(The following article by Bonnie Rochman was posted on the Raleigh News website on August 4.)
RALEIGH — Ever dreamed of working on the railroad?
Now you can.
A minimum bid of $185,000 will put you in the running for a rail car that has been converted by the state into an office. It will be offered for sale on eBay in the next month or so. Five other cars also will go on the online auction block.
The car in question was built in 1924 with an open platform hugging the end, the kind of narrow metal platform you see in history books with presidential candidates waving elegantly as the train puffs away. Until recently, it had computers and makeshift cubicles in the main area; now club chairs take their place.
Railroad cars, like people, have life histories. They’ve traveled the country, traversing thousands of miles of track, crossing trestles, chugging through metropolises and mere shadows of communities.
These six cars came to North Carolina bundled together as a family. Buy one, buy them all, was the deal, and North Carolina did. The state paid $650,000 in 1996 to buy the lot from Nebraska’s Union Pacific Railroad.
The piece de resistance, renamed the Mount Mitchell, is a 1952 full-length dome car, one of the first of its kind. Soon after the state bought it, the car was overhauled and outfitted with new mechanical, electrical, HVAC, brake, coupler and draft gear systems at a cost of $858,000. It was used to ferry passengers to Carolina Panthers games in Charlotte and as a first-class car on the line from Raleigh to Charlotte. It even played host to Santa during the holiday season.
Julia Hegele, who does marketing for the state rail division, said she has fielded many a call from people wanting to know the next time they can ride the dome car. She has to break the bad news: never.
“I feel like a mean parent taking candy away from children, because people really love that car,” she said.
Of course, it can be yours for at least $285,000.
Not long after the cars were bought, the federal government changed its guidelines for emergency window exits and rollover strength. The state complied with the emergency exits but decided it made no sense financially to modify the dome car to meet rollover requirements. That means it is no longer fit for public passenger service. The state last used it for passenger service in 2002.
The two sleeper cars, for sale for a minimum bid of $185,000 each, were leased by Norfolk Southern or CSX until 2003. The business car — price tag: $185,000 — and the dining car — $20,000 — were converted to offices and classrooms in 1996 and used until 2001. The power car, which housed the generator, was stripped in 1998, its parts sold at surplus in 2003. Its shell will be auctioned for a starting bid of $25,000.
Why N.C. bought them
North Carolina is fairly unusual in that it owns its own railroad tracks.
Amtrak operates the Carolinian, which sends trains from New York to Charlotte and back daily. The Piedmont began service in 1995, traveling from Raleigh to Charlotte each morning and back to Raleigh each evening. At the time, Amtrak didn’t have cars it could put into service, so the state had to buy its own equipment. The dome car was the only car of the six being auctioned that was used in regular service.
That’s because the state Board of Transportation decided after the purchase that it didn’t have the money to rehabilitate the set, said Allan Paul, assistant director of operations for the rail division.
And that’s why they’re now for sale.
“We don’t want them to just sit here and rust away to nothing,” he said.
Yet that is just what’s happening to some, as they spend day after day in the unrelenting heat of summer. The green and yellow dining car has brushed silver tiebacks to hold curtains, but its underbelly and roof are chipped and rusted.
Mary Alice Sechler, the state’s surplus property officer, said her office is negotiating with eBay about the company’s cut for brokering the sales. North Carolina has already sold other excess property, from baseball cards seized as part of drug busts to state ferries, on eBay. The market is only increasing, she said.
Patrick Simmons, director of the state’s rail division, doesn’t anticipate having much trouble selling the cars. A few years ago, a railroad fan magazine ran a photo of the dome car. The state was deluged with calls.
Freight railroads, museums or private businesses that lease cars for excursions may be interested, Simmons said.
“We’ve had interest from people locally and from other governments and from railroads and museums,” he said.
Steve Barry, managing editor of Railfan & Railroad magazine, said this is one of the first times he has heard of rail cars being auctioned on eBay.
He speculated that a tourist railroad or tour company would covet the dome car, with its curved floor-to-ceiling windows. Anyone who would want to buy such a car would need deep pockets, he said.
“A rail car is like a big boat,” he said. “You’ve got to be rich and famous.”
Aside from the price, there is a potential caveat emptor. EBay items are usually shipped by their sellers. In this case, though, North Carolina wants nothing to do with that. Buyers are responsible for picking up their prizes.
And the Mount Mitchell, the domed gem of the bunch, weighs 185,000 pounds.