How To Prototype Railroads There’s a prototype for everything!

There’s a prototype for everything!

By Carl Swanson | August 2, 2021

In railroading, truth is sometimes stranger than fiction

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BNSF 6800, a General Electric ES44C4, hurrying westbound near Harrington, Wash. with an empty centerbeam flatcar

Want to model modern mainline action with one engine and two cars? Don’t worry – there’s a prototype for everything! On June 19th, 2021, Lindsay Korst photographed BNSF 6800, a General Electric ES44C4, hurrying westbound near Harrington, Wash. with an empty centerbeam flatcar (probably for added braking power) and a Boeing Aircraft parts car. How did this odd train come about? Thirty minutes earlier, the photographer had seen a westbound freight passing with two Boeing 737 fuselages and several Boeing parts cars in its consist. Had this urgently needed car been forgotten – or bad ordered – and was hurrying to catch up with the train carrying the aircraft subassemblies?

Do you have an unusual, offbeat, or just plain weird railroad photo to share? We want to see it! Email Carl Swanson at cswanson@kalmbach.com.

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