to Savanna?
Any
help on this would be greatly appreciated.
Tom
Mack
Cincinnati,
OH