♪ >> the ultimate man cave... >> underground, this was his home. >> ...dug with shovel and pick. >> he came at a time in america where if you could dream it, you could do it. >> it's a unique architectural creation. >> you can't go anywhere else in the united states to see something like this. >> but will his legacy be buried forever? >> he called my great-uncle the human mole, and that infuriated the family. [ door creaks ] [ wind howls ] [ thunder rumbles ] [ bird caws ]

♪ >> jamie colby here in the san joaquin valley near fresno in central california. i'm on my way to meet two sisters who tell me the only way to understand their strange is to dig in and get below the surface of it. >> our great-uncle baldasare dug a subterranean world that hearkens back to his sicilian boyhood. >> it's been left to us to preserve it. >> ladies, hi. i'm jamie. >> hi, jamie. i'm valery. this is my sister, lyn. >> the sisters lead me through a grapevine arch and into an underground courtyard. >> this is part of a chapel garden. like most affluent families back in sicily, they always had their own private family chapel. >> truly incredible. as kids, i must imagine you said, "someday, i'm going to be in charge of all of this." was this your dream?

>> [ laughing ] oh, no. >> no? >> no, not at all. that's another whole long story. >> that long story goes back to the old country of sicily, and lyn and valery's great-uncle baldasare forestiere, the second son of a wealthy farmer who grows olives, citrus fruits and grapes. >> baldasare really was involved with citrus, and that's what he really enjoyed doing. >> only one problem -- young baldy is not the firstborn son. >> he went to his dad and said, "hey, pop, i'd like to take over this part of this businesses," and his father said, "absolutely not." >> not? >> not, because back in sicily, the oldest son inherits everything, so baldasare knew that he could work his whole life anything of his own. >> at the age of 21, he got on the ship, landed in the port of boston, and got a job as a subway digger. >> baldasare learns a lot

about excavation, but he still dreams of starting a citrus empire. so in 1904, he sees an ad offering cheap farmland in fresno, california. >> "go west, young man." you'll make a fortune. come up to the valley, where the land is really cheap. >> he cobbles together his savings and heads out west. >> he put down $10 gold coin down payment, for about 80 acres. >> they must have seen him coming because they sold him 80 acres of hardpan. >> hardpan is what they call the fields of silt, sand and clay, 5 feet thick, tough as concrete, no good for citrus farming. >> he was pretty devastated, realizing, "what did i just buy?" >> in the middle of his 80 acres, he builds himself a shack to live in. months pass. all he manages to coax out of his land are a few seedlings.

then comes his first fresno summer. >> fresno gets 105, 110, 115 degrees. >> looking out over his sunbaked plot of dirt, baldy figures he at least knows how to turn it into a place where he can escape the heat. >> he remembered how cool the subways were back east. if you went below ground, it was very cool, the wine cellars back in sicily. >> mm. so he grabs his shovel and starts digging and digging -- tunnels, rooms. >> the hardpan made it really, really easy for him to do all this tunneling and room-creating. >> architect bob theis has baldasare's underground creation. >> it's a natural slab that he could carve rooms out from underneath.

down here in fresno, 6 feet below the surface, is an even 65 degrees year round. >> jamie, let me introduce you to the heart of baldasare's work, his underground home, starting with the kitchen. this is an icebox. this is original. >> amazing. >> and right over here is a wood stove, where he did his cooking. >> so he would cook here. where would he eat? >> let me show you... >> okay. >> ...a very special place. now watch this. >> that's handy. and there's a cozy bedroom. >> he brought a little bit of his homeland with him. if you look at the frescoes on the walls, you can see these are fruit trees on a hillside. >> in the adjoining courtyard, a shower and bath. it's a sweet spot right here. how did he get water? >> there were irrigation ditches that ran along his property line. there was a tank up on the

surface. then he would connect a hose to the tank and let it hang down here for a shower. >> pretty ingenious for the son of a farmer, with an 8th grade education. >> he's not an engineer. how the heck did he do this? >> he grew up with it. in sicily, there are catacombs covering acres, where they tunneled through the rock to create subterranean caverns. he could create usable spaces underneath. >> as baldy tunnels deeper and deeper, he hits soil hospitable to all those fruit trees he wanted to plant -- oranges, lemons, kumquats and pomegranates. >> we're about 12 feet below ground level here, and that hardpan is about halfway down. are mostly left open, to allow the sunlight for the fruit to grow. >> by now, baldy's underground world has snaked across at least 5 acres

