One Ohio couple is all-in on ambitious project to turn historic train cabooses into short-term rental getaways.
Ray and Karen DeVite spoke to Business Insider about the project, which all began with a fateful Facebook Marketplace scroll. The couple had purchased land in Xenia, Ohio with the intention of developing it. One night, Karen was scrolling Facebook and by chance saw an advertisement for a historic train caboose.
“When I put in ‘trains’, I was just expecting to find some lights or lanterns,” Karen told BI. “I sure wasn’t expecting to find a full-sized caboose.”
Now, the couple has a historic 1970’s Chessie System caboose and 1950’s Nickel Plate Road caboose, purchased from the same seller they found on Facebook.
As the short-term rental market becomes more competitive following the post-lockdown boom, middle-of-the-road offerings have fared worse in staying booked. Some hosts have turned to offering unique stays, like the DeVites, and highlight off-the grid experiences.
The DeVites unknowingly tapped into a massive community of train enthusiasts and have been connected with historic caboose fans through Facebook groups. They’re expecting to host many of them once the cabooses are ready for overnight guests by the summer.
For those interested in pursuing similar projects, Ray’s advice is to “just go for it.”
“You can’t anticipate everything, you just learn along the way,” he said.
Here’s how the project is unfolding:
