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Railroad Equipment Auction
Each spring, the NRC hosts an annual railroad construction and maintenance equipment auction. Equipment that has been available for purchase at past auctions includes adzers/cribbers, air compressors, backhoes, ballast regulators and compactors, clip applicators and removers, cranes, excavators and gradalls, hi-rail trucks, Mark I, II and III Tampers, rail heaters, rail manipulators, rail saws, rotary scarifiers, speed swings, spike drivers and pullers, tie handlers, tie removers/inserters, track liners, and track undercutters. All contractors, suppliers, and railroads are invited to sell and/or donate their equipment. A buyers Premium of 10% will be charged on all items. Additionlly, donations to the NRC's Safety, Training and Education Program will be made via a percentage of the buyers premum.
The NRC Safety, Training and Education Program funds the production and distribution of the NRC safety materials including safety videos, which help contractors train their workers in the safest and most effective rail construction and maintenance techniques and reinforce that safety in the workplace is everyone's responsibility. The videos are rolled out 2 per year at the NRC Annual Conference in January, and they have received positive reviews from the hundreds of companies throughout the industry that have used them.
2018 NRC Rail Construction & Maintenance Equipment Auction
The 2018 NRC Railroad Construction and Maintenance Equipment Auction will be held on Thursday, April 26, 2018 from 8AM-1PM.
Location: Blackmon Auctions, 425 Blackmon Road, Lonoke, Arkansas 72086.
Equipment Inspection: 8am-5pm, Wednesday, April 25, 2018 officially, although practically speaking anytime in the weeks preceding the auction.
Shipment & Delivery of Equipment: To schedule shipment or delivery of equipment for the auction, please contact Thomas Blackmon of Blackmon Auctions at 501-352-4702 or thomas@blackmonauctions.com.
Hotel: The NRC Auction hotel will be the Courtyard by Marriott Little Rock Downtown (521 President Clinton Ave, Little Rock, AR 72201). Teh room rate will be $109/per night before taxes, Please click here to book a room at the discounted room rate.
Happy Hour/Social Event: April 25, 2018, 5:00pm to 11pm - Lobby Bar at the Courtyard by Marriott Little Rock Downtown
Please fill out this form if you are planning on attending, if your company is interested in donating equipment or if your company is interested in purchasing equipment at the auction. Please return the form to Matt Bell at mbell@nrcma.org.
Please contact NRC Auction Chairman Danny Brown (dbrown@u1source.com) or Matt Bell (mbell@nrcma.org) if you have any questions.
Past NRC Auctions
2015 NRC Rail Construction & Maintenance Equipment AuctionLittle Rock, AR – The NRC's Annual Railroad Construction and Maintenance Equipment Auction was held on Friday, April 17 at the Blackmon Auctions facility in Little Rock, AR. Thomas Blackmon, Jr. of Blackmon Auctions and his team did an outstanding job of running the auction proceedings. The auction was a success with a total of 380 pieces of equipment sold for $1.1 million to on-site and online bidders.
The 380 pieces of rail construction equipment ranged from pallets of spare parts to anchor squeezers, backhoes, ballast regulators, grapples, hi-rail trucks, rail cranes, rail threaders, rail saws, speed swings, spike drivers & pullers, tampers, and tie excavators. High profile pieces auctioned included a Fairmont Jr. Switch Tamper, a TKO tie remover/inserter, and a Case 580M loader backhoe. The auction was heavily attended, with participation from both old friends and new faces. Equipment prices were competitive, with the typical auction surprises on both the high and the low side, but overall were reasonable and reflected a healthy market for used and rehabilitated railroad construction and maintenance equipment.
The auction committee, including Danny Brown of V&H Trucks, Mark Gaffney of Stacy & Witbeck, Jay Gowan of Harsco Rail, Paul Laurello of Delta Railroad Construction, Dean Mackey of Progress Rail Services, Dan Samford of Herzog, and Greg Spilker of Encore Rail Systems, were instrumental in getting the equipment there and spreading the word throughout the industry.
Along with consignments from dozens of contractors, suppliers, and railroads, equipment donations to the NRC Auction this year were an adzer from Balfour Beatty, a plow for a ballast regulator from Delta Railroad Construction, two boxes of wood tie plugging compound from Encore Rail Systems, a rotary scarifier from Nordco, and a partial donation of a TKO from Railway Equipment Services. Funds from these donations will go to the NRC Safety & Education Training program, which will allow the NRC to continue to strengthen its efforts to ensure the safety of everyone in the rail industry. The NRC greatly appreciates these companies for recognizing the importance of this opportunity and making a true investment in railroad contractor safety.