and is attracting attention. >> suddenly friends and family would come visit him in the hot part of the day. >> so he's popular? >> he's popular. >> meantime, baldy's siblings come to america, including his younger brother, giuseppe, valery and lyn's grandfather. baldy shares with them a new, grander vision for his property. >> he got the idea of having this underground resort. i think it just came to him -- "i can do something different." giuseppe, for one, is intrigued, so he helps his big brother baldy carve more acres of hardpan into a vast grotto, with ballrooms and an aquarium, all underground. eventually, their subterranean handiwork comprises about 20 acres. how long did it take for him to build this? >> about 40 years. he dug it with a pick,

a shovel and a wheelbarrow. think what he could have done with a jackhammer. >> uncle baldy dies in 1946 at the age of 67. >> he came at a time in america where if you could dream it, you could do it. >> never married, he leaves behind five siblings, who were well aware that this part of california is growing rapidly and that uncle baldy's patch of hardpan is worth a lot more than it used to be. >> he didn't have a will, and so it was decided that they would just sell everything and then divide up the proceeds. >> like that, 3/4 of uncle baldy's land is sold off, including a huge chunk of his underground creation, and lost forever. only one sibling believes in baldy's dream. >> my grandfather giuseppe understood what his brother was trying to do here.

>> giuseppe holds on to his share, about 20 acres. that preserves baldasare's living quarters and the heart of the gardens. but what happens next makes the forestieres mad as hell. >> the developer promised that he would get the resort going, but instead, he made it weird. >> how? >> here's a "strange inheritance" quiz question. where are the world's largest catacombs? the answer after the break.

>> so where are the world's largest catacombs? it's b. the odessa catacombs in ukraine stretch over 1,500 miles. ♪ >> when baldasare forestiere dies in 1946, he leaves his life's work to his siblings, a vast subterranean world in fresno, california, that he dug by hand, plus the lush citrus gardens he spent a lifetime cultivating. >> you can't go anywhere else in the united states to see something like this. >> but most of baldy's siblings don't appreciate that. first chance they get, they sell off their strange inheritance to developers. >> you always have part of the family that isn't

tied closely to the gardens, so they don't have the same emotional attachment. as something becomes more valuable, its like, "oh, let's just sell it and split it up." >> sixty acres of baldy's land are sold off, including much of his subterranean paradise. only baldasare's brother giuseppe keeps his 20 acres. he's still hoping to fulfill baldy's dream of an underground resort, but giuseppe needs help. >> my grandfather was 64. to take on a whole business, he just wasn't prepared to do that, so he leased it out. he thought this would be a great business venture. >> a business venture that would celebrate the craftsmanship of the sicilian immigrant and his vast underground gardens. >> the developer promised that he would get the resort going, but instead, he made it weird. >> what did they call it? >> oh, they call... yeah, well, okay, here it is. i know my family hates this, but it was called the human mole. come see the home of the human mole.

>> the human mole? oh, my. >> and that infuriated giuseppe and the rest of the family. >> there it is, in print, even, "the secret world of the human mole." what an insult to a man of baldasare's vision. how sad. >> yes, it was. this beautiful accomplishment that he'd spent 40 years doing. somebody was trying to make it something weird. >> after the 10-year lease is up in 1960, giuseppe recovers the land, but he's forever mortified by the "mole man" moniker. the gardens are shuttered for almost a decade, until one of giuseppe's sons and baldy's grandsons makes a go of it. his name is rick, and he's lyn and valery's dad. rick reopens the gardens for tours in 1971, with a big assist from his wife, lorraine. >> my mom really took it from that whole derogatory, caveman type of thing into,

like, "wow, look at what he created here." did they charge admission? >> yes. it was like $3 or something. >> was it a profit-making business? >> you know,it sustained itself. >> when giuseppe dies in 1973, rick inherits the land with his brother, joe. they keep the gardens open to the public. lyn and valery, now teens, guide tours. the sisters leave home after high school, while over the years, urban sprawl encroaches on the area. what was once farmland has become packed with gas stations and strip malls. to build roads, more of the gardens are gobbled up by the government. >> through eminent domain, they took out a beautiful entrance, and the highway 99 was built. they had to fill in, in order to build the freeway through there. >> worried the gardens might just disappear, rick and joseph get the remaining 10 acres

designated a state landmark. but fresno continues to boom, and sadly, like the generation of forestieres before them, rick and joseph will part ways over the gardens. >> my father and my uncle ended up in court. >> what happened? >> oh, boy. >> here's another quiz question. which country created an underground bomb shelter with room for a million people during the cold war? the answer when we return. great news, liberty mutual customizes- uh uh - i deliver the news around here. ♪ sources say liberty mutual customizes your car insurance, so you only pay for what you need. over to you, logo. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪

