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Last Redbird subway car is sold for $236K at auction

By
Social Links for Melissa Klein
Published July 16, 2022, 11:18 a.m. ET
The city's last "Redbird" subway car was sold at an auction for $235,700 on Friday.
The city's last "Redbird" subway car was sold at an auction for $235,700 on Friday. Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images

The Big Apple’s last Redbird subway car has sold to the highest bidder for nearly a quarter of a million dollars.

The winning bidder, who went by the name House32, snatched it up for $235,700 when the city’s auction closed Friday afternoon.

The auction for the 40-ton train car started at $6,500 on June 21 and it garnered a total of 47 bids.

The classic subway car was retired from use in 2003.
The classic subway car was retired from use in 2003. AP Photo/Mary Altaffer
The opening bid at the auction was $6,500.
The opening bid at the auction was $6,500 for the 40-ton train car. Photo by Ramin Talaie/Corbis via Getty Images
The interior of the old Redbird subway train cars.
The interior of the old Redbird subway train cars. Photo by Ramin Talaie/Corbis via Getty Images

The 50-foot-long car was retired in 2003 and sits outside Queens Borough Hall where it has been used as a tourist information center.

The auction winner is responsible for picking it up within 10 business days.

The Redbird was once used to transport visitors to and from the 1964 World’s Fair in Flushing Meadows Corona Park. It was part of a fleet that dated to between 1959 and 1963.

The Redbird card was previously used as an information center outside of Queens Borough Hall.
The Redbird card was previously used as an information center outside of Queens Borough Hall. FlickrVision
The MTA began to phase out the Redbirds in 2001.
The MTA began to phase out the Redbirds in 2001. AP Photo/Mary Altaffer
A poster on the side of a Redbird train commemorating over trains that have been retired.
A poster on the side of a Redbird train commemorating over trains that have been retired. Photo by Ramin Talaie/Corbis via Getty Images

The MTA began to phase out the beloved cars in 2001 and many went to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean to form artificial reefs.

The Department of Citywide Administrative Services, which held the auction, said the winning bidder has five days to pay and hadn’t done so as of Friday night. It would not disclose the bidder’s identity.

The agency also sold a decommissioned Staten Island ferry at auction in January for $280,000 to Staten Island-bred Saturday Night Life stars Pete Davidson and Colin Jost. They plan to turn it into a live entertainment event space.