Top bid $112 for electric streetcar being auctioned off in Vancouver
A decades-old electric streetcar is up for auction in Vancouver, and the top bid as of Friday morning was just $112.
While the low pricetag might sound enticing for some, the streetcar does come with a few strings attached – no pun intended.
The listing on the B.C. Auction website notes the vehicle is not in working condition, with some parts missing, and has visible damage on the exterior and interior. The streetcar also contains asbestos, according to a hazardous materials report attached to the post.
Retrieving the streetcar could pose a significant challenge as well: "Railway tracks may require preparation prior to removal including additional gravel provided by the winning bidder to bring the loading area to grade," the listing reads.
The purchaser will also need to arrange for "a switchman to operate the switch."
The Belgian government donated the streetcar to the Transit Museum Society around the year 2000, according to Matthew Laird, who was with the organization at the time.
Laird posted about the auction on Twitter this week, writing that the streetcar was at one point intended for use in Vancouver's Downtown Historic Railway, which ran between Olympic Village and Granville Island.
That railway was scuttled in 2011, and the streetcar never made it into operation – even though approximately $20,000 was spent "having UBC students build a new controller for it," Laird wrote.
"Now it's being disposed of because it's partially restored with nowhere to run it," he added.
The auction closes on August 29 at 8 p.m., according to the B.C. Auction website.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'I have the will to live': N.B. woman needs double lung transplant
A New Brunswick woman suffering from sarcoidosis, a disease that limits your lung capacity, is in need of a double lung transplant.
Suter scores late goal, clinches series for Canucks
Pius Suter scored with 1:39 left and the Vancouver Canucks advanced to the second round of the NHL playoffs with a 1-0 victory over the Nashville Predators on Friday night in Game 6.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
Video shows suspect setting Toronto-area barbershop on fire
Video of a suspect lighting a Richmond Hill barbershop on fire earlier this week has been released by police.
Police officer hit by driver of fleeing vehicle in Toronto
York Regional Police say they are continuing to search for a suspect in an auto theft investigation who was captured on video running over a police officer in Toronto last month.
The kids from 'Mrs. Doubtfire are all SUPER grown up now, and we're not OK
The adorable trio of child actors from the 1993 classic comedy 'Mrs. Doubtfire,' which starred the late and great Robin Williams, are all grown up and looking back on their seminal time together.
Britney Spears 'home and safe' after paramedics responded to an incident at the Chateau Marmont, source tells CNN
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
Premier Legault reiterates that McGill pro-Palestinian camp must be dismantled
Quebec Premier François Legault reiterated that the pro-Palestinian encampment at McGill University must be dismantled while police remain 'on the lookout for new developments.'
Hulk Hogan, hurricanes and a blockbuster recording: A week in review of the Trump hush money trial
Crucial witnesses took the stand in the second week of testimony in Donald Trump's hush money trial, including a California lawyer who negotiated deals at the center of the case and a longtime adviser to the former president.