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it's a, china. the bunker below beijing included a skating rink and a movie theater. >> by 1990, what's left of the vast underground gardens in fresno, california, built with the eccentric vision of baldasare forestiere amounts to about 10 acres. his nephews joe and rick have held on to the last slice of his dream while watching fresno expand. >> now we've got the highway 99 and all kinds of shopping malls. >> lyn is one of rick's daughters. another is valery. >> my dad had promised his father, my grandpa, that he would try to preserve what had been done so that people could come and visit. >> rick, a schoolteacher, does keep the gardens open, but as real estate prices soar, he and brother joe lock horns over the future of the underground marvel.

what were they fighting over? >> my uncle just said, "you know what? i want my share. just sell the property, divide it," and my dad did not want to let go. >> the brothers take their battle to court. joe argues to have the entire property sold off and the proceeds divided. >> it was a very emotional time. >> was he successful? >> the courts divided the property, so the 10-acre landmark was then split into two parcels. >> rick's brother, joe, acreage, leaving rick with that last remaining section of the underground gardens. >> luckily, my father got the part that had the heart of the gardens, which was baldasare's living quarters, most of the features that he wanted in his mediterranean resort. >> how big is this? >> we have about 5 acres on ground level, and another, like, 4 1/2 acres of tunnels. >> then in 2012, lyn and valery's mom, lorraine, passes away.

their dad, rick, in his 80s, is no longer able to run this strange inheritance, and although his daughters would love to keep the gardens open, valery has made a life in denver, and lyn is 3 hours away in sacramento. so what's the forestiere family to do? they may have no choice but to further carve up the gardens or even sell them. if you had to go to your dad after four generations and say, "dad, we can't do it," how would he feel? >> you know, i think he'd feel hurt. he just sees it ongoing forever, you know. >> what's your "strange inheritance" story? we'd love to tell it. send me an e-mail or go to our website, strangeinheritance.com. i joined the army after 911,

cuz, um, i thought that was what i needed to do. we got our orders to go overseas and i went to baghdad, iraq. we were transporting a bomb sniffing dog

to the polling stations. we rolled over two anti-tank mines, it blew my humvee up, killed my sergeant. after the explosion, i suffered a closed head injury, um, traumatic brain injury, loss of a limb, burns to 60% of my body. when the doctors told me i reached my plateau, i did not want to hear that because i do not believe i have a plateau. so, i had to prove 'em wrong, which i am doing to this day and i will still do until the end of my days. i've gotten to where i am at because of my family. and, the wounded warrior project has helped me more than i can ever imagine. they have really been there to support me in my endeavors. my number one goal, basically, is to get close to where i was. i am more than ready to work hard to get to that goal.

i am living proof to never give up and i will never give up. >> now back to "strange inheritance." >> an underground grotto that once extended through 20 acres in fresno, california, dug by hand a century ago

by sicilian immigrant baldasare forestiere. but each time the architectural wonder passes to the next generation, it's carved up and partially filled in. only a slice of the underground gardens are left, maintained by rick forestiere, an 88-year-old widower. >> my father owns about the last 5-acre parcel, and about 2 1/2 of the acre tunnels are open to the public. >> now the fate of this strange inheritance falls to his daughters, lyn and valery. >> i have a love for the gardens, and i don't want to see it demolished. >> mm-hmm. so valery, who works as a bookkeeper in denver, volunteers to run the gardens' business side remotely. lyn lives a mere 3 hours away in sacramento. she agrees to be an on-site presence. >> my sister, lyn, and i were the only ones who were ready to really take on an active role with the business. >> have the two sisters

