Western Railroad Discussion > A Strike in Boeing's Supply Chain

On Wednesday, November 6th, 2024 Boeing members of International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers union (IAM) voted on and approved Boeing's fourth contract offer, ending a 7 week strike that halted both of Boeing's Everett and Renton assembly lines. The new contract includes a 38% pay raise over the next 4 years along with an improved production bonus structure. The contract was approved by 59% of 33,000 striking members who had been on the picket lines since September 13th, 2024. Boeing says that all workers will report back to work by November 12th but that it will take a few days to ramp up production of their troubled 737 Max jet back to acceptable standards. 

The 7 week strike highlighted just how fragile the supply chain is, even for aerospace titan, Boeing with two massive airplane plants in the Puget Sound Area. As readers know, BNSF is responsible for safely transporting 737 fuselages from Spirit's manufacturing plant in Wichita, Kansas to Boeing's finishing plant in Renton, Washington. The fuselages come in packs of 2-5 on a weekly basis, traveling across BNSF's northwestern division on dedicated 'J-trains' or as additions on vehicle and intermodal trains. BNSF then shuffles the logistically challenging fuselages amongst their Seattle area yards before sending them to Renton with a Balmer Yard local dubbed the, "Renton Rocket". Since Boeing halted their Renton Plant assembly line immediately following the strike, BNSF's constant drip of 737s suddenly became a flock of fuselages and nowhere to go.

BNSF elected to store 12 cradled 737s on their custom 89 foot flatcars deep in their Seattle International Gateway (SIG) yard tucked adjacent to Northern Pacific's Stacy Street Yard. The SODO location provided enough barbed wire fencing and security cameras to let a dozen beluga whales sit patiently for the strike to end. On Sunday, November 10th, just 4 days after picket lines disbanded and machinists returned to work, BNSF's Renton Rocket retrieved 3 fuselages for delivery to Boeing in Renton. 

1. In Mid-October I convinced my carpool partner to go check out the mass of airplanes that had accumulated since early days of the strike. The 12 fuselages looked interesting tucked away into SIG yard, bordering Starbucks corprate headquarters in SODO. 

2. The Renton Rocket arrives at SIG with a little sucker hole lighting up the southern towers of Seattle's downtown skyline. After unlocking gates and derails, the crew will creep south into the SIG complex.

3. I didn't know how many they planned on taking to Renton, so I played it safe and assumed they'd just take one set. The educated gamble was correct. They wasted no time attaching a FRED and bouncing out of Seattle for Renton.

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4. The PNW gloom had settled back in as usual, so I opted to get something up close and personal right at the corner of Starbucks. My understanding is that Starbucks fully occupies the massive Sears Roebuck Building that was built in 1913. Starbucks has occupied the building since 1993, but there are traces of several industry spurs that must have been fun to see back in the heyday. 

5. One final check of the 3 loads before loading up and getting a line straight to the Renton industrial lead. 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/11/24 10:14 by SCUfoamer.

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Very cool series.

Great pics. So they are no longer using the SIG for container loading? Is all that being done at the former APL Global North facility now?

Ted Curphey
Ontario, OR

funnelfan Wrote:
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> Great pics. So they are no longer using the SIG
> for container loading? Is all that being done at
> the former APL Global North facility now?

Thanks! It looked as if the fuselages took the eastern half of this small facility while BNSF still loaded containers on the western tracks. I am not sure what the APL Global North facility is, but marine traffic seems to be split evenly between Terminal 5 and both SIG facilities at Stacy. 

Terminal 5 is the old APL terminal, that appears to have been taken over by MSC after sitting empty for a while. I do find it interesting they are using the piggy packer side of the SIG over the side with the fancy overhead cranes.

Ted Curphey
Ontario, OR

I went and looked at the Sears building in the 1940 aerial imagery, and was rather unimpressed. It doesn't look like that was their primary shipping warehouse as there was just a few spurs into the building. I wonder if that was just where they printed and shipped out the catalogs? You should look at the what the Monkey Wards building in Portland was like, with the bottom two floors being solid railcar loading docks with the lowest level coming into the east side of the building and the next level being from the north side of the building. Can only imagine the sea of boxcars on those two floors during the years before WWII. I believe one floor was inbound merchandise and the other was outbound.

Ted Curphey
Ontario, OR

Lookin’ good Andrew!

I’ll send those along to my friends on the Rocket! We often times call them “The Rockettes”….which they don’t like…

And that yard where the fuselages are/were being stored is what we refer to as the “North Yard”. It’s the old Milwaukee yard.

So, basically, the cabin width of the 737 is not dictated by comfort or other needs;  it's dictated by the width of a RR flatcar, and being able to fit thru tunnels and bridges.

Very nice series!

coach Wrote:
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> So, basically, the cabin width of the 737 is not
> dictated by comfort or other needs;  it's
> dictated by the width of a RR flatcar, and being
> able to fit thru tunnels and bridges.

The fuselage width (148") of a 737 was based off of the 707 and 727 in the mid 1960s and hasn't changed...

Texican65 Wrote:
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> Lookin’ good Andrew!
>
> I’ll send those along to my friends on the
> Rocket! We often times call them “The
> Rockettes”….which they don’t like…
>
> And that yard where the fuselages are/were being
> stored is what we refer to as the “North
> Yard”. It’s the old Milwaukee yard.

A lot of money BNSF spent on improvements to the North SIG yard, now unused...

These are all fantastic. Thanks for sharing. Everything from Seattle seems new to me I don't know why. Do we not get a lot of Seattle photographers here? 

coach Wrote:
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> So, basically, the cabin width of the 737 is not
> dictated by comfort or other needs;  it's
> dictated by the width of a RR flatcar, and being
> able to fit thru tunnels and bridges.

 standard gauge is an out growth which was inspired by the roman roads in europe, width similar 2 horses asses , surely you've heard that type of quote

Texican65 Wrote:
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> Lookin’ good Andrew!
>
> I’ll send those along to my friends on the
> Rocket! We often times call them “The
> Rockettes”….which they don’t like…
>
> And that yard where the fuselages are/were being
> stored is what we refer to as the “North
> Yard”. It’s the old Milwaukee yard.

Thanks for the great information. I did not know that was old Milwaukee trackage. It seems too far west. I always thought that the Milwaukee tracks into town were further east where the bakery and 6th street yards are located. 

Ticeska Wrote:
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> A lot of money BNSF spent on improvements to the
> North SIG yard, now unused...

The space is still used by BNSF. I have witnessed several cuts of double stacks getting swithed in and out of the facility. 

Are those solar panels on the tops of the BNSFyard switchers?

Nice.    Ypu  got  in  close!

SCUfoamer Wrote:
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> Texican65 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Lookin’ good Andrew!
> >
> > I’ll send those along to my friends on the
> > Rocket! We often times call them “The
> > Rockettes”….which they don’t like…
> >
> > And that yard where the fuselages are/were
> being
> > stored is what we refer to as the “North
> > Yard”. It’s the old Milwaukee yard.
>
> Thanks for the great information. I did not know
> that was old Milwaukee trackage. It seems too far
> west. I always thought that the Milwaukee tracks
> into town were further east where the bakery and
> 6th street yards are located. 

Correct…that is how the Hiawatha got to and from Union Station for passenger service. However…the MILW switch yard was right there next to Stacy. Still a handful of Milwaukee guys on the roster when I hired on in 2008 that I got to work with and learn from. Now they’re ALL gone…

cinder Wrote:
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> Are those solar panels on the tops of the BNSFyard
> switchers?

Nono….just a really ridiculous set-up of PTC gear.