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A train repairman spent $1 million turning a 100-year-old coach into a cowboy-themed home — see inside

A train repairman spent $1 million turning a 100-year-old coach into a cowboy-themed home see inside

Jordan Pandy

The exterior of the Pullman train car.Courtesy of Brendan Bailey

Rydel Peterson is selling a 1920s Pullman train car his father gave him.
His dad turned it into a livable home, but his wife didn't want it parked in their backyard.

It's a gravy train — or could be, if it sells.

Montana lawyer Rydel Peterson is asking $249,000 for a historic Pullman train car that was a gift from his father.

Peterson, 45, said his father, who owned a train repair center, spent $1 million renovating the 1920s train car into a three-bedroom, two-bathroom home with heat, air conditioning, and electricity. (It also has bunk beds and Western-style decor, including antlers.) His dad used it for business meetings and rode it up and down in eastern Washington.

After Peterson's father gave him the train car, it landed in his backyard — but his wife wasn't a fan.

The car, now sitting in an industrial park near Missoula, can be moved wherever the buyer wants — whether it's on or off the tracks.

Here's the history behind it.

Peterson’s father acquired the Pullman car from the Union Pacific Railroad in the 1990s.

The front of the train car. Courtesy of Brendan Bailey

Peterson doesn't know how much his dad bought the car for, but said it cost about $1 million and two years to turn it into a home in the 1990s.

Peterson's father, who owned a 20-mile railroad in Washington, would host business dinners on it.

The parlor and a long, narrow hallway. Courtesy of Brendan Bailey

The car would go back and forth on the track during the dinners.

Peterson received the train a few years ago and parked it behind his house — to the displeasure of his wife.

One of the three bedrooms in the train car has bunk beds. Courtesy of Brendan Bailey

"I have a piece of property behind my house, and I thought it would be a cabin, per se, or a guest house, and it's a good idea," he said. "But my wife wasn't all that much of a big fan of it."

The car is equipped with heat, air conditioning, and electricity, said listing agent Anita Bailey.

The dining area of the train car. Courtesy of Brendan Bailey

It also has two showers and four toilets. Bailey said within its first week on the market, the train car had multiple showings and is receiving interest from across the state.

Peterson thinks the next owner could take the train car on the road.

Another shot of the Western-themed parlor. Courtesy of Anita Bailey

If the car passes inspection, Peterson added, it can be hooked up to the back of a passenger Amtrak train and traverse the country. He said in the early 2000s, Amtrak charged about $5 per mile to tow a car.

Peterson also said the next owner could make the train car an Airbnb or other short-term rental.

The exterior of the Pullman train car. Courtesy of Brendan Bailey

"I figured the concept of turning it into an Airbnb or having someone buy it and use it as a cabin is a good one," he said. "It would be kind of fun to see it moving around the United States on the railroad."

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