dug themselves into a hole? wouldn't you rather be shopping at the mall? >> sometimes, yes. [ laughs ] >> it's not just the 6-hour round-trip commute. the gardens have caused family feuds in the past, and some of those grudge matches continue today. >> sicilian families kind of tend to hold grievances and grudges. you know, like, aunt rosa didn't return your lasagna pan 30 years ago. you know, the fight is on. >> you and your sister get along? you make the decisions together? >> we do. there's a little pushing and shoving from time to time. >> but now the sisters say they're standing united to keep the gardens open as long as they can. has this place ever been a moneymaker? >> no, you make enough to cover your costs. >> there you go. >> excellent. thank you. >> you're welcome. >> but we like to make it affordable for tourists to come in and see it. >> this is a fabulous place. it's another world.

>> i was really inspired. to make something out of money, it's easy. but to make something out of nothing, now that's something. >> if you have millions of dollars, you can hire all of the artisans in the world and create, like, a hearst castle. but if you have nothing but your own vision and just your own work ethic, you can create an underground gardens. >> valery and lyn are working with architect bob theis to find ways of keeping these gardens intact for another 100 years. >> they recognize this as an artistic creation, and they've dedicated themselves to preserving it and making it available to other people. as an architect, you know, that's something that i respect. >> for now, lyn and valery, along with their father, rick, run the forestiere underground gardens as a team, but they know it will be up to the next generation to keep uncle baldy's legacy alive.

>> what happens when you and your sister can't do this anymore? >> well, we're hoping that our children will step up to the plate. some are interested. some are not right now. >> do you worry about that, the future? >> no, i don't, actually, too much because even though i went away, i came back. i don't know what it is about the magnetism of this place. ♪ >> remember how uncle baldy came to america because his dad wouldn't cut him into the business in sicily, and that all of his brothers also immigrated to the u.s.? well, a few years ago, valery traveled back to the old country. she found the family farming empire gone because there was no one left to inherit it. all the more reason she and her sister are determined to preserve this family enterprise for the next generation.

i'm jamie colby. thanks so much for watching "strange inheritance." and remember -- you can't take it with you. ♪ ♪ >> it's the greatest sports facility that anyone has ever conceived. >> he gives houston the astrodome... >> it's a home run! >> ...and circles his empire in style. >> hofheinz approached that railcar like he did everything else -- it had a "wow" effect. >> oh, my. look at this, robert! >> could it be this guy's ticket to easy street... >> [ sighs ] >> ...or... >> but, um... >> ...has that train left the station? >> you didn't know that? >> [ chuckling ] no, i didn't. ♪ [ door creaks ] [ wind howls ] [ thunder rumbles ] [ bird caws ]

>> i'm jamie colby in south houston, texas, on my way to meet an heir who wrote me. he said he had an incredible and highly valuable inheritance linking him to a texas legend and, by the way, a baseball team that won its first world series in 2017. >> my name is robert harper. when my father died in 2012, i inherited a customized luxury railcar, and there's some really colorful texas history behind it, and i still don't know what the heck to do with it. >> hi, i'm jamie. >> robert harper. it's a pleasure to meet you. welcome to south houston. >> okay. robert leads me into a warehouse to show me his strange inheritance. what is it exactly? >> it's a full-size railcar -- 44 feet long, 12 feet wide. it weighs 50,000 pounds. it sat here for 41 years. it belonged to judge roy hofheinz.

judgewho,you ask? roy hofheinz, a boy wonder who had his own law firm at age 19, became a county judge, pioneered fm radio, and was elected mayor of houston in 1952. from the mayor's office, "the judge," as he was known, promises to transform houston from an oil-boom town into a big-time metropolis. a fellow entrepreneur named welcome wilson befriends his honor. >> he was a bigger-than-life person. he was flamboyant, tall, good-looking. >> but after two terms of knocking heads with the city council, hofheinz is ousted from office. so the fast-talkin', cigar-chompin' promoter begins channeling his boundless energy into something new -- major league baseball. >> i think the judge saw the recognition you could get from other cities when you were part

of that league. part of being a major-league city is having a major league baseball team. >> but hofheinz knows that houston's swampy summer weather could be a deal breaker. >> houston is gulf coast through and through. we are hot. we are humid. playing baseball outside is challenging. >> roy's solution -- think outside the box andinsidea dome. >> this will be the greatest concert hall in the world, it's the greatest convention hall in the world, and, by all means, it's the greatest sports facility or entertainment facility that anyone has ever conceived. >> in 1960, hofheinz's pitch helps houston land its bid for an mlb expansion team. they're named the colt .45s, but would later become the astros -- a nod to the city's nasa space center. >> the spanking-new astrodome is the new $31 million home of the houston astros.

