Caboose for an office/ hide from wife space

Hi there,

Find 1 that is close to you to keep shipping cost down. If you found 1 that is close to you and under 20K, sounds good, now you have to find a shipping company and get a price for shipping.

http://www.ozarkmountainrailcar.com/index_rw.asp

http://sterlingrail.com/classi...?type=Caboose&fsw=FS

Sure, Walter Matuch of RMT has a beautifully restored caboose/office in his yard. You can see a bit of it (inside and outside) in our Jan. issue.

First you should check with your town. Here is White Plains and all the area towns, Rye, Harrison and Scarsdale they will not allow such a thing..

Not too far from where I live there is a gentleman that has a CB&Q caboose in his yard next to his house...very cool. But as been said already I would check with your local authorities to be sure it is allowed.

quote:

Originally posted by Deekbears:
Does anyone have or know of some one how has bought a caboose and used it for an office. I am seriously thinking of purchasing one and moving it to my back yard for an office/hide from the wife spot.

Don't you think the caboose in the back yard might be the first place she looks?

Rusty

quote:

Originally posted by Deekbears:
Does anyone have or know of some one how has bought a caboose and used it for an office. I am seriously thinking of purchasing one and moving it to my back yard for an office/hide from the wife spot. Derek

I hope you are joking!

However if you get a caboose, make sure you have a Caboose friend to go with it :

http://monctongarden.com/2011/...e-return-of-caboose/

A caboose seems like a great addition to a garden if you have the space and can afford it preferably with the wife in it:



Prairie

Having been involved once in such a project, think (a) a crane to lift the box off the trucks. $1,500 - $2,000 at the purchase place, and $1,500 - $2,000 at your residence to put it back on the trucks. Almost always these older cabooses cannot meet FRA requirements for rail interchange. Union operators. Professional Rigger: $500-$1,000 per day at point of loading and where it is delivered. And per diem and travel if the same person is used at both locations far apart. Plus tolls. Experienced Helpers - at least two at each location in addition to the rigger, @250 per day. The crane business also has to be booked in advance to insure two are available at the appropriate times. Otherwise you pay the low-boy to sit. (b) Two low-boys to transport the trucks and box separately. Think $1,200 - $1,500 per day's travel from location "a" to "b" and payment for the trucker to return to his base. Plus per diem for the truckers. Two trucks. Plus payment for an escort (oversize load), plus the route has to be driven first to check clearances, plus you may need road permits (good for travel only between certain hours)(c) permits for your property. You will need an architect. Think $3,000. Cribbing, think $800. Think a hassle before the zoning board. Get this done before even thinking about buying one. (d) preparation of track, ties and bed to be under the trucks. (e) rebuilding and rehabilitating the caboose itself. NT5M (Nothing takes five minutes). Depending on how much you do yourself and what you want, think $5,000 to $20,000.

Plus, of course, the cost of the caboose.

I gotta agree with Joetrains on this one! I think you might find the cost quite prohibitive, plus I'd check with the neighbors to see that they will not bit^& about a caboose as an eyesore..... But....you got to love that Norfolk and Western caboose!

quote:

Originally posted by joetrains:
Having been involved once in such a project, think (a) a crane to lift the box off the trucks. $1,500 - $2,000 at the purchase place, and $1,500 - $2,000 at your residence to put it back on the trucks. Almost always these older cabooses cannot meet FRA requirements for rail interchange. Union operators. Professional Rigger: $500-$1,000 per day at point of loading and where it is delivered. And per diem and travel if the same person is used at both locations far apart. Plus tolls. Experienced Helpers - at least two at each location in addition to the rigger, @250 per day. The crane business also has to be booked in advance to insure two are available at the appropriate times. Otherwise you pay the low-boy to sit. (b) Two low-boys to transport the trucks and box separately. Think $1,200 - $1,500 per day's travel from location "a" to "b" and payment for the trucker to return to his base. Plus per diem for the truckers. Two trucks. Plus payment for an escort (oversize load), plus the route has to be driven first to check clearances, plus you may need road permits (good for travel only between certain hours)(c) permits for your property. You will need an architect. Think $3,000. Cribbing, think $800. Think a hassle before the zoning board. Get this done before even thinking about buying one. (d) preparation of track, ties and bed to be under the trucks. (e) rebuilding and rehabilitating the caboose itself. NT5M (Nothing takes five minutes). Depending on how much you do yourself and what you want, think $5,000 to $20,000.

Plus, of course, the cost of the caboose.

Didn't you forget about several lengths of rail, the ties, and the ballast? Plus a couple of clamp on rail chocks.

quote:

Does anyone have or know of some one how has bought a caboose and used it for an office. I am seriously thinking of purchasing one and moving it to my back yard for an office/hide from the wife spot.

Don't you think the caboose in the back yard might be the first place she looks?
[/QUOTE]

I hide in the bedroom. My wife never looks in there.

"Basement-Bill".........the gentleman replying put the "rails, ties, etc" in his part "D". Actually pretty thorough categorizing of the items needed to be researched before even really buying the caboose.
Great idea. Believe it or not, at one time years ago my wife saw one for sale and insisted we have a real hard "look-see".
My pockets weren't deep enough, and the caboose owner amazed me. When I politely turned him down, he then gave a third really...really low offer. Still outa my reach. Deekbears.......how you do this......truly cool!

