“As one might expect, the train itself was like no other. The modifications included a $45,000 stereo system and lighting all along the coaches. The boiler, built in Des Moines, included a first-of-its-kind computerized firing system that allows the engine to be run by a single person.”
The deceased pop star’s narrow gauge, Neverland rolling stock was put together in great secrecy. The restrictions while under construction seem almost military.
Is there anyway to verify the computerized firing claim?
The article said nothing about sleeper cars, berth, nor compartment, let alone occupants.
With the eccentricities wealth nourishes, it sets one to wondering. How many followers of this site would commission their own estate narrow gauge if they had the kind of money Mr. Jackson did?
Was Michael Jackson a ‘closet’ railfan - or was this just another expensive toy [Q] I guess we’ll never know now.
I too would be more inclined to restore something that already exists, than to build a new facility that I would be solely responsible to maintain - and have to enjoy mainly by myself. So my first reaction would be to buy and run a PV = private car, the ‘ultimate recreational vehicle’.
But after seeing the above - I’d put it into restoring the EBT instead - maybe with some arrangement for ‘1st dibs’ on chartering the private car there, entire trains, cab rides, qualifying as an engineer or an ‘engineer for the day’ kind of thing, etc.