>> yes, the astrodome -- the first domed stadium ever. >> it was the biggest air-conditioned space in the world. think about that. >> what kind of things did he put in there that were a "wow"? >> well, the scoreboard was one thing. >> the scoreboard is a $2 million item that's a show in itself. >> standing 18 stories high and covering 9 acres, the astrodome is also one of the first stadiums to offer luxury box seating. >> a place for relaxation and entertainment. ♪ standing room only. >> on april 9, 1965, the astrodome hosts its first major league baseball game with the hometown astros taking on mickey mantle and the new york yankees. >> the yankees' big guns. >> special opening night guests... >> also in attendance that night -- president lyndon johnson, ladybird johnson, and businessman welcome wilson, all watching from the judge's private suite. >> mickey mantle, and he's back -- one of the big

[indistinct] wynn backs up. >> we beat the new york yankees, for heaven sakes. >> it's a home run! >> mantle, he hit a home run, but we still beat 'em. >> was it the first indoor home run? >> yeah. >> the crowd must have been electric. >> absolutely. no doubt about that. >> in that crowd, far away from the judge's box, is 12-year-old robert harper, who's watching the game with his family. >> it was probably one of the best days of my life. i can't describe what the feeling was. i mean, it was so big and so bright that it was almost unimaginable. they called it "the eighth wonder of the world," and it truly was. ♪ >> but the dome is not without issues. after outfielders begin losing sight of fly balls in the glare coming off the dome's translucent roof panels, hofheinz paints over a large portion of the roof. >> ...acrylic coating to cut down the glare.

>> did it work? >> it worked. but then the grass started dying. >> ah. >> so and this shows you hofheinz's creativity. he went to monsanto chemical company and asked them to invent an artificial grass. they said, "we'll call it 'astroturf.'" of course, it became world famous. >> in 1968, looking to expand the astrodome experience, the judge spends $25 million to open a one-of-a-kind amusement park on 57 acres budding up to the stadium. it's name? you guessed it -- astroworld. >> astroworld was our theme park. it had the big rides, it had the roller coasters, but it also had a carnival feel to it. >> circling the park is the 610 limited railroad. and roy wants his own private railcar for himself and its vip guests. >> he commissioned harper goff,

who had won an academy award in hollywood for set design, and when he built this railcar, he spared no expense. >> goff's design recalls the glorious luxury railcars of the whistle-stop era. >> it's like when you see the presidents in the olden days. they had the platform where they could talk to the crowd. so it's got a viewing platform in the front. >> hofheinz approached that railcar like he did everything else -- it had a "wow" effect. >> he left his mark. >> he made an impression wherever he went. >> but how does robert harper, a guy with no personal connection to roy hofheinz, inherit his fancy astroworld railcar? well, that's when this "strange inheritance" tale switches tracks. >> we didn't let people see it. >> top secret? >> well, we were guarding it. >> and i get my vip ticket to

board this texas relic. look at this, robert! wow! i mean, this is extravagant. >> here's a "strange inheritance" quiz question. before painting the roof, what innovation did the astros first try to combat glare in the outfield -- move home plate to the other side of the stadium, produce clouds inside the dome, or play with different-colored baseballs? the answer after the break.

♪ [ bird caws ] >> so, what did the astros first try to combat glare in the outfield? it's c. they experiment with baseballs dyed yellow, orange, and pink, but struck out. >> you're out! >> here, in south houston, texas, robert harper is about to give me a tour inside his strange inheritance -- this 44-foot-long vip railcar that used to chug around the amusement park outside the astrodome. the harper family ends up with the car after its owner, texas legend roy hofheinz, suffers a debilitating stroke in 1970 and is forced to sell off parts of his astro empire. >> the judge made a lot of money, but he also lost a lot of money. he leveraged every project against each other.

