California couple rebuilt old backyard railway; estate later sold for $8.5m

Some backyards have a swing set. But this one has a station, a tunnel, and a train that riders can climb aboard! Tucked into the 1.55-acre estate in La Cañada Flintridge, a hillside community about 15 miles north of downtown Los Angeles, is one feature that not many homes can claim. In its backyard, there is a five-passenger garden railway that looks straight out of a fantasy film.When David and Sherry Kirchheimer bought the property in 2008, they discovered remnants of an old backyard railway. Instead of tearing them out, the couple decided to restore them and make the railway part of their home. The estate was sold for $8.5 million in 2025.The listing describes the property as ‘a captivating blend of stately, bucolic and magical’. That's a lot of adjectives, but the yard earns them.