http://cgi6.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewSellersOtherItems&userid=ncssp

Click the link above to see what the state of North Carolina is auctioning as surplus property. You have your choice of Leatherman tools or railroad passenger cars.

More details are here: http://www.bytrain.org/equipment.html

Regards,

Erich Russ

Okay, I'll ask the dumb question:

What does it take to make a car - for instance the business car in this auction - "Amtrak compatible"?

Thanks!

Scott

If the car is over 40 years old, it has to have a truck teardown and overhaul to Amtrak specifications. It must have tightlock couplers, roller bearings, and no rim stamped wheels. A strict frame and collision post inspection is now also part of this procedure. It also has to have footplate and buffer mods to coordinate with Amfleet/Superliner. Finally, it needs to have a full pass through (to Amtrak specs) of 480 volt 4/0 diameter wires and connectors (HEP); and at a minimum, the 27 wire communications line. The 27 wire MU line is optional.

After this is done (a "PC-2") it is inspected every year (a "PC-1) without a large teardown. Every ten years it gets a truck rollout and frame inspection (PC-2A). At 750,000 miles it gets the truck teardown again.

Be wary of a car listed as "Amtrak Compatible". Demand to see the PC-2, know how many miles or years are on the car since it was performed, and confirm with Harold Weisinger of Amtrak as to wheter the paperwork is legit. Some railroad business cars were given "absolution" from every detail of the PC-2 (a typical sin is substandard HEP wiring) with the understanding it would only be used on the home road, and this will not transfer to the new owner. Typically, Harold has been asking for a PC-2a when a transfer similar to this NC DOT thing happens.

Steve Zuiderveen
Amtrak PC inspector (amongst other things)

A couple of questions I have after viewing this...
Given that it seems (at least to me) that the intial asking prices are awfully high, I have to wonder what interest there might be out there for some of these items,, a Full Dome, an open-end obs, one would think there'd be some interest out there. Certainly can't be too many F3-B units available these days.....

And what's with the diner's asking price of $6000 ?
A sudden dose of reality, or a missing zero in the price ?

JC

Take a look at the photos of the interior of the F3B power car, it appears to be a "powerless" car. I don't see any generators or power equipment inside the car.

As for the diner, I understand that it may have some structural problems and it may have to be "flatcarred" out. The only note for the car is that it is standard gauge, nothing said on COT&S, lube dates, etc, like the other cars do. It might be a good car for a tourist operator but probably not for a mainline operator unless a lot of money is pumped into it.

Don C.

Diners, especially non-Amtrak compatible diners, seem to be slow sellers in the private car market. Illinois Transit seems to have more diners listed for sale than just about anything else on their website (www.iltransit.com) and their prices are generally quite a bit less than other car types, except maybe non-Amtrak compatible sleepers.

Yes, my Cape Brule (CNR 4 br lounge, PS 1954) has Amtrak number 800029, however it has not been legal for full Amtrak running since full HEP was required in the early 90's. Anyone who is seriously interested in purchasing a solid bedroom lounge for conversion to Amtrak service, please contact me!

Steve Zuiderveen

Should be no surprise, but the only car that sold out of those listed was the diner at $6,700, with only two bidders and a total of 5 bids (4 from the non-winning bidder).

There were no bids on the B-unit, dome, sleepers or business cars.

I would not be surprised to see them relisted with a lower opening bid sometime soon...

anyone have an idea why the emergency windows arn't considered a viable exit plan in the eyes of FRA. Would I be able to run the car as is if I bought it? How much to install doors on the lower level?

Only 49 CFR 238 equipment is required to have the emergency window exits. That would be commuter railroads and Amtrak. Private cars, tourist, scenic, historic and excursion operations are exempt from the requirements for emergency window exits.

Steve

Were there any bids on these cars? I would check myself, but I do not have a Yahoo login. When I checked yesterday with 12 hours left in the auction there were none. In my opinion, the reserve prices seemed to be set quite high

uh - no one bids - what a surprise.

Jim

Hello All,

The ex-GN dining Car sold for $6,700. Does anyone know who the new owner is? The bid history from e-bay is pasted below.

User ID Bid Amount Date of bid
hpwsdw ( 37) US $6,700.00 Sep-14-04 02:33:44 PDT
1283761 ( 7 ) US $6,600.00 Sep-14-04 05:06:25 PDT
1283761 ( 7 ) US $6,400.00 Sep-14-04 05:05:54 PDT
1283761 ( 7 ) US $6,200.00 Sep-14-04 05:05:31 PDT
1283761 ( 7 ) US $6,000.00 Sep-13-04 21:12:19 PDT