Western Railroad Discussion > Owning a private railcar.

What kind of damage to a bank account is to be expected for this?
What fees are there?

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Want to make a million dollars?  Start with three million and get a private railcar.

I have a lot of respect for those who manage to go through all the effort and expense to operate a private railcar.  Thank you.  BSB

upheritage6 Wrote:
> What kind of damage to a bank account is to be
> expected for this?

Gigantic, from what I have read here and elsewhere!
Here is an excellent thread on this very subject:

http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?1,3057184,3057696#msg-3057696

And, in that thread, there is a link to an excellent discussion
on the Trains Magazine forum back in 2009 which has 2 very
informative replies by PV owners:

http://cs.trains.com/trn/f/743/p/164807/1813599.aspx

I myself am very grateful to the folks who own and operate
these beautiful PVs.

 

In talking with Stan Garner during an excursion a few years back, I learned of a hidden aspect.
Brake shoes.
IIRC, he said that a set cost approximately $1200, and had a surprisingly short life span.
...Lorenzo

567Chant Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> In talking with Stan Garner during an excursion a
> few years back, I learned of a hidden aspect.
> Brake shoes.
> IIRC, he said that a set cost approximately $1200,
> and had a surprisingly short life span.
> ...Lorenzo

 I don't remember quoting a price like that. I do know that before I recalculated the braking ratio on the Pony it was going through a lot of brake shoes.

​The last time I bought shoes they cost about $26.00 apiece x 16 shoes that's $416.00 per set.  I used to go through 2 - 3 sets per year,

​When I purchased the Pony it had a J-1 Relay valve. Turns out that was too much braking. It was set up for a fully loaded baggage car. After recalculating I went to a J-14 and that solved a lot of brake shoe and slid flat wheel issues while providing the correct braking for the car.

​As to cost of owning and operating a PV I recommend you go to www.aaprco.com. Click on menu and then on the link Info for Car Buyers.

​As it says on the web page, the landscape is changing for car owners and operators.

I sold the Pony to another car owner earlier this year.

Know a fellow who's father had a private car, he sold it because it cost too much maintenance and other ownership costs like storage and such. He by the way was quite well off several million am sure but not enough to keep it.
Much like a personal business jet, read that being a millionaire didn't cut it as a billionaire could due to total cost. That might vary if one fly's it themselves rather than hire pilots.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/23/16 17:51 by BAB.

A big piece of the cost picture is how you plan to operate the car.  If you rent out space and run it a lot, that helps cover the costs.  If you only take it out once in a while for friends or family, then all the costs are on your shoulders.  And the costs vary a lot depending on the condition of the car when you get it, what sort of work it needs to be Amtrak certified (and to keep it that way), what improvements you want to make, etc. 

Some "improvements" sound good on paper, but don't work out that well in reality.  For instance, removing roomettes or bedrooms in a sleeper to make room for a sitting area/lounge space and kitchen sounds good, because it allows you to run the car on its own with food service.  But it spreads the cost of the trip over far fewer people, making trips unaffordable for many potential riders.

If you are mechanically inclined, then learning about all the different systems on a car and keeping them running can be rewarding.  There's electrical (in several voltages), air conditioning/heating, plumbing, air lines (water pressure and toilet operation is provided by air), fresh water, grey water, black water, a generator, plus the mechanical things.  A lot of this requires availability of special equipment, and specialized knowledge, to maintain.

Having a private car can be very rewarding though, and they can be profitable. 

Not a lot different than a luxury beach house or lake house.  There's always something, and it's rarely cheap.

What's the old adage? 

"If you have to ask, you probably can't afford it."

Its a lot cheaper to charter someone elses car for a few trips a year and let them deal with all the costs.

You could buy a private rail car and maintain it or take your 401K and savings account, convert it to cash, then load the cash into the trunk of your car.  Open the trunk and drive down the highway at 90 mph until the contents of the trunk disappear. 

Not too many years ago, I was riding on my car TIOGA PASS returning from a charter trip in Montana.  We left Portland on train 11, the Starlight, about on time but in classic Oregon weather, rain, and as we ascended the Cascades up Pengra Pass, snow, and the weather got worse.  Finally, we went into a siding almost to the summit at Crescent Lake.  We sat in the siding for a while, expecting an opposing freight train.  We were apparently in the eye of the storm, as the snow continued to fall softly on the forest.  There were but four of us abaord the car, and we enjoyed finishing our dinner in the dark but moonlit night in the forest.  Soon, the conductor marched back throught the snow, boarded the car, shook the snow from his shoes, and told us that one of our engines had failed, and that UP was sending a rescue egine to help us over the hill.  Midst the clink of the wine glasses, the conductor declined our offer for him to join us in a glass of something.  He turned to return to the rest of the train.  With a sly grin, he looked back over his shoulder and said "You folks are the only ones on this train that don't really care if we are delayed!"
You know, he was right.....We finished another bottle of wine, and turned in for the night.  We were 10 hours late at Sacramento.  A wonderful trip!  Occasions like this make all the problems of owning a private car worth while.

Norm

Norman Orfall
Helendale, CA
TIOGA PASS, a private railcar

---

Despite all the negatives stated above, there are organizations that operate private cars as a business sucessfully.  I know of one that's been in business for 35 years.  I suspect, though, that it works a lot better if multiple cars are involved.

aronco Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Not too many years ago, I was riding on my car
> TIOGA PASS returning from a charter trip in
> Montana.  We left Portland on train 11, the
> Starlight, about on time but in classic Oregon
> weather, rain, and as we ascended the Cascades up
> Pengra Pass, snow, and the weather got worse.
>  Finally, we went into a siding almost to the
> summit at Crescent Lake.  We sat in the siding
> for a while, expecting an opposing freight train.
>  We were apparently in the eye of the storm, as
> the snow continued to fall softly on the forest.
>  There were but four of us abaord the car, and we
> enjoyed finishing our dinner in the dark but
> moonlit night in the forest.  Soon, the conductor
> marched back throught the snow, boarded the car,
> shook the snow from his shoes, and told us that
> one of our engines had failed, and that UP was
> sending a rescue egine to help us over the hill.
>  Midst the clink of the wine glasses, the
> conductor declined our offer for him to join us in
> a glass of something.  He turned to return to the
> rest of the train.  With a sly grin, he looked
> back over his shoulder and said "You folks are the
> only ones on this train that don't really care if
> we are delayed!"
> You know, he was right.....We finished another
> bottle of wine, and turned in for the night.  We
> were 10 hours late at Sacramento.  A wonderful
> trip!  Occasions like this make all the problems
> of owning a private car worth while.
>
> Norm

Man, I was on the wrong trip! Coming back from Bakersfield via Oakland a couple of winters ago, it was only Norm, Dennis and myself on the car. IIRC we just had warmed over pizza for dinner. But I'm sure there was beer and wine.