Friends of the Union Pacific Railroad Museum’s latest online auction steamed to a strong finish Thursday.

Ten out of 15 railroad art pieces posted on eBay by the group sold, raising $2,400 for the museum, said Don Bowerman, member of the Friends Board’s art committee and coordinator of the sale.

“We did real good,” he said. “I certainly am tickled about it.”

The 15 items drew a combined total of almost 1,800 hits during the 10-day auction, Bowerman said. However, most of the sales came down to the wire.

“Up until 36 hours ago, we had one item that was confirmed sold,” he said Thursday afternoon. “Seven more items were sold in the last 12 hours.”

Bowerman wasn’t sure how many bids the art would draw but did expect a flurry of activity near the end, he said.

“I wasn’t totally surprised, because this is the way a lot of people do their bidding,” he said.

Two pieces were sold on “second-chance” offers after general bidding had closed, he said.

The bill of sale included 10 prints of steam locomotives and trains and five Union Pacific Railroad advertisements - all framed. The works were among 150 donated to Friends by the Union Pacific Railroad last fall.

Six pieces of art and four ads were sold. Items that sold included “Scenic Ltd.,” a signed, numbered print by Ted Blaylock; “Union Pacific: Big Boy,” by Tucker Smith; “Engine 99″ and “Engine 196,” both by an unknown artist; “Steam in the Rockies” and “Age of Steam,” by David Tutwiler, both out of print; and Union Pacific advertisements “Denver to Chicago via Kansas City,” “Hailey, Idaho: Oregon Short Line (two copies)” and “Denver to St. Louis.”

A signed, numbered print of the Challenger did not sell.

“Surprising. Very surprising,” Bowerman said.

One of the buyers was a retired vice president and chief engineer from Union Pacific, he said. Another was a woman who lives a few blocks from the museum.

The Friends group plans to hold another online auction beginning on Nov. 15. Items that did not sell recently will likely be carried over to the next one.

Posted: 08|27|05 at 10:22 am. Filed under: US News.