Congressman Rick Crawford (R-AR-01), ranking member of the U.S. House Railroad subcommittee, joined the National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association (NRC) at the 16th annual NRC Railroad Equipment Auction. The auction was hosted by our NRC member company Blackmon Auctions at their facility in Lonoke, Arkansas. Congressman Crawford toured the auction, addressed attendees and discussed the importance of the short line tax credit, freight rail transportation, ratifying USMCA and free trade policies. Each spring, the NRC hosts an annual railroad construction and maintenance equipment auction.
Today's auction included more than 300 pieces of equipment and brought in a record financial amount for the the NRC Safety & Education Training program.
The NRC Safety & Education Training program allows NRC to continue to strengthen its efforts to ensure the safety of employees of railroad contractors and everyone in the rail industry, holds the annual NRC Contractor Safety Award contest, and continues to produce safety material like the safety manuals and the NRC safety video series (25 and counting!). Click here to view all results for today's auction. NRC member Blackmon Auctions is a third-generation family owned small business located in Lonoke, Arkansas. The first Blackmon Auction was conducted in 1938 and three generations later Blackmon remains family owned and operated. The company went from a regional farm auction company to an internationally respected auction company. Blackmon Auctions has been the auction provider for every NRC auction over the last 16 years. Congressman Crawford participated in a brief policy discussion which highlighted the importance of international trade and the need for the 116th Congress to ratify the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). Attendees also thanked Congressman Crawford for co-sponsoring H.R. 510, the Building Rail Access for Customers and the Economy (BRACE) Act. If passed by Congress, the BRACE Act will allow the nation's small, local freight railroads to increase their reinvestment for upgrades and expanding the "first and last mile" of transportation infrastructure.
The event at our facility in Kansas City, Kansas, proved to be a great way to engage our employees, the industry, and our local U.S. representative. The NRC did much of the heavy lifting to put this event together in a matter of weeks. We were fortunate our congresswoman took a genuine interest in our business. She spent additional time in discussions with our team and toured our manufacturing facility.
President
A&K Railroad Materials
