Boeing 737 fuselages sent from Spirit Aerosystems in Wichita, Kansas sit in a BNSF rail siding near Boeing’s Factory in Renton, Washington, U.S. May 16, 2019. Photo credit REUTERS/Eric Johnson
Boeing 737 fuselages sent from Spirit Aerosystems in Wichita, Kansas sit in a BNSF rail siding near Boeing’s Factory in Renton, Washington, U.S. May 16, 2019. Picture taken May 16, 2019. REUTERS/Eric Johnson

Collapsed Montana bridge forces Boeing into logistical somersault to maintain 737 production

Avatar photoJon Ostrower·
Dispatches
·

Log-in here if you’re already a subscriber


The rail route between Spirit AeroSystems in Wichita, Kansas and Boeing in Renton, Washington has been the primary thoroughfare for moving 737 fuselages between the two aerospace plants since 1967. However, since late June, that route has been severed.

A bridge operated by Montana Rail Link that crosses the Yellowstone River in Montana collapsed in the early morning hours of June 24, sending 10 train cars carrying hot asphalt and molten sulfur into the water below near Reed Point, roughly 40 miles west of Billings, according to the Associated Press. The cause is still under investigation by the Federal Road Administration.

Boeing confirmed that with the closure of the rail link, it now is lifting the fixtures carrying the green 737 fuselages with cranes off of rail cars and onto road transport for six miles along Interstate 90 and then loading them again onto rail cars the opposite side of the Yellowstone River for the last leg of the journey to the company’s final assembly line.

Continue Reading
Avatar photo
Jon Ostrower
Jon Ostrower is Editor-in-chief of The Air Current, where he leads coverage of the global aerospace and aviation industries. Prior to launching TAC in June 2018, Mr. Ostrower served as Aviation Editor for CNN Worldwide, guiding the network’s global coverage of the business and operations of aviation. Mr. Ostrower joined CNN in 2016 following four and a half years at the Wall Street Journal. Based first in Chicago and then in Washington, D.C., he covered Boeing, aviation safety, and the business of global aerospace. Before that, Mr. Ostrower was editor of FlightBlogger for Flightglobal and Flight International Magazine covering the development of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and other new aircraft programs from 2007 to 2012. He is also an instructor at the University of Southern California in the Viterbi School of Engineering's Aviation Safety and Security program. Mr. Ostrower, a Boston native, graduated from The George Washington University’s School of Media and Public Affairs with a bachelor’s degree in Political Communication. He is based in Seattle.
Related

Zeen is a next generation WordPress theme. It’s powerful, beautifully designed and comes with everything you need to engage your visitors and increase conversions.