A father and daughter worked together to transform a train caboose.
Jim Dotzenrod and his daughter Danielle transformed a train caboose.
The caboose has new features like a handmade deck and the original conductor's chair.
Reservations are available for the caboose in Decorah.
The train caboose was purchased by Jim Dotzenrod.
Jim Dotzenrod bought the train caboose.
Jim Dotzenrod drove by a row of train cabooses in Decorah, Iowa, several times before he decided to take a closer look in 2016
Jim told Insider that there was a line of cabooses along the road that a guy bought in an investment. I wondered what you could use one of them for. I thought of an apartment building.
Jim was forced to search for a caboose after the owner wouldn't sell any of them.
Jim said that his daughter's partner told him there was a salvage recycling yard 30 miles away.
Jim was able to purchase the caboose car number SOO 124 for $8,000, even though the caboose was going to be cut up. It was built in 1973.
The CR Station Train Caboose is listed on the platform.
Jim had previously jumped into the world of home renovations. Jim, a retired carpenter, used a silo on his farm to make a popular listing.
Jim had to walk to his home from the park.
Jim Dotzenrod and a friend help place the train caboose on a set of tracks.
Finding a caboose to purchase was one challenge, but moving it from the scrapyard to Jim's property was another. The process involved a semi-truck, a crane, and a lift.
Jim said that there were two big excavators at the yard. They put straps on the caboose and put it on the semi.
Danielle told Insider that her father bought real railroad tracks to use as a base for the caboose once it arrived in his yard. The caboose was lifted onto the set of isolated railroad tracks by a semi-truck.
Jim said it took an hour to take it off of the semi and set it on the track. The caboose is 30 feet by 8.6 feet and it cost $2,000 to transport.
The caboose was gutted so the space could be renovated.
It took the Dotzenod's six months to make the caboose.
The caboose was stripped to its bare bones.
Jim had to power wash it to get rid of the diesel fuel smell. "It was strong, but it was just the smell of diesel fuel."
Jim went back in with some air freshener to finish the job.
The caboose has a queen-size bed and a bunk bed set that can hold up to four people. The caboose has a bathroom, a kitchen with a microwave and refrigerator, a double burner hot plate, and barware supplies for cocktails.
The property has a TV, air conditioning, and internet.
The caboose's original ironwork was replaced with woodwork by Jim.
The caboose had a staircase built by Jim.
Danielle told Insider that her father used his carpentry skills to replace the caboose's ironwork.
Danielle, owner of Dotzy's Restaurant and Saloon, said that her father is low maintenance and can do anything he wants. When we built this together, he could build whatever he wanted, and I could nudging him to make this as cool as we can.
After setting the cabinets in place and making space for the queen size bed, Jim created a new staircase that he handcrafted after cutting new windows into the caboose. He used his carpentry skills to create an outdoor deck that could be seen from the caboose's windows.
Jim had to work at night or on the weekends because of his job.
Jim Dotzenrod worked as a carpenter and fitted the caboose with wood.
Jim had to find time during the night or on weekends to work on the passion project because he was still working at his regular job.
Jim thought it would work to generate income. I stayed at work at night and on weekends to get it done.
The renovation project took about six months to complete. Jim told Insider that he spent 300 hours on the caboose.
Danielle helped tile parts of the caboose.
Danielle Dotzenrod helped her father fix the caboose floor.
Jim admits that Danielle chose the little decorative charms and much of the overall design while he tackled a lot of the structural changes.
Danielle designed the floor with black tiles surrounded by oak wood and many small details that pull the interior together. Danielle was the one who made the caboose's color scheme.
The wine glass holders hanging from the wall are made from rake heads.
Visitors can warm up by the electric fireplace on the couch.
Danielle was looking for decor pieces in nearby cities.
Jim said that his daughter drove her pickup truck to nearby towns to find different pieces and furniture options.
Jim said that Danielle got for him an electric fireplace in the caboose. There's a sofa and a mirror that she got out of Minneapolis.
Jim and Danielle wanted to make sure the caboose was preserved.
The original conductor's chair is located near the windows overlooking the horse pasture.
The original conductor chairs and hand railing were saved by Jim and Danielle.
Danielle said that they wanted it to be nice but still feel like a caboose. I think that's something we pride ourselves on. Sometimes when you're in a caboose, you don't realize it's a caboose.
Jim said that the Caboose looked like a Caboose, but that visitors should know what it was like back in the day.
The conductors' chairs are near the windows that overlook the property. The caboose roof has an original railing in the middle.
There is a shower in the caboose bathroom.
Danielle Dotzenrod tiled the shower walls inside the caboose.
The Dotzenrods didn't skimp on amenities even in a confined space like a caboose. There is a bathroom on the caboose.
Danielle told Insider that Jim cut the tile, but she was responsible for tiling the shower walls.
The home has a queen-size bed and a bunk bed.
The train caboose has a queen-sized bed for guests.
The caboose has a queen-size bed upstairs and a bunk bed on the first floor.
Jim mentioned that there are two women with small children in the space.
He noted that a lot of their customers come from surrounding cities like Des Moines, and Danielle noted that the summer season is when families looking to escape city life usually book on the platform.
There is a handmade wood deck near the horse pastures.
Jim Dotzenrod built the deck.
The Dotzenrod's pasture is where visitors can feed and pet horses. Danielle said the horse pasture became a draw for visitors.
Danielle said that most of the reviews give a shout-out to the horses, and that there are plenty of things to do for guests who want to travel into town or spend time on activities. Visitors can go kayaking on the Upper Iowa River, view the sites on an 11-mile trail, take lessons at a local shooting range, or visit a world-class brewery. Decorah's Toppling Goliath brewery is located around 15 minutes from the caboose.
Jim is willing to take guests on a carriage ride.
Danielle said her favorite moment when people stay at the caboose is when they kick back and enjoy the nature.
Danielle said that it feels nice to offer city people the chance to sit on the deck and have a cocktail. It's something that we country people probably don't take for granted, but it's something that they really appreciate.
The original article is on Insider.
