Railway Car Conversions

Old Railway Carriage Converted Into Stunning Off-Grid Home

These two derelict old railway carriages have been converted into an absolutely stunning off the grid home. Packed full of character and history from their time on the railway, these carriages are now a wonderful place to call home.

Located in the Central Otago region in the South Island of New Zealand, this conversion project has been a true labour of love. The restoration and renovation took 8 years to get the home to it's current state working part time.

Being located on such a remote property, the home is unable to connect to services and so is completely off the grid, capturing it's own rain water and generating it's power from a small solar system.

This World War 2 railway train carriage has been transformed into an absolutely amazing tiny home. Just wait until you see inside this masterpiece conversion which is packed full of artistic character and some truly great design ideas including a bathroom which is out of this world!

Dan and Annabel are both performers and wanted to create a special retreat space in their home for guests. After finding an old WW2 railway train car, they made the decision to transform the piece of history and give it a brand new life as a tiny guest house.

The couple’s skill as artists is evident throughout the conversion, where the train car has been beautifully decorated and themed to transport those who enter into a different time and place. This is small space design at it’s best!

I hope you enjoy the full video tour of this spectacular railway train car / tiny house conversion.

Dan and Annabel are wonderful people, who also run a very special business from their home teaching people how to make shoes. To find out more about their shoe school, check out their website: http://coloradoshoeschool.com/

Beautiful Train Caboose Inspired Tiny House At Portland Hotel

If your a fan of old fashioned railway trains and tiny houses, then this next home is sure to delight! Located right in the heart of Portland, Arthur is a 16' (5m) train-caboose inspired tiny house that you can stay in as part of the Tiny Digs hotel.

Arthur is no ordinary B&B tiny house however, this is a tiny home that has been built with a tremendous amount of love. The Tiny Digs team have poured so much energy into the theme of this home, even including railway antiques in it's construction to add character. This is a tiny house that railway fans around the world will truly love!

Tiny Digs hotel is providing a wonderful service, not only by giving tiny house enthusiasts the opportunity to try living tiny and get lots of design ideas from their tiny homes, but also by working as local advocates in the Portland tiny house movement by helping to showcase a model of tiny house community living.

WHENEVER I THINK ABOUT ABANDONED HOTELS OR TRAINS, I CAN’T HELP BUT THINK ABOUT THE MOVIE, THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL. NOT ONLY WAS IT AN AMAZING MOVIE, IN MY OPINION, BUT IT BROUGHT ABOUT THE IDEA THAT THERE ARE HOTELS OUT THERE THAT WERE ONCE PART OF THE HUSTLE AND BUSTLE, BUT ARE NOW EITHER ABANDONED OR NEARLY VACANT ALL OF THE TIME. THAT IS VERY SIMILAR TO THE STORY OF THE IZAAK WALTON INN WHICH IS LOCATED IN ESSEX, MONTANA. IT’S CLOSE TO GLACIER NATIONAL PARK,WHICH WAS A BOOMING TOWN IN 1939. THERE WERE TWO MAIN ENTRANCES TO THE PARK VIA THE GREAT NORTHERN RAILWAY. BECAUSE THEY KNEW THAT TOURISTS WOULD SOON BE VISITING, ALONG WITH AN INFLUX IN RAIL WORKERS, THE IZAAK WALTON INN OPENED ITS DOORS. THE HOTEL OFFERED MODERN DETAILS IN EACH OF THEIR 29 ROOMS. IT ALSO HAD 10 BATHROOMS, A LOBBY, A DINING ROOM, AND A KITCHEN WITH A 2-TON STOVE! AS THEY WERE ABOUT TO BUILD A THIRD ENTRANCE INTO GLACIER NATIONAL PARK, THE UNITED STATES WENT TO FIGHT WORLD WAR II AND THEN THERE WAS THE BOMBING OF PEARL HARBOR IN 1941. THEY DECIDED TO PUT THE NEW PARK ENTRANCE ON HOLD, AND NOTHING WAS EVER MADE OF IT. THIS LEFT THE INN VACANT, BUT THEY CONTINUED TO OPERATE ON A MUCH SMALLER SCALE. LUCKILY FOR THEM, THIS MADE THE INN VERY SUCCESSFUL. KNOWN FOR ITS WARM STAFF AND COZY ROOMS, THE INN ATTRACTED OUTDOOR ENTHUSIASTS, ALONG WITH SKIERS. THEY ENJOYED THE PEACEFULNESS OF THE HOTEL, AND BECAUSE OF THIS THE IZAAK WALTON INN BECAME ONE OF MONTANA’S BEST RECREATIONAL SECRETS. THE HOTEL IS STILL THRIVING, BUT THEY ADDED A FEW UNUSUAL OFFERINGS TO THEIR RESERVATION MENU.

Old Train Carriage Conversion to a Tiny House

In June of 2017 I started the conversion of an old railway wagon which had previously been used as a store and a workshop. Before this it had been used by the army to transport ammunition around the country. It now has a double bed, sockets, cooker, hot water, shower and toilet.

I spent every bit of spare time in the evenings on this project. It was so good to be able to bring back to some form of use!

This living space is a wonderful tiny house creation from Matthew de Boer. The idea is to convert the train carriage and change it into comfortable living space with plenty of natural light and exposed timber; spacious but retaining the heritage look.

WWII Train Car Converted Into a PERFECT Airbnb! | FULL TOUR! (Platform 1346)

This WWII Railway Train car that was originally used as a kitchen still lives on as a wonderful Airbnb located in Maryville, Tennessee! Full of character and charm, this Airbnb is definitely worth going out of your way to visit! Great attention to detail everywhere plus you will feel like you're living in a movie!