$40 Million Train Collection

Katharine happened upon this article a little while ago, and we just found it amazing! Currently on display at Sotheby's in New York, Jerry Greene's toy train collection includes more than 3,500 antique locomotives and railroad buildings, all made between 1850 and 1940.

The collection includes hand-painted station houses, bridges, barges, carousels, Ferris wheels, and hundreds of figurines in 19th century garb and Prussian army uniforms. Some of the train stations are outfitted with working fountains and clocks, and many are replicas of the actual buildings in Europe.

Greene's father began the collection at the age of 18 and went on to collect more than 1,600 train sets, 10,000 figurines, and 700 stations.

Now the entire collection is up for auction as a single lot. When asked why he's selling it now, Greene answered, "I collected everything I could collect. The fun is in the search. I want to sell it, so that I have a clean basement. After this, I will collect something else."

Noel Barrett, an appraiser on Antiques Roadshow and president of Noel Barrett Antiques & Auctions, believes that $40-$50 million is a safe estimate for the collection.

Link: Toy collection could fetch more than $40 million