By Railfan & Railroad Staff

SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Transit Authority has put much of its fleet of former Erie Lackawanna “Comet” cars on the auction block. 

At least 18 cars were listed this week and most had a starting bid of just $100. The lucky winners would be responsible for moving the cars within 90 days. The auction ends on November 1. 

Earlier this year, UTA’s FrontRunner announced they were retiring the cars. The Comet I cars were built for EL commuter service in northern New Jersey in the early 1970s. The commuter coaches would work for EL and successor New Jersey Transit until the 2000s when 25 were sold to UTA, which was experiencing a massive spike in ridership. The cars are usually paired up with three bi-level Bombardier cars that were built new for UTA in the 2000s. NJT has not used Comet I cars since 2009 and many were scrapped the following year. A few of the cars have even ended up in museums, including at New Jersey’s Whippany Railway Museum.  

UTA previously said it would retain a few cars as backups just in case, but recently noted that all 25 cars would have to go.