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Would You Choo-Choo-Choose to Live in a Caboose? All Aboard the Side Trak!

Want to pack up your bindle and hop aboard a rail car? If you’ve always dreamed of being welcomed home by the sound of a train whistle, we’ve found a home for you.

The Side Trak in Conway, NH, is available for only $51,500. Despite its small size, this converted train caboose can sleep up to five people.

The rail car was built in 1910 and spent much of its life on the rails of southern New England. It was retired in 1974 and then sold privately to the Audibert family, who renovated the interior.

During its active years on the rails, rail workers would sit in the cupola to overlook the train and make sure the sparks from the wheels weren’t starting any fires. They customized their space with cots and even stoves of their own, foreshadowing this car’s future as a home away from home.

The Side Trak is “240 square feet of joy,” says listing agent David Cianciolo. “It is uniquely efficient.”

It includes a bathroom, kitchen, seating area, and dining space, as well as plenty of storage nooks and crannies. The elevated seats in the cupola can fold out into beds when not being used to survey the landscape, as can a bench near the kitchen sink.

“You can really see the creativity of the space that would have been wasted,” says Cianciolo. “Every space has a purpose.”

The caboose, which sits on steel wheels, is not the only rail car in the neighborhood—it resides next to six other converted rail cars, most of which are owned by train enthusiasts. The spot it sits on costs $95 a month in rent, and includes the water/sewer and power hookups. (The caboose itself needs to be connected to the power grid as well as the municipal water and sewer system.)

The caboose can be moved, provided you have an engine to transport it. It will also need to sit on a piece of railroad track at its destination, or it will sink due to its weight.

Regardless of its final destination, the caboose could be an ideal vacation getaway for a variety of residents, whether they’re outdoor enthusiasts or even a family with young kids.

“It’s the coolest place for children,” says Cianciolo. “It appeals to an interesting cross-section of people.”

He adds, “I’ve been an agent for 44 years and this is the first time I’ve had a listing of this style or this compact.”

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Source: Real Estate News and Advice – realtor.com » Real Estate News