Converting retired rail wagons into housing
Train cars are big, heavy, and hard to move around. They are notoriously hard to move to new places off of their tracks, and because of their strange shape, most people wouldn't think to use them for anything else anyway. But some creative people are turning old train cars into homes, offices, and even hotels in the spirit of recycling, green building, and shipping container homes.
With the mortgage business in trouble and more people moving toward green housing, it makes sense to use train cars as homes. Like shipping containers, it's not too hard to convert your own car, as long as you have the means to get it to its new location. Cabooses seem to be the most popular choice for living in a train car, but many dining cars and sleeping cars are also being turned into homes. If you can pay between $8,000 and $45,000 for an old car, a few thousand more to move it and put it on your property, and whatever it takes in materials and labor to turn it into a home, you can have one for much less than a regular house would cost. And the best part is that it will be completely unique and as green as you want.
This beautiful home made from a converted railroad car in Portland, Oregon, is a great example of how beautiful a home can be made from a railroad car. Even though it looks simple on the outside, the inside is very nice. The house is a big 807 square feet and has 10-foot ceilings, DSL, brand-new everything, a full electric kitchen, and a toilet that burns waste. The current owner rents the siding it's on for $150 a month. Since it's not technically property, there are no property taxes to pay. The house is for sale, so if you want to live in a train car without having to fix it up yourself, now is your chance.
If you've ever been in Sausalito, California, near the northern edge of Richardson Bay, you've probably seen some unusual houseboats moored there. This one is one of the most unique because it was made from an old train car. On the San Francisco and Northern Pacific Railway in 1889, the car was once known as #41. When it was taken out of service in 1936, it was turned into a land-based duplex where it stayed until 1979. When it was bought, it was to be turned into this amazing houseboat. Some of the original rail car parts are in the house, like the dining chairs and some of the wood inside.
With the mortgage business in trouble and more people moving toward green housing, it makes sense to use train cars as homes. Like shipping containers, it's not too hard to convert your own car, as long as you have the means to get it to its new location. Cabooses seem to be the most popular choice for living in a train car, but many dining cars and sleeping cars are also being turned into homes. If you can pay between $8,000 and $45,000 for an old car, a few thousand more to move it and put it on your property, and whatever it takes in materials and labor to turn it into a home, you can have one for much less than a regular house would cost. And the best part is that it will be completely unique and as green as you want.
This beautiful home made from a converted railroad car in Portland, Oregon, is a great example of how beautiful a home can be made from a railroad car. Even though it looks simple on the outside, the inside is very nice. The house is a big 807 square feet and has 10-foot ceilings, DSL, brand-new everything, a full electric kitchen, and a toilet that burns waste. The current owner rents the siding it's on for $150 a month. Since it's not technically property, there are no property taxes to pay. The house is for sale, so if you want to live in a train car without having to fix it up yourself, now is your chance.
If you've ever been in Sausalito, California, near the northern edge of Richardson Bay, you've probably seen some unusual houseboats moored there. This one is one of the most unique because it was made from an old train car. On the San Francisco and Northern Pacific Railway in 1889, the car was once known as #41. When it was taken out of service in 1936, it was turned into a land-based duplex where it stayed until 1979. When it was bought, it was to be turned into this amazing houseboat. Some of the original rail car parts are in the house, like the dining chairs and some of the wood inside.