2014 NRC Rail Construction & Maintenance Equipment Auction
Click here for the official 2014 Auction Equipment Catalog and Brochure
The NRC's Annual Railroad Construction and Maintenance Equipment Auction was held on Thursday, May 1st at the Quality Track Equipment facility in Austinburg, Ohio. Quality Track Equipment, a division of Delta Railroad Construction, were gracious hosts at their newly opened rehab facility. Thomas Blackmon, Jr. of Blackmon Auctions and his team did an outstanding job of running the auction proceedings. The auction was a huge success with a record of $1m of equipment auctioned to on-site and online bidders. Consignors sold around 250 pieces of rail construction equipment to dozens of bidders from all over the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
AUCTION SITE: Quality Track Equipment facility in Austinburg, OH
DATE: Thursday, May 1, 2014
The NRC's Annual Railroad Construction and Maintenance Equipment Auction was held on Thursday, May 1st at the Quality Track Equipment facility in Austinburg, Ohio. Quality Track Equipment, a division of Delta Railroad Construction, were gracious hosts at their newly opened rehab facility. Thomas Blackmon, Jr. of Blackmon Auctions and his team did an outstanding job of running the auction proceedings. The auction was a huge success with a record of $1m of equipment auctioned to on-site and online bidders. Consignors sold around 250 pieces of rail construction equipment to dozens of bidders from all over the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
AUCTION SITE: Quality Track Equipment facility in Austinburg, OH
DATE: Thursday, May 1, 2014
The NRC's Annual Railroad Construction and Maintenance Equipment Auction was held on Tuesday, April 16th in conjunction with Union Pacific's auction at the Blackmon Auctions facility in Little Rock, AR. The auction was another huge success with nearly $1.5m of equipment auctioned to on-site and online bidders, including nearly $800,000 in the NRC portion of the sale. Thomas Blackmon, Jr. of Blackmon Auctions and his team were gracious hosts and once again did an outstanding job of running the day-long auction proceedings.
AUCTION SITE: Blackmon Auctions facility in Little Rock, AR
DATE: Tuesday, April 16, 2014
AUCTION SITE: Blackmon Auctions facility in Little Rock, AR
DATE: Tuesday, April 16, 2014
The NRC's Annual Railroad Construction and Maintenance Equipment Auction was held on Thursday, April 26th at the RailWorks/E&L Paving and Construction facility in La Porte, IN. RailWorks Corporate Equipment Manager, Buck Giese, NRC's Vice Chairman, Bill Dorris, and Ed and Carole Loniewski of E&L were spectacular hosts. Blackmon Auctions once again did an outstanding job of running the proceedings.
AUCTION SITE: RailWorks/E&L Paving and Construction facility in La Porte, IN
DATE: Thursday, April 26, 2012
2011 NRC Railroad Construction and Maintenance Equipment Auction
AUCTION SITE: RailWorks/E&L Paving and Construction facility in La Porte, IN
DATE: Thursday, April 26, 2012
2011 NRC Railroad Construction and Maintenance Equipment Auction
The NRC held its Annual Railroad Contracting Equipment Auction on Thursday, May 19, 2011 in Fairmont, Minnesota. Blackmon Auctions once again did an excellent job of running the proceedings which took place at the Harsco Rail facility.
AUCTION SITE: Harsco Rail facility, Fairmont, MN
DATE: Thursday, May 19, 2011
AUCTION SITE: Harsco Rail facility, Fairmont, MN
DATE: Thursday, May 19, 2011
The NRC held its Annual Railroad Contracting Equipment Auction on Thursday, April 22, 2010 at Balfour Beatty Rail's facility in Washington, PA. Blackmon Auctions ran the proceedings, which took place on a Balfour Beatty rail yard.
AUCTION SITE: Balfour Beatty Rail facility in Washington, PA
DATE: Thursday, April 22, 2010
AUCTION SITE: Balfour Beatty Rail facility in Washington, PA
DATE: Thursday, April 22, 2010
The NRC held its Annual Railroad Contracting Equipment Auction on Thursday, April 9, 2009 on JER Overhaul's property in Arcola, IL. It was another huge success with over $600,000 of goods changing hands before lunch! Dudley Newman and Eric Headrick of JER Overhaul (a Nordco company) were tremendous hosts, and the yard looked spectacular. Blackmon Auctions ran the proceedings.