he had just become overextended. >> in the late '70s, hofheinz sells astroworld to the six flags corporation. at the time, robert's dad is just entering the commercial-real-estate business and buying up land here in south houston for multiuse industrial buildings. through a mutual friend, he gets word that judge hofheinz is looking for a storage building large enough to house his beloved railcar. >> they called up my dad and said, "do you have a place that you haven't built a building yet?" so they brought the railroad car and set it down, and he built it around it. >> now, why did he have to build the building around the railcar? >> because it will not fit through the doors. >> [ laughs ] hofheinz has plans to eventually put the railcar on public display somewhere in houston, but before he's able to pull that off, he dies in 1982.

for the next decade, roy's widow continues to pay $240 a month rent on the facility... until bankruptcy forces her to liquidate assets in a fire sale, including the astroworld train car. robert's dad buys it. what did he pay? >> he paid about what you'd pay for a good car. >> about 10 grand at the time? >> probably close. he got a good deal. >> you bring your friends over? >> no, we didn't let people see it. >> in fact, robert tells me that just a handful of folks ever get a glimpse of it. 20 years later, in 2012, when his father dies, robert inherits the fancy train car. big step up. >> [ laughs ] yeah, it is a big step. >> thank you. is roy hofheinz's personal railcar really all that? oh, my [chuckles] gosh. you be the judge. like traveling back in time. unbelievable.

look at this place! >> the judge did nothing but the best. >> i can see that. look at this beautiful couch. i mean, this is extravagant! it's all stained glass. >> oh, he loved stained glass. he has an office, wet bar. has 'frigeration. it's air conditioned. it has running water. has a pipe organ. >> what? do you think, in that office, some big deals might've been made? >> i think so. >> fancy schmancy! look at that sink! oh, my goodness. matches the wallpaper and marble. wow, put in the jacuzzi, and i'm taking it home. robert, it's really something. this railcar is definitely a posh time capsule, but robert tells me that, after storing it all these years, he thinks it's time to sell. >> i'm in love with it, but i don't want to leave the burden on my daughter to get rid of it.

>> big decision. you sure you won't regret getting rid of it? >> it's been in the family forever, but it needs to go somewhere because there's nobody else that could take care of it. >> any takers? >> nobody's known about it until you. [ laughs ] >> so, i figure i'll ask around. >> there is definitely a market for private railcars. you can purchase a vintage railcar and tack that train car on the back of an amtrak train and go basically wherever amtrak goes in the u.s. >> oh, i love it. what does it cost? >> here's another quiz question. before air force one, there was u.s. car no. 1. which president was it built for -- coolige, hoover, or fdr? the answer when we return.

♪

>> so, which president was u.s. car no. 1 built for? it's fdr. it had heavy armor plating, bulletproof windows, and two secret escape hatches. >> robert harper is looking to off-load his strange inheritance -- this swanky vip railcar that once circled the astroworld amusement park next to the astrodome and belonged to stadium founder and team owner roy hofheinz. to help him explore his options, we meet with railroad-equipment appraiser davidson ward, who tells us that the most famous industrialists in america used to have their own private railcars. >> cornelius vanderbilt made all of his millions in the railroad industry. people like j.p. morgan had his own private railcar. if you had a meeting in chicago in 1912 and you lived in new york, you wouldn't fly

there. you would take a palatial railcar all the way from station to station. >> and some folks of means still do it. >> there is definitely a market for private railcars. >> you mean now? >> well, now, yeah, exactly. you can purchase a vintage railcar. you can upgrade the railcar to meet amtrak mechanical standards and tack that train car on the back of an amtrak train... and go basically wherever amtrak goes in the u.s. >> oh, i love it. nothing like seeing the country by rail. what does it cost? >> amtrak charges just under $3 per mile to go from a to b. >> how many of these are there? >> there are probably between 100 and 300 of these private railcars in different conditions in the united states. the people that do it, by and large, are passionate about railroad history and passionate about the history of the individual railcar that they own. >> such turnkey cars typically sell for $300,000 to $400,000, and they don't have the cool

houston history that robert's has. so the equipment appraiser is eager to kick the steel wheels on this strange inheritance. there she is. >> yeah, it's incredible. you've got pin-striping. got a great railing here. this car seems very unique. to have a car that is a wooden construction like this on a steel frame, really, it's pretty much one of a kind. but, um... >> uh-oh! >> when you originally contacted me, i knew it was a private railcar, so i thought, "maybe this is one of the private railcars used behind amtrak for service across the united states." >> so, what's the problem? find out next. oh, no. >> i know. >> what's your "strange inheritance" story? we'd love to tell it. send me an e-mail or go to our website, strangeinheritance.com i can't tell you who i am or what i witnessed, but i can tell you liberty mutual customized my car insurance so i only pay for what i need. oh no, no, no, no, no, no, no...

