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The red exterior of a train-car condo.
The exterior of the train showing off one of the decks on the property.

Courtesy of Christopher Alexander.

  • A two-bedroom condo made out of three connected train cars in Wisconsin is seeking $125,000.
  • It sits on a piece of abandoned rail and is part of a community made up of 43 train cars.
  • Unfortunately for the buyer, it can't be used as a short-term rental or when the weather turns cold.

What was once a unique hotel stay in Wisconsin is now a rare vacation home — and a cool piece of history.

A two-bedroom, one-bathroom condo made out of three connected train cars is on the market for $125,000 in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, a picturesque resort city about an hour south of Milwaukee.

"It's a different thing for sure," Christopher Alexander, a Century 21 agent in Wisconsin who holds the listing, told Business Insider. "You don't hear of many people converting train cars."

The 43 train cars, which sit on an abandoned track just a mile from Lake Geneva Public Beach, were used as a motel in the 1980s before they were turned into condominium units.

Take a look around.

Father and son duo David and Michael Hanley bought the 43 caboose train cars in 1983.
A line of steps leading to train-car condos.
The train-car condo for sale is just one of the many condos on the property.

Courtesy of Christopher Alexander.

The two got the idea after converting a train car into a guest home for their Walworth, Wisconsin, summer home, according to the Chicago Tribune.

They spent up to $900 on each car.

The Hanleys renovated the train cars and opened up Hanley’s End of the Line Caboose Motel in December 1984.
The exterior of red train cars next to a road.
The train-car condos.

Courtesy of Christopher Alexander.

According to the Tribune, the cars rented for $70 a night on weeknights and $80 a night on weekends when the resort first opened.

The Hanleys purchased the 1,800-foot right of way the train cars sit on from Chicago & North Western Transportation Co. for $17,000.

In the ‘90s, the cars were turned into condominium units and sold to individual buyers, according to Alexander.
A dining area in a train-car condo.
The dining area in the train-car condo for sale.

Courtesy of Christopher Alexander.

A twin-caboose condo was listed for sale for $75,000 in September 2021, according to Crain's.

The three-car condo, now seeking $125,000. is the most recent of the residences to hit the market.
The exterior of a red train car.
The red exterior of the train-car condo.

Courtesy of Christopher Alexander.

Three sisters decided to part with the property after having it in the family since the '90s.

"They don't have the maintenance ability and the taxes and association fees can be cumbersome at times for them," Alexander said. "Even though it's paid for, it's just an added thing that they don't really have time to do right now."

It's about 960 square feet and comes with a deck.
The red exterior of a train car and a deck.
A decently sized deck on the side of the train car.

Courtesy of Christopher Alexander.

"It's three cabooses put together in a fashion where you can walk through all three," Alexander said. "There are doors accessing each car."

The family that owns the car did some remodeling from the hotel days.
A refrigerator and seating inside of a train-car condo.
The train-car condo also comes equipped with a refrigerator.

Courtesy of Christopher Alexander.

They added kitchen appliances, updated the floors, and brought in new furnishings and decorations.

Owners within the condo community also have access in the summertime to a building with a pool.

The condos have fans and AC units that make summers more bearable, but Alexander said the units are uninhabitable in the winter because there's "no real winterization."
A kitchen in a train car.
The kitchen appliances are minimal and include a coffee maker and microwave.

Courtesy of Christopher Alexander.

"With Wisconsin weather, you have to be pretty insulated and whatnot," he said. "So they do shut down in the winter for all the owners in the condo association."

So the condos are only able to be used between April and October.
A bedroom in a train car.
One of the bedrooms on board the train.

Courtesy of Christopher Alexander.

Potential buyers looking for a short-term rental investment are out of luck.
A dining area in a train-car condo.
The condo is just under 1,000 square feet, and is quite narrow.

Courtesy of Christopher Alexander.

The condo association doesn't allow short-term rentals "because they've had some issues in the past," Alexander said.

Alexander thinks the inability to rent the cars short-term has dissuaded some buyers.
A bedroom inside of a train-car condo.
Another bedroom with a deck off the side.

Courtesy of Christopher Alexander.

If it were able to be a short-term rental, "it would probably appeal quite a bit more to more vacationers and it would probably go back to being that hotel-feel type property," he said.

The listing also notes that buyers will likely have to purchase the condo with cash, as financing would be tough to arrange for the atypical space.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Real Estate, housing-market, Transportation, Trains, Wisconsin, house-for-sale
Source
More than 40 train cars got turned into apartments decades ago. Now 3 are for s…