AUCTION SITE: JER Overhaul facility in Arcola, Illinois
DATE: Thursday, April 9, 2009
AUCTION SITE: JER Overhaul facility in Arcola, Illinois
DATE: Thursday, April 9, 2009
The NRC held its Annual Railroad Contracting Equipment Auction on Tuesday, April 15th, 2008 in Little Rock, Arkansas. Blackmon Auctions ran the proceedings, which took place on their auction yard.
AUCTION SITE: Blackmon Auctions yard in Little Rock, Arkansas
DATE: Tuesday, April 15, 2008
AUCTION SITE: Blackmon Auctions yard in Little Rock, Arkansas
DATE: Tuesday, April 15, 2008
The NRC held its Annual Railroad Contracting Equipment Auction on Thursday, April 5th, 2007 in Ashtabula, Ohio. Blackmon Auctions ran the proceedings, which took place on a Delta Railroad Construction rail yard.
AUCTION SITE: Delta Railroad Construction Yard
DATE: Thursday, April 5, 2007
AUCTION SITE: Delta Railroad Construction Yard
DATE: Thursday, April 5, 2007
The NRC held its 3rd Annual Railroad Contracting Equipment Auction on Thursday, March 30th, 2006 in Granite City, Illinois - just across the Mississippi River from St. Louis, MO. Blackmon Auctions ran the proceedings, which took place on a Progress Rail Services (All Track Equipment Division) rail yard.
AUCTION SITE: Progress Rail Services (All Track Equipment Division) rail yard
DATE: Thursday, March 30, 2006
AUCTION SITE: Progress Rail Services (All Track Equipment Division) rail yard
DATE: Thursday, March 30, 2006
The 2nd annual NRC Railroad Equipment Auction was held on March 31st, 2005 at the Herzog Contracting Corp. equipment yard across the Missouri river from St. Joseph, Missouri in Elwood, Kansas. To simply call the auction a success would be a significant understatement.
Over 300 pieces of equipment sold. Those items included high rail units such as tampers, regulators, tie handlers, scarifiers, inspection and crew trucks, speed swings, spikers and one Little Giant Truck Crane to lots of high rail gear, cwr rollers, hydraulic tools and power units. The total proceeds from these items exceeded $500,000 with the highest item selling for $35,000.00.
Blackmon Auction Company conducted the auction again this year and performed admirably. They started the activities exactly at 9:00 AM as advertised and concluded at 1:00PM. A crowd of 150 people attended the auction with 105 registered bidders from 26 states and three countries. The large crowd of serious buyers coupled with the professionalism and experience of Blackmon auctioneers had a direct and most positive impact on the event.
The NRC auction committee chairman, Dan Samford who is the Vice President of Equipment for Herzog, and his committee members Josh Kimsey of Railworks and Joel Frank of Progress Rail, did a great job in organizing the event and soliciting consigned equipment. Shop superintendent Bert Ross and his crew worked diligently to receive, arrange and load out that equipment in addition to performing their normal duties. The NRC congratulates and sincerely thanks all of them for their hard work which contributed to the success of the 2005 auction. And also a special thank you to Eddie and Barbara Stokes of Railway Equipment Services, who were the biggest contributors to this year's auction.
Local barbecue caterer Keith's BBQ was on site serving his specialties as well as drinks, donuts, etc. The NRC received a 12 gauge Browning "Gold Hunter" shotgun as a donated gift from Thomas McGee, L.C. to be raffled to registered buyers. Each registrant received one ticket for the drawing as well as having the option to buy additional chances for cash. The shotgun was a huge hit and this raffle will be a staple of future NRC auctions. Many thanks to NRC member company Thomas McGee. The lucky winner whose ticket was drawn after the conclusion of the auction was Gary Fossen, G A Fossen & Associates of Lenux, South Dakota. Congratulations Gary!
During the evening prior to the auction, many of the attendees met at Houlihan's Pub, a local restaurant, for a social hour(s). Cocktails and food were provided by the following companies: FCM Rail, Fleet Body Equipment, Hertz Equipment Rental Corp., L. B. Foster Company, RailWorks and Herzog Contracting Corp. A good time was had by all as new acquantances were made and many long-time friends revisited the good ol days.
For the first time, railroads committed equipment to the auction in 2005. The Florida East Coast Railway consigned several pieces and received a fair price. Also, the FEC purchased other items.
