Neverland Ranch train coming to auction

Singer Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch - now named Sycamore Valley Ranch - has sat on the market for almost three years without a buyer.

The contents that once filled the 2,700-acre property, in contrast, have been more fortunate.

Even before his death in 2009, Jackson slowly had begun to sell the estate's decorations, furniture, dozens of bronze statues and hundreds of toys and arcade games, both privately and - in an abortive attempt - at auction.

One such item was an electric train set, custom-made in Germany, that Jackson originally purchased for his children to ride. (This set should not be confused with the life-sized train that ran throughout much of the ranch.)

'It went around a tree,” said Brigitte Kruse, owner of GWS Auctions Inc. in Agoura Hills, northwest of Los Angeles.

'I'd say there are about 40 feet of track,” on which the train and its four cars would run round in circles. Each car fits two children-or one fun-loving adult.

The train was purchased in either 2008 or 2009, Kruse said, by a devoted Jackson fan. Now it's coming up for auction at GWS with a starting bid of $2,000.

The consignor 'has health problems, and he wants to exhibit the rest of his collection in a museum,” Kruse says, adding that the sale of this and other Jackson memorabilia from his collection is an attempt to raise the funds to do so.