NRC holds 2016 Rail Construction & Maintenance Equipment Auction

The National Railroad and Construction and Maintenance Association, Inc. (NRC) held its annual Railroad Construction and Maintenance Equipment Auction on Thursday, April 14, 2016 at the Blackmon Auctions facility in Little Rock, Ark. Thomas Blackmon, Jr. of Blackmon Auctions and his team ran the auction proceedings, which was a success with a total of 200 pieces of equipment sold for an NRC auction record $1.3 million to on-site and online bidders.

The 200 pieces of rail construction equipment ranged from hydraulic tools to grapple trucks, tie inserters to 6700 production tampers, anchor machines to equipment trailers, forklifts to pickup trucks. The auction was heavily attended, with participation from both old friends and new faces. Equipment prices were varied, 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, Deric Berry of Herzog Contracting Corp, 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 Peak Performance Asset Services, and Greg Spilker of Encore Rail Systems, was instrumental in getting the equipment there and spreading the word throughout the industry.

Along with consignments from dozens of contractors, suppliers, and railroads, of which the NRC receives 3% of the value with the rest going to the seller, equipment donations to the NRC auction this year included a trailer from Balfour Beatty Rail, wood tie plugging applicators from Encore Rail Systems, and a clip inserter and clippers from Railway Equipment Services. 100% of the proceeds from these donations 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, including the continued production of the NRC Safety DVD series. The NRC greatly appreciates these companies for recognizing the importance of this opportunity and making a true investment in railroad contractor safety.

To start making plans to consign or donate equipment for the 2017 NRC Auction next year, call the NRC office at (202) 715-2916 for more information.

For more information on the NRC Auction, visit: www.nrcma.org/auction.