B737-300 PARKING AT GATE HAS ENG INGEST A BOX OF METAL ACFT COMPONENTS.

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UPON PARKING ON GATE X-3 AT IAD; AFTER SETTING THE PARKING BRAKE AND SHUTTING DOWN #1 ENG WE HEARD A STRANGE NOISE WHICH WE THOUGHT WAS THE JETWAY CANOPY BEING BLOWN AGAINST THE ACFT. THE #1 ENG APPARENTLY INGESTED A WOODEN CRATE OF METAL ACFT COMPONENTS. THE BOX WAS APPARENTLY ON A BAGGAGE CART THAT WAS PARKED BTWN THE JETWAY AND THE 'REDLINE.' AFTER THE ENGS WERE SHUT DOWN; THE MARSHALLER WHO PARKED US GAVE THE 'CHOCKS IN' SIGNAL AND WALKED AWAY. FO WITNESS ON A B737-200 PARKED ON ADJACENT GATE RPTED THAT HE SAW THE INDIVIDUAL WALK FROM THE FRONT OF THE ACFT TO THE BAGGAGE CART AND GOT ON THE TUG; STARTED IT UP AND MOVED IT AWAY FROM ITS ORIGINAL SPOT NEAR THE ENG. THIS INDIVIDUAL APPARENTLY LOOKED AROUND AND DEPARTED THE GATE AREA WITHOUT INFORMING ANYONE OF THE DAMAGE TO THE #1 ENG AND RESULTING CONTAMINATION OF THE RAMP FROM THE INGESTED FOD -- WHICH WAS SUBSTANTIAL. A DEPLANING PAX INFORMED ME THAT HE THOUGHT THAT SOMETHING WAS 'SUCKED INTO' THE #1 ENG. WE BOTH INSPECTED THE #1 ENG WHICH APPEARED TO BE SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED IN THE NACELLE AREA BY THE CENTRIFUGAL FORCE OF THE METAL COMPONENTS GOING THROUGH THE ENG AND PICKED UP LARGE METAL PIECES FROM BEHIND THE ENG; THAT HAD APPARENTLY BEEN INGESTED. LOOKED LIKE WOODEN MULCH WITH METAL SCRAPS AND SOME LARGE PIECES OF METAL. I CALLED GND TO ALERT THEM OF THE FOD IN THE AREA AND CALLED CONTRACT MAINT AND SUBSEQUENTLY GROUNDED THE ACFT AND CANCELED THE FLT. SOME MORE BACKGND INFO. WE HAD MADE A GAR ON APCH BECAUSE OF AN ACFT THAT HAD NOT CLRED THE RWY -- ALL IN IMC CONDITIONS. WENT VERY SMOOTHLY AND NON EVENTFUL; TEXTBOOK ACTUALLY. COPLT WAS AT THE CTLS. WE WERE TAXIING TO THE GATE X-2 AND THEN COMPANY CHANGED OUR GATE TO X-3. IT WAS DUSK AND RAINING; BUT I KNEW FROM MY CHART THAT X-3 WAS RIGHT NEXT TO X-2. I REMEMBER THINKING AND MAKING SURE VISIBLY THAT IT WAS THE PROPER GATE BECAUSE IT LOOKED SO VACANT; LIKE NO ONE WAS THERE TO PARK US. THEN A MAN CAME RUNNING FROM ANOTHER GATE AS I STARTED TO TURN INTO THE GATE AREA. I EVEN SAID TO THE COPLT THAT THIS GUY MUST BE NEW BECAUSE HE SEEMED SO JERKY IN HIS SIGNALS. IT FELT VERY AWKWARD LIKE I WASN'T SURE HE KNEW WHAT HE WAS DOING. ON TAXI; I SAW THE 'YELLOW' LINE CLRLY AND SAW THAT IT WAS CLR. THE BAGGAGE CART APPEARED CLOSE; BUT IT WAS ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE YELLOW LINE. I DID NOT NOTICE THE RED LINE UNTIL AFTER DEPLANING AND SAW IT. AT THIS TIME THE CART WAS PULLED AWAY FROM THE ACFT AND AWAY FROM OR CLR OF THE 'RED' LINE AND CLR OF THE ACFT. IT'S THE ONLY PLACE IN THE SYS THAT HAS 2 'LINES.' MOST ARE JUST YELLOW; SO I WOULD GUESS THAT THE 'RED LINE' IS MORE LIMITING. HAD I KNOWN TO LOOK FOR IT I MIGHT HAVE SEEN IT.