Passenger Trains > Do any corporations own private rail cars?

Not railway business cars, or limited partnerships or firms organized to provide tours or vacations, etc but large corporations engaged in other activities.

US Steel once had several cars in its facility, as did Alcoa and Koppers, etc. But when you've sold or closed off facilities in remote Wyoming, eastern Tennessee, etc you can get anywhere you ned to get on your own private jet or a leased jet.

The current tax code allows corporations to depreciate owned private jets in five years, faster than the airlines schedule of seven years. I believe Berkshire's NetJets uses the five year depreciation.

Yes, several cars are corporately owned and operated for entertaining and executive travel purposes. I believe the 7 year timeframe is used for depreciation.

Charter Wire Corp. owns four exquisite private cars that usually live in Milwaukee. They make a couple of trips a year to Toledo and occasionally to other places where they have facilities.

They are painted in NYC postwar two-tone gray and even when parked in MKE they are kept spotless.

NZ

Quad Graphics has four cars that are kept near its Sussex, Wis. plant:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/railohio/5631048435

Other cars are owned by individuals who either own their own businesses or chair closely held corporations, not in the travel business. You can bet the company is footing the bills for the expenses and taking advantage of the write-down.

We have the creative charters cars and use them for corporate functions such as Super Bowl, Final Four , National Restaurant Show, Wine company events, and Kentucky Derby. Patrick Henry

Patron Tequila owns a PV in GM&O colorsl. Not only does the owner travel in it, but its used
for promotional venues for the tequila.

A Canadian company, Mother Parker Tea and Coffee has their own private car, "Pacific". This ex CNR car was built in 1924. I last saw the car here in Ottawa when it was on a fund raising tour collecting money for Alzheimer's back in 2012.

Gerry Gaugl
Ottawa ON

Burton A Burton,RIP parked his Casablanca Fan Co cars in Washington Union Station occasionally.
http://www.malibutimes.com/obituaries/article_1ed7ae39-de53-58c9-b0eb-a7d8fffcf480.html

"Burton Alan Burton, who founded Casablanca Fan Company in Old Pasadena and re-popularized the ceiling fan, died last month in Orcas Island, Wash. He was 75 years old.
***
Burton's marketing innovations were legendary. He spent more than $1 million to refurbish two old railroad cars-1940s relics of the New York Central and the Rock Island Line. He furnished them with antiques, rosewood paneling, beveled glass and uniformed porters. He toured the country in these traveling showrooms promoting Casablanca Fans. He hosted sales meetings aboard, took the cars to industry conventions and trade shows, got sales reps and dealers so excited about fans they enticed consumers to pay 50 percent more than they'd ever paid for a ceiling fan. Dealers still remember him as "the guy who took us aboard the train."

Nothing was too extreme for Burton. To keep the Casablanca name alive in the heads of reps and dealers, he once rode into a sales meeting on an elephant. Burton and his Casablanca Fans were visible on Rose Bowl Parade floats, in circus acts and T-shirts that read: "Blow your wad; cool your bod."

Burton rented the Old Pasadena train station for his office and showroom. He even installed old train whistles on the roof, which he tooted whenever the trains came by. Years later, after retiring to Orcas Island, Burton built his own train station and rail line-the Mt. Baker Railroad-designing it after the Lake Elsinore station he had so many fond memories of....."

