One of the best known private cars of the late 20th century, the former Amtrak office car 10000, which was used by the passenger railroad’s presidents, is for sale.
Railroad equipment brokerage firm Ozark Mountain Railcar has listed the car for sale from an unidentified private owner. The 65-year-old Wabash-built office is listed for $40,000. “It needs a lot of work, but it's got very good bones," says Ozark’s John Susheck. “It's got its 1970s interior that would probably need to be updated, but it's a very savable car.”
Wabash’s Decatur, Ill., shops built car Adolphus in 1954 for the Anheuser-Busch company. It features one stateroom, two bedrooms, a secretary’s room, and crew quarters. The car sleeps eight people. Anheuser-Busch sold the car in the 1960, the listing says, and it was later owned by the Pennsylvania Railroad, Penn Central, and private car owner Bill Kratville of Omaha, who leased it to Amtrak for executive train use. During its career, the listing says, the car was used by President Gerald Ford during whistle stop tour events in 1980. The car was a regular on special trains, and Amtrak President W. Graham Claytor Jr., used it to kickoff state-supported additions to the network in the early and mid-1980s.
According to the listing, whomever purchases the car will have to move it by truck or flatcar, but, Susheck says, the original trucks will be included in the sale. Susheck says the car has been viewed more than 1,000 times on the Ozark Mountain website since it was listed. He says the historical value of the No. 10000 will be helpful in ultimately selling the car. "Historical significance definitely helps," Susheck says. "There is really no way of telling how long it will take to sell it, but historical significance does help. It's got a great history."
For more information on the car, or to view the listing, visit, www.ozarkmountainrailcar.com.