The BNSF Railway donated five pieces of equipment to the auction (through Railway Equipment Services) with the proceeds dedicated to NRC Employee Safety and Training programs. I commend the BNSF for recognizing the value of NRC member contractors and promoting their training and safety. This is, in my opinion, a true and viable partnership between an owner and contractors in which all parties will benefit from increased resources for safety and training. On behalf of the NRC, its Board of Directors and the members, thank you BNSF very much for your generous contribution and foresight. We are looking expand this partnership effort next year to include other railroads.
Over 300 pieces of equipment sold. Those items included high rail units such as tampers, regulators, tie handlers, scarifiers, inspection and crew trucks, speed swings, spikers and one Little Giant Truck Crane to lots of high rail gear, cwr rollers, hydraulic tools and power units. The total proceeds from these items exceeded $500,000 with the highest item selling for $35,000.00.
Blackmon Auction Company conducted the auction again this year and performed admirably. They started the activities exactly at 9:00 AM as advertised and concluded at 1:00PM. A crowd of 150 people attended the auction with 105 registered bidders from 26 states and three countries. The large crowd of serious buyers coupled with the professionalism and experience of Blackmon auctioneers had a direct and most positive impact on the event.
The NRC auction committee chairman, Dan Samford who is the Vice President of Equipment for Herzog, and his committee members Josh Kimsey of Railworks and Joel Frank of Progress Rail, did a great job in organizing the event and soliciting consigned equipment. Shop superintendent Bert Ross and his crew worked diligently to receive, arrange and load out that equipment in addition to performing their normal duties. The NRC congratulates and sincerely thanks all of them for their hard work which contributed to the success of the 2005 auction. And also a special thank you to Eddie and Barbara Stokes of Railway Equipment Services, who were the biggest contributors to this year's auction.
Local barbecue caterer Keith's BBQ was on site serving his specialties as well as drinks, donuts, etc. The NRC received a 12 gauge Browning "Gold Hunter" shotgun as a donated gift from Thomas McGee, L.C. to be raffled to registered buyers. Each registrant received one ticket for the drawing as well as having the option to buy additional chances for cash. The shotgun was a huge hit and this raffle will be a staple of future NRC auctions. Many thanks to NRC member company Thomas McGee. The lucky winner whose ticket was drawn after the conclusion of the auction was Gary Fossen, G A Fossen & Associates of Lenux, South Dakota. Congratulations Gary!
During the evening prior to the auction, many of the attendees met at Houlihan's Pub, a local restaurant, for a social hour(s). Cocktails and food were provided by the following companies: FCM Rail, Fleet Body Equipment, Hertz Equipment Rental Corp., L. B. Foster Company, RailWorks and Herzog Contracting Corp. A good time was had by all as new acquantances were made and many long-time friends revisited the good ol days.
For the first time, railroads committed equipment to the auction in 2005. The Florida East Coast Railway consigned several pieces and received a fair price. Also, the FEC purchased other items.
The BNSF Railway donated five pieces of equipment to the auction (through Railway Equipment Services) with the proceeds dedicated to NRC Employee Safety and Training programs. I commend the BNSF for recognizing the value of NRC member contractors and promoting their training and safety. This is, in my opinion, a true and viable partnership between an owner and contractors in which all parties will benefit from increased resources for safety and training. On behalf of the NRC, its Board of Directors and the members, thank you BNSF very much for your generous contribution and foresight. We are looking expand this partnership effort next year to include other railroads.
On March 31st, 2004, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the NRC held its first ever auction and it was a tremendous success. Over $600,000 of high-quality used contracting equipment goods changed hands before lunch! The auction was run by noted railroad auction company Blackmon Auctions and was held on an old rail yard just outside of Pittsburgh.
Attendance at the auction was solid as we had buyers snapping up the bargains coming all the way from Texas, Kansas, Missouri, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Maryland and Virginia. NRC members including Balfour Beatty Rail, Atlas Railroad Contractors, G.W. Peoples Contracting and Herzog Contracting sold their surplus equipment to the willing group of buyers.
As both buyers and sellers got fair prices, the NRC found a valuable new service to offer its members, and many good friends were brought together, this event was a win-win-win for everybody involved.
Attendance at the auction was solid as we had buyers snapping up the bargains coming all the way from Texas, Kansas, Missouri, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Maryland and Virginia. NRC members including Balfour Beatty Rail, Atlas Railroad Contractors, G.W. Peoples Contracting and Herzog Contracting sold their surplus equipment to the willing group of buyers.
As both buyers and sellers got fair prices, the NRC found a valuable new service to offer its members, and many good friends were brought together, this event was a win-win-win for everybody involved.