On tonight's TV news chronicling the travails of rock legend Michael Jackson, there was a short video clip showing a steam train trundling happy visitors on narrow gauge track in Neverland Ranch.

Does anybody know anything about this railroad? Length? Rolling stock? Motive power (real steam or gasoline)? When constructed?

Any feedback or website referrals appreciated.

Sloan

Yes, I saw that news too.

First, that engine pretty clearly is one of those standard CP Huntington 4-2-4 jobbers.

Second, I have seen on another web site (park trains?) news of a Crown Metal steamer rebuilt for Jackson with automatic boiler controls. Also, a long time ago, a personal non-railfan friend showed me photos of the train at Neverland, and it appeared to be the Crown Metal engine.

I remember seeing a video on the web- loop to loop operation and passing through a storage shed? Or was that somewhere else?

Joshua

This topic came up many months ago...

I believe this is where you can find the video (Real format):

http://www.mjackson.de/specials/neverla ... inhalt.htm

Nice pictures and a map:

http://www.videopark.com/mj.htm

The Jackson locomotive is a 3' Crown built in 1972. Ran at Carowinds (#2) theme park near Charlotte, North Carolina and rebuilt by Stan Matthews/Shop Services in 1993. Was also on display for a time in Quechee, Vermont, as well as the famed "South of the Border" tourist trap on the South Carolina border on I-95. The locomotive even has automatic firing!

Jackson reportedly had some issue comprehending a steam locomotive is far from a 'turnkey' machine. I was told it was set up for "quick fire" and can get up to pressure in something like 45 minutes, which sounds quite worrysome. I'm not sure if that part is true or not. There's a lot of rumors flying around about him having someone on hand do steam it up for night runs or something.

There's also a seperate 2' line with the Chance "C.P. Huntington" steam profile running; this line goes around the amusement area of his estate. The 3' runs for a couple of miles out into the hills.

...and I believe he's got a third train in Florida somewhere, some amusement park contraption as well.

More at:
http://steamlocomotive.info/vlocomotive.cfm?Display=5440
I submitted the locomotive, but the information was published incorrect. I haven't been able to get a reply from Doug Bailey for some time after attempting to send it twice.


Sharon Deckard Photo

Even more information found via Google...coaches apparently came from a Great America park, but there is some uncertainty about which one.

http://www.silcom.com/~ranchlnd/notebook/2.htm
http://www.trainweb.org/parktrains/history/crown/latelist.html
http://www.videopark.com/mj.htm
http://www.lacortedelreydelpop.com/neverland15.htm (Translated):
http://tinyurl.com/apszf

Erich

There was some discussion the coaches may have been the ones originally delivered to Six Flags Over Mid-America (St. Louis). Apparently, one of their locomotives operated at the company's Illinois park (Great America) before finding its way down to Busch Gardens in Tampa. While these coaches cry out Crown styling, I was told they were built in Mt. Pleasant from scratch. Again, not positive, but what I heard; they look more Crown to me. He was apparently supposed to have more built (or re-built) at Shop Services, but cancelled out on the last three. When the locomotive was found up in Vermont, it had with it two enclosed coaches which Crown had built for production #3 for the Pioneer & Western Railroad of Davie, Florida. The Pioneer train was sold to Carowinds for a backup locomotive but was never used there. When the park took up the operation around 1977-78, South of the Border acquired some of the package.

Carowinds also had another locomotive, CRR #1 "Melodia". Originally built in 1897 as an 0-6-2T for the Laurel Valley Plantation of Louisiana, converted at some point in the mid/late-60s by Ken Williams (Crown) into a 2-6-2 tender engine with a larger Crown boiler. Sold to George Roose and stored in Sandusky and Port Clinton, OH, and also at Wild World amusement park in Largo, Maryland (now Six Flags). Locomotive sold to Bill Norred of California, was said to be the last locomotive to be rebuilt under the Shop Services name, and now at the private Pacific Coast Narrow-Gauge Railroad at the Santa Margarita Ranch (San Luis Obispo). The railroad will be holding a benefit for the San Luis Obispo Railroad Museum in May.

Pictured here is what is now Michael Jackson's locomotive while on display at South of the Border, Dillon, SC. Note the coaches; the only enclosed cars Crown built.