We Paid $3,000 for an Old Train Car Full of Cats

Sep 2

A few winters ago, my dad got a call from an elderly farmer down the road from our home in Idaho.

His barn was about to collapse, and he needed help shoveling snow off the roof.

After the job was done, my dad peeked inside—and froze.

Hiding in the shadows was an ancient, almost unrecognizable railcar. The stench immediately assaulted him. Twenty feral cats had turned it into their kingdom.

My dad has always loved history and trains, and his eyes lit up. But how had it wound up there of all places?

After some digging through the history books, we found a photograph of this very train car, brand new, leaving the manufacturer in St. Charles, Missouri in 1906. This was Washington, Idaho & Montana Car 306—a combination car: part cargo, part mail, part passenger.

In the 1950s, when the local tracks were pulled up, the railroad decommissioned it. A farmer bought it for scrap, dragged it ten miles to his land, and used it to store grain and feed hay to his cows. Everybody else assumed it had been destroyed.

My dad offered to take it off his hands for $3,000. The farmer was delighted. So he wrote him a check on the spot.

But then came the tricky part: moving it.

Picture a 61-foot, 100,000 lb relic, barely held together, crawling down icy backcountry roads. If something went wrong, the dream was over.

It took two years to find a mover with the guts to try.

One winter day, a truck finally hooked up to the car, with a bulldozer pushing from behind for the final stretch, dragging it safely to the hilltop where it would sit.

And then the real work began.

Before restoring the car itself, we set the stage. My brother John built a timber-framed platform and roof around the car, with architectural hints of a train depot so guests would feel transported to 1906 the moment they arrived. It also protected the delicate car for decades to come.

It was early 2020. While the world locked down, we locked in.

Each of us took on different parts of the work, meticulously reimagining and restoring the space.

The mail compartment became a bedroom
The cargo area, a bathroom
The passenger section, a kitchenette and lounge (my favorite part)

Five months. $147,000. Every detail finished. We listed it on Airbnb, and bookings began pouring in.

Then something unexpected happened.

Just a few miles away in Deary (population 550), the old train depot—yes, the very one this car would have stopped at countless times—came up for sale. The timing seemed almost providential. It was in serious disrepair, fairly worthless to most, and we pounced.

We restored it too, turning it into a two-unit stay with a train lounge and library available for all guests (including Car 306).

But it gets even better…

While driving one day that spring, my dad spotted an old caboose on the side of the road.

He stopped to inquire, and found out it was being used as a dog kennel. It was severely rotted, but the chassis was intact.

He bought it for $5,000, we moved it to Deary beside the depot, and with $40k and an extra few months of painstaking love, transformed it into another unforgettable stay.

Just like that, almost a century after it was scattered, the family was made whole again: the depot, car, and caboose. Each one tells a unique chapter in the Idaho railroad history.

Car 306 has now been open four years, hitting 90% occupancy at rates north of $350 a night. Guests travel from across the country (and even a few from other continents) to stay here.

And what a story to share with our guests! The place markets itself, because it’s not just a place. It’s an experience.

My dad deserves all the credit for having the courage to go for it. And I'm incredibly privileged to be part of a family that works together and is thus able to pull something like this off.

I hope this story inspires you not only to dream big and take action, but also that families can work together, communities can be transformed and sustained, and fulfillment can be found in all of it.

If you want to come experience any of these stays yourself (and get $100 off), you can book here. Our family would be delighted to host you!

Have a wonderful week, and I’ll catch you next Tuesday.