A westbound BNSF priority manifest freight curves through Bearmouth, Montana, on September 26, 2014. Up front are three Boeing 737 fuselages built by Spirit AeroSystems in Wichita, Kansas heading for final assembly by Boeing in Renton, Washington. The front of each flatcar is equipped with special framing to protect the thin aluminum skin of the oversize fuselage during shipment, and idler flatcars are used between each fuselage. Also, the “green” color of these fuselages is actually 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.
