These are but a few dozen of the hundreds of vehicles of every description available for public auction at Flat Iron Farm this week, small items on Friday, including office equipment, furniture and misc. tools and tractors, construction equipment and vehicles on Saturday. Take Rt. 5 south to Flat Iron Road, turn right, two miles to Flat Iron Farm.  ST. MARY'S TODAY photos
 

Big Equipment -Vehicle Sale Coming This Week is Largest Ever

By Kenneth C. Rossignol
ST. MARY'S TODAY

GREAT MILLS (April 15, 2008) --- Giving a tour of the steel-laden landscape of the huge parking lot on the Flat Iron Farm as the semi-annual sale arrives this week, farm owner Bubby Knott noted that the sale this week is so jammed with surplus equipment from the U. S. Navy, Staples office supply, local farmers, construction companies and others who supplement Knott’s own sale items that he had to extend the sale to two days.

Beginning Friday, for smaller items, and on to Saturday for vehicles, tractors, construction equipment, farm implements and even tractor-trailer mounted generators, Knott has even more items coming in all week.

Big contractors attend the sale and scoop up some of the large cranes and huge loaders being unloaded by the Navy while small contractors show up for the bargains on pickup trucks, some with as few as 19,000 miles on one 1990 vehicle and dozens with mileage ranging from 40,000 to 70,000.

St. Mary’s County taxpayers will be glad to learn that surplus vehicles from St. Mary’s are almost non-existent as used trucks and police cars are kept on the transportation parking lot at the landfill and used for parts.  

It didn’t used to be that way, as fleets formerly were replaced every three years, whether it was needed or not.  But now, good engines are kept and put into police cars when an engine is blown in a high-speed pursuit, axles are installed on vehicles that need them and other parts from out-of-service vehicles are used to repair and save the cost of new parts for various vehicles in the St. Mary’s vast fleet --- all part of a rare success story for the taxpayers.

Instead of rows of corn, this week the Flat Iron Farm features rows of the latest and greatest of fleet surplus. Six, Eight and 10 passenger vans, an International step van with a diesel engine that runs like a top, a large flat bed truck with only about 20,000 miles on it and dozens and dozens of other vehicles are lined up and ready for new owners.

A 2002 Tractor-Trailer that can haul two race-cars and features a luxury sleeping compartment is included in the sale, along with other custom items such as horse-trailers and boats.  New John Deere tractors and near as new mix in with the old and out of date but all are ready to roll when the auctioneer’s hammer falls.

A 1953 Willys Jeep Overland with nearly pristine woodwork inside of a oxidized outside, a proverbial ‘barn-find’ was pulled out of a St. Mary’s farmer’s barn last week and brought to the sale.
RV’s, buses, an old bright yellow small road scraper, perfect for maintaining one of the many St. Mary’s County private roads, there are bargains ready in every row, even for those who no longer want to hoe the road and instead wish to pick up a good deal on a rototiller.

This is Barrett-Jackson for the working man, with fun, adventure and good food all on the agenda.  Small items such as lamps, furniture, file cabinets and antiques give everyone something to try for as the auction starts on Friday and runs all day on Saturday.