what in the world is that strange angled car for? Aerodynamic buffer? Extra tonnage? I'm stumped! 
http://www.mellowmike.com/Prototypes/Idler_car.html
http://www.mellowmike.com/Prototypes/Idler_car.html
What's with the Angled thing?
- Thread starter MilesWestern
- Start date
I would take a stab and say its a clearance car to check tunnel height/clear tunnel debris but Im no expert.
Cory
Cory
Looks like it might be an Aircraft Part car. Boeing has a few of them, that they haul major assemblies of aircraft from one plant to the final assembly plant. Looks almost like a nose section being transported.
But..Like Cory...just a guess.
Looking through the rest of the pics, the flat car with the shrink wrapped "Pipe", looks llike it might be a section of fuselage, either the top or bottom half.
But..Like Cory...just a guess.
Looking through the rest of the pics, the flat car with the shrink wrapped "Pipe", looks llike it might be a section of fuselage, either the top or bottom half.
MilesWestern said:what in the world is that strange angled car for? Aerodynamic buffer? Extra tonnage? I'm stumped!
http://www.mellowmike.com/Prototypes/Idler_car.html
Found this image....http://images.google.com/imgres?img...ing+railroad&start=20&svnum=10&hl=en&lr=&sa=N
I'm not sure, but it looks like a container on a flat car in your pic. I'm sure it is aircraft parts. I suspect Boing has some parts containers that are bolted together with a flat like an autoparts car for large assemblies. It would appear that your pic is of a container designed to carry a smaller assembly like a cockpit section and then loaded on a flat car.
ii would think its probably a combination of things, firstly an aerodynamic buffer for the aircraft fusealage (otherwise there would be incredbile drag and possible damage to the interior of the fusealge during transport) and i would assume that perhaps the rear end has doors to allow it to be loaded to carry some of the smaller odd shaped parts for the aircraft - i doubt that includes the cockpit as this is an intergal part of the aircrafts frame, not a removable sectiona and as such is part of the main frame assembly.
It would normally run (from the pictures i have seen) coupled the other way round ie wedge shaped end away from the camera with the the flat car in front of it and another identical unit coupled facing the way the one in the camera is pointed coupled to the opposite end of the flat car.
http://www.northeast.railfan.net/images/bnsf800023.jpg
like so
It would normally run (from the pictures i have seen) coupled the other way round ie wedge shaped end away from the camera with the the flat car in front of it and another identical unit coupled facing the way the one in the camera is pointed coupled to the opposite end of the flat car.
http://www.northeast.railfan.net/images/bnsf800023.jpg
like so
It's a BNSF idler car, which accomodates the overhang of a full Boeing 737 fuselage that's mounted on an 89' flat. The structure at the rear generally contains parts to the same aircraft. These trains run from Kansas City to Seattle. I only got off the one pic, as the train was moving fast, and I had to park at the bottom of an overpass, and run up the sidewalk as the train was going beneath. Hence the blurry quality. (I wanted the overhead view, rather than the side view).
The link that ross31r posted above is a perfect shot of the loaded combo.
The link that ross31r posted above is a perfect shot of the loaded combo.