LuckyStrike;
Here's a schematic of main gear to nosewheel, width-to-base measurements on the MD83 -16' wide by 72' long, approximately, illustrating the ratio of length to width - I believe there was a question earlier in the thread about this.
Because the image of the tracks is viewed from an angle it's not possible to accurately template a triangle (such as the one below) onto the jpg image of the main gear tracks. I remain open to the "engine alternative" of course - any other stance or certainty at this time is foolish. For me it fits for the reasons I give, for others it looks like an engine track - the large item to the port of the track (to the right in the photo) looks to me like an engine cowl but again the photos are quite poor in resolution.
Time will tell all, and by that time no one will remember who said what on the thread.