Lurch_in_ABQ Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Burton A Burton,RIP parked his Casablanca Fan Co
> cars in Washington Union Station occasionally.
> http://www.malibutimes.com/obituaries/article_1ed7
> ae39-de53-58c9-b0eb-a7d8fffcf480.html
>
> "Burton Alan Burton, who founded Casablanca Fan
> Company in Old Pasadena and re-popularized the
> ceiling fan, died last month in Orcas Island,
> Wash. He was 75 years old.
> ***
> Burton's marketing innovations were legendary. He
> spent more than $1 million to refurbish two old
> railroad cars-1940s relics of the New York Central
> and the Rock Island Line. He furnished them with
> antiques, rosewood paneling, beveled glass and
> uniformed porters. He toured the country in these
> traveling showrooms promoting Casablanca Fans. He
> hosted sales meetings aboard, took the cars to
> industry conventions and trade shows, got sales
> reps and dealers so excited about fans they
> enticed consumers to pay 50 percent more than
> they'd ever paid for a ceiling fan. Dealers still
> remember him as "the guy who took us aboard the
> train."
>
> Nothing was too extreme for Burton. To keep the
> Casablanca name alive in the heads of reps and
> dealers, he once rode into a sales meeting on an
> elephant. Burton and his Casablanca Fans were
> visible on Rose Bowl Parade floats, in circus acts
> and T-shirts that read: "Blow your wad; cool your
> bod."
>
> Burton rented the Old Pasadena train station for
> his office and showroom. He even installed old
> train whistles on the roof, which he tooted
> whenever the trains came by. Years later, after
> retiring to Orcas Island, Burton built his own
> train station and rail line-the Mt. Baker
> Railroad-designing it after the Lake Elsinore
> station he had so many fond memories of....."

That's great information. What ever happened to his cars?

Thanks to everyone for a great thread. I had no idea so many private cars are still in corporate hands.

http://www.inc.com/magazine/19870901/7522.html

Back around 1967, publisher Hastings Harcourt had his private car (which was usually kept in the Santa Barbara area) auctioned off by industrial auction specialist Milton J. Wershow. The sale was conducted in the former Pacific Electric yard in West Hollywood and I attended out of curiosity, certainly not as a serious bidder. Seeing Mr. Wershow in action was a chance to see a master at work. The car was finally sold to Ray Kroc, the president of the McDonald's restaurant empire. One observer of the sale painted a "word picture" of the elegant dining room in the private car, with a white-coated steward bringing in bags of Big Macs on a silver tray. Some years later, I spotted the car at Golden West Baking in City of Industry, which had the hamburger buns contract for McDonald's, and which had a spur track where the car could be kept in a safe place. Since Mr. Kroc has long since gone to the great hamburger stand in the sky, does anyone know what happened to the "Golden Arches Special"?

casablancas cars went to phil and the ski train, colorado was surplus and sold, burned, the utah is the M&stl/RI car operates out of LA

DNRY122 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Back around 1967, publisher Hastings Harcourt had
> his private car (which was usually kept in the
> Santa Barbara area) auctioned off by industrial
> auction specialist Milton J. Wershow. The sale
> was conducted in the former Pacific Electric yard
> in West Hollywood and I attended out of curiosity,
> certainly not as a serious bidder. Seeing Mr.
> Wershow in action was a chance to see a master at
> work. The car was finally sold to Ray Kroc, the
> president of the McDonald's restaurant empire.
> One observer of the sale painted a "word picture"
> of the elegant dining room in the private car,
> with a white-coated steward bringing in bags of
> Big Macs on a silver tray. Some years later, I
> spotted the car at Golden West Baking in City of
> Industry, which had the hamburger buns contract
> for McDonald's, and which had a spur track where
> the car could be kept in a safe place. Since Mr.
> Kroc has long since gone to the great hamburger
> stand in the sky, does anyone know what happened
> to the "Golden Arches Special"?

I do remember seeing a car around one of those buildings. The next time I have some time, I will drive around the area to see if I can find it.

Unless Ray Kroc owned more than 1 car during his lifetime, I believe the car of which you speak wound up at the Hocking Valley RailRoad Museum in Logan Ohio. At least a car that at one time belonged to the hamburger baron was donated by his wife to that facility in the late 70s.

redarrow Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Unless Ray Kroc owned more than 1 car during his
> lifetime, I believe the car of which you speak
> wound up at the Hocking Valley RailRoad Museum in
> Logan Ohio. At least a car that at one time
> belonged to the hamburger baron was donated by his
> wife to that facility in the late 70s.

Joan Kroc was a noted benefactress, donating tens of millions to homeless shelters, National Public Radio and her local station, YMCAs, etc.

Her dad was a railway worker. She married Ray when he was peddling ice cream making machines to diners, food stands, etc.