Railroads used to have places where they sold damaged goods, but a change in what is hauled to more bulk stuff (i.e. coal, grain), too many people not knowing what "as is" means and filing warranty claims against the makers and fewer derailments made having such sales more trouble than it was worth. When the Milwaukee Road was having lots of derailments, they often sold
stuff to employees. Autos were sold to employees and I know several former MILW guys that got
nice Ford trucks. Autos would be refused by dealers if the rail car they were on tipped over
more than so many degrees. Empoyee's would buy the cars/trucks with no warranty for about
60% off. They just had to make certain that all the fluids were topped off and in the right
places before they started the rig. (They also were not allowed to resell the autos -- had to
be for personal use only.) Another MILW guy got a washer, dryer and a dishwasher from a derailment salvage. They dryer had a dent in it, but otherwise it was fine for the ten years he had it.