I saw an unusual load today and I was wondering if anybody would know what it was. It was on a CSX train going through Murfreesboro, TN around 7:45 AM. The first few cars of the train were 8 axle flat cars and each one had two containers on it. The containers were quite large and looked like they held some kind of liquid. I realize this isn’t much of a description, but anyone who has seen these will probably recognize what I am talking about. Unfortunately I was not close enough to get any reporting marks or any other data off of the cars.
Nascelles (sp?..wind generator motor housing) for wind genearators?
Large white or grey-ish boxes with rounded edges.
MC thats what i was thinking also, we have been geting 4-6 of these a day through Newton KS, on their way out west. They are loaded on 8 axle flats 2 on each flat. Maybe I will try to get out and get a pic today, I think boeing is sending some more sub-hunter fusealage’ today. Maybe a good day to railfan for the unusual.
Did they look something like this?
Or were they in steel box frames?
Some of the nacelles are smooth sided, and look like fiberglass boxes with slightly rounded corners, some look like these, depends if they are GE made here or Siemens made over seas…
Is Boeing making a sub-hunter? The only one I know of is the Lockheed P-3, the big straight-wing 4-prop bird based on the Electra turboprop airliner. This is the plane the Red Chinese forced down on one of their islands some years ago (called the “Flying Pig” in some of the news coverage of the time).
Boeing has just started producing the P-8A Poseidon at Wichita, it’s based on the 737-800 air frame, Spirit Aerosystems which took over Boeings 737 operations in Wichita is producing the air frames for Boeing now.
Last week was the first run of the air frame from Wichita upto Washington.
Thanks for the help! They did look a lot like the photo posted above, but they were bigger(with two of them on a flat car, they pretty much filled up the flat car) and a slightly different shape. After seeing the photo, I’m sure you all are right about them being wind generator motor housings.
…A little trivia on the mentioned Lockeed Electra turbo prop passenger plane used many years ago by various airlines:
Flew from Chicago to Milwaukee some years ago and remembering no airliner I ever flew in pushed one back in the seat at takeoff as that plane did. The width of those props., no wonder…
Thanks for the info. Learn something every day.
A P-3 scared the daylights out of me once. I was tooling along Abercorn St. on the south side of Savannah, GA minding my own business when this mighty roar came out of the sky. A P-3 went overhead less than 100 feet off the ground, engines roaring/howling for all they were worth. A few seconds later when every muscle in my body unclenched, it came to me that the beast had just taken off from Hunter Army Airfield. One of the runways ends close to the road, and I had happened along just as the plane was taking off. Definitely didn’t have a problem with dozing at the wheel for a while.
I also flew on the airliner version of the P-3, once, long after the airlines used them. As I remember the seats were nice and wide, and comfortable (could be because I was a lot narrower all those years ago, in 1980 or 1981). I was a little concerned during the flight, because before loading up we all noticed the streaks of hydraulic or some other fluid down the belly of the plane because of a leak somewhere up front. It got us where we were going, so guess it wasn’t a significant problem.
Hi Robert,
Was forwarded what I assume is your photo, and yes, those are nacelles for windmills.
The generator is inside the nacelle.
The shape will vary depending on who makes the windmill, and what the output of the generator is.
If you are seeing those, then keep you eyes open for some of these also…
These are the hub and blades assemblies.
Trivia: Electras and early P-3’s each engine 4000 shaft horsepower and gross take off weight of 133,000 pounds. Later P-3’s 4900 HP per engine and some at 5500 HP. Upgraded engines on C-130Js over 6000HP
…JOdom:
Adding a comment to support you assessment of the Lockeed pass. plane interior. I too remember it’s interior as very nice. As you mentioned, with nice and comfortable seats and lots of room all the way around them.
One other item I am {half remembering}…My flight I mentioned to Milwaukee was a time frame sometime in the '67 era. I seem to remember at that time they were limited in designed top speed or maybe cruise speed to a lower speed because of a wing problem…But as I said above, that didn’t seem the case at take off…
And again, I thought they had a very nice appointed interior.
I to was a regular flyer of the Lockheed Electra between San Diego and Phoenix on Western Airlines and not only did it pin you back in your seat but we were faster than Uniteds 727 who always took off just ahead of us for San Diego and we would already be at the terminal in San Diego when he landed. I later learned that the faster acceleration and lower altitude we flew at made the difference. And best of all Western Airlines served Champagne gratis to all passengers over 21 or those in Uniform who looked like they might be 21 (yours truly) Thanks for the memory of a really great plane.
Thanks for the info. The one I flew on had an interior that was pretty worn, a kind of a “faded grandeur” thing, but still not bad considering our only alternative means of transportation was an 8-hour ride packed in a van or pickup truck.
Another poster said the Electra beat a 727 on a particular flight. The first C-130’s were hotrods, too. A C-130 passed a DC-8 within eyesight, flying the same direction as the DC-8 but faster. The DC-8 pilots were first amazed, then unhappy.