Old construction gear draws crowds, bids

A spatter of yellow mustard could sweeten any deal, even if it is on a lukewarm hot dog and served alongside cold cola and tractors.

At least that was the word trickling through a throbbing crowd of people gathered Friday at an equipment auction in Roanoke. More than 300 parked their vehicles in lots near the 3100 block of Shenandoah Avenue Northwest, eager to browse and bid on equipment once used by J.M. Turner & Co. general contractors.

They walked to an open garage with keen interest, most of them stepping forward in construction boots and caps against the thrusts of an auctioneer’s high-strung voice crackling over a loudspeaker.

“Do I hear three hunna? Three hunna? Three-fifty, three-fifty? You sir. Four hunna, four hunna?”

Hands shot skyward.

All of the equipment had once belonged to J.M. Turner, which merged with a Northern Virginia construction company last year to form Turner Long Construction.

There was the truck tire dolly (it went for $200), an antique Zenith television (gone to bidder number 114 for a mere $25) and a room full of cabinets and shelving — the lot of it gone for $700.

Browsing available tools and vehicles parked outside, Charlie Hudson and John Maiko, both of Franklin County, said things get competitive when big crowds turn out.

“When you get this many people together, the prices can get so high,” Hudson said. “This is an absolute auction, so everything has to go at some price.”

Both men said the food provided might also have played a role in attracting so many people to the event. Hot dogs, soft drinks and chips were doled out free of charge beneath a big blue tent, with a line stretching five deep at any given time.

Doug Worley, a quiet scrap seller from Rocky Mount, said he had his eye on the largest item at the auction, a 1966 Lima crane with a boon towering above, outstretched to the sun.

Worley wound up spending $7,000 for the crane, after edging out bids from two other people. He said he didn’t know yet whether he would sell the scrap metal from it or use it on his property. First things first, though: disassembling the thing to transport it to his scrap yard.

“It’s not going to be fun,” he said, smiling sheepishly.

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