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♪ >> now back to "strange inheritance." >> 65-year-old robert harper is just learning from

railroad-equipment appraiser davidson ward that his strange inheritance is not exactly what he thought. >> one thing i'm noticing here -- this is not a standard-gauge railcar. >> really? >> this is a narrow-gauge railcar. ♪ >> you didn't know that? >> [ chuckling ] no, i didn't. as big as it is, i assumed it was standard. >> that means robert's luxury railcar could never be used to travel the country today as a number of those amtrak-certified personal luxury cars do. >> amtrak operates over the freight railroads, and all the train tracks are 4 feet, 8½ inches apart. now, this railcar was built to a 3-foot gauge, or a narrow gauge, meaning there's no way this could ever become an amtrak-certified railcar. >> oh, no. >> i know. >> wow. >> yeah. and that definitely is gonna have an impact on the value of the equipment. ♪

>> davidson tells us that narrow-gauge railroads were historically used in the western u.s., many of them in mining and forestry operations. and to this day, they're still in use in places like san francisco, where all those trolley cars are narrow gauge. >> there are a couple preserved 3-foot-gauge railroads... [ train whistle blows ] ...the durango & silverton... the cumbres & toltec in colorado. and those are preserved today as active heritage railroads. >> if someone wanted to buy this right now and you were asked to give an appraised value, the minimum price that you think you could get for it... >> if you say, "hey, we got to sell this thing in a week," what's someone gonna pay for it? maybe we're looking at $30,000 to $50,000. >> oh. >> yeah. >> mm. >> yeah. >> but robert'snotlooking to sell it in a week, so davidson thinks that, with a little time, patience, and marketing, he can find someone who values the car's rich houston history.

>> the fact that this was the private railcar of judge hofheinz, i think the history is huge. there's more to it than just selling it to a private party without taking into consideration the history of it. >> good. >> robert's decision to sell might be coming at just the right time in houston. more than 50 years after roy hofheinz brought the team to town, the astros win their first-ever world series title. >> your 2017 world series champion astros! >> and the original home of the astros, that "eighth wonder of the world," it's getting a lot of attention, too. back in 2000, the astros moved from the astrodome to a new stadium, minute maid park. eight years later, the "dome" was shuttered and faced an uncertain future. but, today, new plans are emerging to reinvent the iconic space.

>> harris county owns the astrodome, and it's bought and paid for, so the leadership at the county level has said, "why not find a way to do something else with it? why not spend a little bit more money and allow it to be a contributing member of the community? it's already a beloved landmark." >> welcome wilson, judge hofheinz's old buddy and a board member of the astrodome conservancy group, says a modern relaunch is just around the corner. it just is amazing to me that so many people, even if they're not from this area, know his name and know about the astrodome story. will they in 10, 20 years? >> i think so. if we in the astrodome conservancy have our way, we think we can make a venue out of the astrodome yet. >> and his old friend's railcar? welcome thinks it deserves a place of honor in their conservation efforts. >> i would hope that that would

be a resting place for the railcar -- at the astrodome. >> so, more than 40 years after this train left the station... >> the spanking-new astrodome... >> ...robert hopes it can make a round trip back to where it all started. [ train whistle blows ] >> it'd be a nice place for the railcar to end because, to me, it's home where it deserves to be at home. it'd nice to bring out something that remembers the judge. ♪ >> taking a page out of roy hofheinz's playbook, executives at disneyland in california wanted a way to transport vip guests around their park. so, in 1974, they converted a narrow-gauge observation coach into a high-end parlour car complete with mahogany touches, stained glass windows, and red mohair seating. it was named lilly belle, after walt disney's wife, and carried japanese emperor hirohito on its maiden trip.

i'm jamie colby for "strange inheritance." thanks so much watching. and remember -- you can't take it with you. ♪ after suffering at their worst year for many global indices since 2008. stocks look to open sharply. nasdaq features at a hundred 39 points. as you can see there is a loss of 39 cents on the contract.