An additional consideration, as noted, is preparing rail, treated ties and roadbed, which is not as easy as it sounds. There is the issue of drainage, and riprap and gravel will be required underneath the ties, which must be tamped.

The approach road to the house must be evaluated for low-hanging wires, and the suitability of the approach for the crane and tractor-trailers. Grass will not support the wheels of heavy vehicles. It may be necessary to prepare a temporary approach road. Another solution it to lay actual track from the location to a nearby road or area that will support the weight of crane, lowboys etc, and then when the body is attached to the trucks, winch or use an auto to pull the caboose into position and remove the temporary track.

If there is to be a toilet, a septic tank must be provided, as well as a gray water drain for the sink and connections made prior to arrival of the caboose. The same goes for electrical and water lines, which will require a permit, code materials, licensed electrician and plumber, plus a plumber's helper (union rules).

Keeping the pot-belly stove may require another permit, not necessarily granted.

If the unit is to be rehabilitated by a contractor off-premises that means additional charges for delivery to the contractor from the sale site, and when the contractor is finished to the site where the caboose will call home.

Some jurisdictions require a C of O (certificate of occupancy), which in some areas requires installation of sprinklers for fire protection.

Finally, there is insurance. You may find that your home away from home is considered what is called "an attractive nuisance". Kids, for example, love to climb up ladders on attractive nuisances and then fall off and collect million dollar settlements. So check with your home insurance agency about the costs of coverage.

Do it the easier way, Call these guys!

http://www.dogpatchandwesternr.../kit-description.php


I would love to have a caboose on my property but as others have said the cost is high for the extra work.

I remember seeing something on TV a while back about a guy who installed a real caboose in his backyard for his kids to play in, and eventually had to remove it because of neighbor complains / city code. Oddly enough, the neighbors said it would have been fine if he had built a replica caboose for the kids, but they were against having 'the real thing' in sight of their property.

There are two cabooses I know of in our city, and both are at commercial locations. One's an N&W and the other is an orange IC.

Anyway, I think this is doable, if at a business location or if you were out away from people on a large lot or in a rural setting. In a city I could not imagine there not being problems and objections.

That's a really good post Harleyhouse. The caboose "kit" they sell seems to be the way to go. They look great and are quite inexpensive.

I note on the site they have an image of the big crane required to lift the real thing.

Strasburg once had a bunch as a actual Hotel where you would sleep a night.

Maybe they will have a few to part with.

quote:

Originally posted by Lee 145:
Strasburg once had a bunch as a actual Hotel where you would sleep a night.

Maybe they will have a few to part with.

What do you mean once had? I stayed there last April. Did it close recently?

Deekbears, Idid not read all the replies very well as to who said what. But I think someone mentioned about plumb/electric/-et6c,etc. somewhere I was reading about snow States and theterm FROST heave came to mind.It would be a real shame to get all this done only to have it "slip"at an angle later on,not to mention the WEIGHT of all that equipment on yourexistingwater/sewer/elect/gas lines. reashearch all utilities Layout before transport.Good Luck in all>James

quote:

Originally posted by Farmer_Bill:
I hide in the bedroom. My wife never looks in there.

Yeah, but what makes you so sure that she will not be checking the OGR first to find out about your hiding place? You just revealed your secret hiding place

The caboose is still safer,you can create a hiding place when you design the interior of the caboose, a sort of Ali Baba cave behind a book shelf that would open into the cave. You could have the most studious-looking caboose in full view for your wife to see - chair, desk, books etc. She will think you really need your peace and quiet to read and in the cave,you will have your mini train room and all the expensive collectibles!




Prairie

The sad truth is that railroad cars make bad buildings.

They have little or no insulation.

When they sit for long times water pools in places that it didn't when it was in use. This leads to rust/rot.

They have lots of little nooks and crannys that wasps and hornets build nests in.

Bats love to get inside these things.

And that first step up is a real long one.

For my money, I would suggest building a building. Something like a Grizzly flats station. HO model found here. New construction is cheap compared to the cut and fit work of restoration.

and it's just more comfortable.

In any case good luck
(I think you will need it)

Build you own, like my friend, Andy is doing.

quote:

Originally posted by Steam Railroading:
The sad truth is that railroad cars make bad buildings.

When they sit for long times water pools in places that it didn't when it was in use. This leads to rust/rot.

(I think you will need it)

A few times a year, I drive by a house out in the country in west central Ohio that has a caboose and a box car outside. Over the years, the weather has taken a bigger and bigger toll on both the caboose and the boxcar, rusting them away. The caboose is now under a tarp, but I don't know how long it will last out in the elements.

The Caboose Motel, in Avoca, NY, (in Steuben County), closed a few years ago & last time I drove by, there were still 7 or 8 cabeese(?) on the property. It's close to the original DL&W RR main line, now run by the Bath & Hammondsport RR. (I doubt if they'd handle cars with the older friction bearings.) Hope this'll help. Dick Kuehnemund / dkuehnem@stny.rr.com

quote:

Originally posted by Deekbears:
Does anyone have or know of some one how has bought a caboose and used it for an office. I am seriously thinking of purchasing one and moving it to my back yard for an office/hide from the wife spot. I was wondering what it would cost to restore it to original paint and then fix up the inside to a nice functioning condition. I know it would be costly to transport it and the to crane it into the location, but am not sure really what I would be getting into with the rest. I can get one in mn (I live in Wisconsin) for under 20k that looks pretty good? Would 50k total be a safe bet or am I way off. Thanks for any help. Derek