Administrators optimistic the 3 cars will fetch more than their recently appraised value of $1.3 million
The vintage Pullman cars that have emerged as a symbol of runaway spending at the New Orleans Public Belt Railroad appear to be headed for the auction block.
The interior of one of the three Pullman cars owned by the New Orleans Public Belt Railroad was photographed in December 2003. A decision to solicit bids for the three antique railcars could come as early as Thursday when a new slate of Public Belt commissioners appointed recently by Mayor Mitch Landrieu meets for the second time.
The board's new Finance Committee, which convened for the first time Tuesday, will recommend that the full commission seek buyers for the cars, which were acquired and restored by former General Manager James Bridger.
Bridger, whose free-wheeling spending habits were the focus of a scathing report by the state legislative auditor, resigned under pressure last month.
New commissioners were told Tuesday that after Bridger stepped down, the Public Belt cut him a check for $47,115 to cover three weeks of unused vacation from this year and four weeks of accrued 2011 vacation.
Interim General Manager John Morrow said Bridger, a former New York City railroad executive who earned $350,000 a year in New Orleans, had earned his full allotment of vacation for next year because he had worked the 100 days required under the agency's employment policy.
Before he resigned, Bridger defended the use of two 1920s-era railroad cars and the purchase of a third coach that was being renovated.
"It gives you the tool to show off your railroad. It's how we get people across the railroad,'' he said of the cars, citing excursions for railroad executives, federal transportation officials and FEMA representatives.
Other railroads have fleets of 40 or more vintage cars, Bridger said in an August interview, adding that three is enough for the relatively tiny Public Belt.
Edgar Chase III, a former business dean at Dillard University whom Landrieu drafted as the commission's new finance chairman, said selling the lavish railcars would send a message to the public that the agency is serious about reforming its fiscal practices.
The New Orleans Public Belt Railroad 1920s-era railroad car."These cars have become such a big issue. It would be a statement that we're out of the frills business and in the railroad business,'' Chase said.
The audit report found that Bridger abused the agency's credit card, regularly buying dinner and drinks for friends and using it to purchase gifts and pay for tuxedo rentals.
Among the audit's other findings were that Bridger spent more than $2.8 million on the swanky railroad cars, which he used to host catered parties for prospective clients, Public Belt commissioners and local charities.
The railroad suspended use of the cars in August.
A recent appraisal done for the agency showed that the railroad could be looking at a net loss of about $1.5 million if it sells the three Pullman cars.
Public Belt administrators said Tuesday that they are optimistic that the railroad can get a better offer than the $1.3 million appraisal on all three cars if commissioners decide to put the coaches on the open market.
Chase said he prefers to seek bids for the three cars both as a package deal and individually.
If the board approves the move, Morrow said his staff intends to notify other railroads and advertise in trade publications. Morrow also said representatives of Greenbrier Express Co, which operates rail excursions between Washington, D.C., and South Carolina, expressed an interest in buying all three coaches after traveling to New Orleans last week to look at the railcars.
Chase and the other members of the Finance Committee -- former Mayor Sidney Barthelemy and Kyle Wedberg, a former Recovery School District deputy superintendent -- also got their first look at the Public Belt's proposed 2011 budget on Tuesday. The $15 million spending plan anticipates an operating surplus of about $475,000 next year and projects an additional $2.7 million in capital spending.
Through August, Morrow said, the railroad is running a shortfall of $218,000.
The full Public Belt commission will be asked to approve the 2011 budget when it meets Thursday morning in the City Council chamber.
Frank Donze can be reached at fdonze@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3328.