A Boeing 737 fuselage heads west on a BNSF priority freight at Bearmouth, Montana, on September 26, 2014. This fuselage is built by Spirit AeroSystems, and is being shipped from Wichita, Kansas to Boeing in Renton, Washington, for final assembly. The big load is riding specially-modified BNSF 89-foot flatcar No. 800122 and besides being an oversize load width-wise, the length of the fuselage is over 100 feet, so idler flatcars are also used for each one, under the tail section. The front of the flatcar is equipped with special framing to protect the oversize load during shipment. The “green” color of these fuselages is a thin protective coating applied at the factory to prevent the aluminum skin from oxidizing during shipment, and is removed before the airplane is painted.
