Neat idea for a cabin

beneteau

Good idea if you could afford the move and renovation.

Old rail cars transformed

fishkiller41

I could live in that caboose,no problem!![^]

TheBrassMan

My late father worked for the GN/BN/BNSF railroad for 37 years.

EhlerDave

The center section of a house here in town is a old boxcar. The other rooms were just added on in later years.

Oakie

I could definitely live there.

Spider7115

There's a motel in Amish Country in Pennsylvania called the "Red Caboose". It has restored train cars converted into motel rooms.

http://www.redcaboosemotel.com/

spasmcreek

i can remember as a kid when the cars that had mostly mexicans living in them were parked on the railroad siding in our town....ATSF work crews...haven't seen cars like that for over 50+ years

FrancF

Shipping Container Homes- Build like a bomb shelter and comfy inside.

Ditch-Runner

north of me about 40 miles give or take there is a well off family ( own crown equipment I was told ) they had a set of tracks laid a couple old train cars brought in and transformed into guest house then had the tracks removed . I have not personally seen them but worked with several who have been there .
same family story goes the dad was on vacation one of the sons started building a house his dad was against , on his return had what was done torn down and the basement filled in [:D][:D]
don't go against dad [}:)]

montanajoe

That caboose is very nicely done,,[8D][8D][8D][8D][8D]

roswellnative

Simple is good

Dads3040

Some years back I did a project on a building in downtown Portland. The job was in this funky little section of building that stuck out from a larger building.

When we pulled the suspended ceiling down in the basement, we found this strange structure under the little building section. On further investigation, it became clear that it was the frame of an old railroad car.

The city inspector about had a conniption fit. [;)][:D][:D]

sharpshooter039

I see alot of online articles about using old RR cars or shipping containers. If I were to do something like this I think I would buy a couple old 48' refer trailers, they can be had pretty cheap, pulled onto location and already insulated.

shilowar

quote:Originally posted by montanajoe
That caboose is very nicely done,,[8D][8D][8D][8D][8D]


Some folks really have an eye for creating beautiful things.

select-fire

quote:Originally posted by FrancF
Shipping Container Homes- Build like a bomb shelter and comfy inside.



Cheap housing

Mobuck

"I see alot of online articles about using old RR cars or shipping containers. If I were to do something like this I think I would buy a couple old 48' refer trailers, they can be had pretty cheap, pulled onto location and already insulated."

The old road trailers (refrigerated of not) are not nearly as substantial as the shipping containers. After a gazillion miles on the highway, those trailers may actually be pretty shaky and not what I'd want as the basis for a house.
Re the comment about "built like a bomb shelter"
No, they're not really that strong. The sidewalls are only 1/8"(or less) thick and gain most of their integrity from the formed corrugations in the sides. The strong points are the corners. Putting stresses on them in ways other than the original design could cause a collapse later.
Railcars are extremely heavy and hard to move. Years ago, they were frequently used for "field bridges"(10' wide and 40' long) but it was very difficult to get them into position. More powerful equipment and stronger mobile cranes are available now than 40 years ago but the substructure(even w/o the trucks) is an unwanted detriment to use.