Transportation Oversight Committee
Members of the Joint Legislative Transportation Oversight Committee met Thursday to hear presentations on a state asset purchased by the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) in 2017. The asset, a set of nine railway cars previously owned by the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus, was initially purchased by NCDOT for $383,000. The goal was to repurpose the railway cars into usable passenger cars on the Amtrak Piedmont line which makes daily trips from Raleigh to Charlotte. That plan was scrapped by the agency in late 2020 when they received a federal grant to order new cars instead. The cars were put on the state’s surplus property website to auction.
The railcars were left on an unused rail in a dense wooded area in Nash County. In March, four of the nine rail cars caught on fire. During Thursday’s presentation, Nash County Sheriff Chief Deputy Brandon Medina told legislators he suspected the cause of the fire was arson due to the discovery of two gas cans nearby. Lawmakers asked about the department’s plans for the remaining four cars. According to Jason Orther who oversees the NCDOT Rail Division, the department hopes to find a buyer by April 18. If no one places a bid by then, they will organize a live online auction.
Some legislators pressed the department to extricate. Senator Mike Woodard (D-Durham) said, “it’s time to just cut our losses and get rid of these things.” He jokingly said, “I’ll bring the marshmallows if somebody would bring the igniter.” Lawmakers brought up concerns about the potential of a future fire that diverts resources from local law enforcement and fire departments, and the potential of a forest fire or an injury if it were to catch fire again. Earlier this year, the General Assembly passed House Bill 243: Budget Technical Corrections which spells out how a department like NCDOT should sell off surplus equipment, including the train cars. Senator Tom McInnis (R-Richmond) pressed the rail division to continue following that law.