South Station train board now arriving on eBay

The old Solari train departure board at South Station is being sold on eBay by the MBTA. The new one is on the left. (David L. Ryan Globe staff)

If you hanker for the clickety-clack sound of a train station, and have a big empty spot in your living room, the MBTA has a deal for you: a 20-foot-wide train schedule board from South Station.

Opening bids are being accepted on eBay, minimum $500.

The T, which installed a new digital sign in June, tried selling its 1980s-era display board to Amtrak, and back to the distributor. But there were no takers.

"At that point we decided to offer it to the world and see how much money we can get," said T spokesman Joe Pesaturo. "We would like to at least cover the cost of removing and dismantling and disposing of the board."

It's the first time the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority has tried unloading surplus using the popular online auction. It was posted on Thursday, but there were no bids as of Friday afternoon.

For one thing, the buyer has to figure out how to lug the thing home from South Station, where it still hangs, and find a place to store it. But imagine the potential for new party games.

"We actually have one from a station here in Chicago. We have the kind they change by hand," said Nick Kallas, general manager of the Illinois Railway Museum, one of the world's largest collectors of rail equipment.

The T's board is "a little too modern for us," Kallas said, but "there's rail fans who probably would like it, or restaurants. . . . Somebody who's got the room."

NOAH BIERMAN