I was on a job early yesterday morning for the electric co-op.?ÿ A small job with a half-mile of overhead upgrade and 1200' or so of aerial primary running out to a formed but not-yet-poured slab.?ÿ The slab footprint looked like it was going to be a residence.?ÿ There was also an existing hay barn on the property.?ÿ I had been out there about ten minutes and I was startled to hear the sliding door on the barn opening.
This guy and his dog walked out into the sun wiping the sleep from their eyes.?ÿ It was the land owner.?ÿ We chatted for a minute or two.?ÿ He admitted he couldn't get used to sleeping in the barn with no windows.?ÿ He was always waking up late not seeing the sun.?ÿ I told him living in the barn had to be rough, especially on hot afternoons.?ÿ He laughed.?ÿ From the angle I was at I couldn't see his travel trailer inside the barn.
He explained the comedy of errors.?ÿ ?ÿHe and his wife were planning on building the new house for a while.?ÿ They got a huge cash offer on their existing place and sold it on the spot.?ÿ That left them with no place to move.?ÿ He pulled the travel trailer out to the barn and has been there over a month.?ÿ He said his wife tried it, but couldn't take it.?ÿ She was off for an extended stay with her sister.?ÿ
I asked how long she lasted.?ÿ He said two nights.?ÿ I asked when she was coming home.?ÿ He said just as soon as the new house was finished.
He did admit he missed her cooking.
As long as I had utilities (water, sewer, power) I could live in ours for a while.?ÿ Stove, 2 refrigerators (one outside for liquid refreshment), separate toilet facilities and shower, and a queen sized bed.?ÿ Three TVs if you are so inclined, and of course grill and outside stove.?ÿ When we go camping we really rough it.
Andy
From what I could see it was a nice fifth-wheel.?ÿ It looked like it had a pop-out or two on the side.?ÿ The other side of the barn was full of hay.?ÿ I sure hope his wife wasn't allergic to all that.
People are soft nowadays, but not everyone.
Did a survey for an old bachelor.?ÿ Pulled up to the location and all I could see was a typical rectangular metal building.?ÿ Less than a minute later one of the big sliding doors started to open.?ÿ He had built a cute little one-bedroom house in one corner of the building.?ÿ Didn't ask if the County Appraiser had ever discovered what was inside this "machine shed".
Another client had taken a 1940's era railroad boxcar with shed roofs in all directions and turned it into a really neat home for himself.
..Another client had taken a 1940's era railroad boxcar with shed roofs in all directions and turned it into a really neat home for himself..
A co-worker of mine inherited a small house in Warwick, OK from a deceased aunt.?ÿ It was a small house, almost 100 years old and hadn't been remodeled since WWII.?ÿ He decided to "clean it up".
He got to peeling away the lath & plaster & discovered the "original house" was a wooden boxcar.?ÿ It had a bathroom and a bedroom added on one side and a kitchen on the other, but the majority of the house was still a boxcar minus the wheelsets.
He made the place nice and left one wall of the old boxcar exposed.?ÿ Last time I talked with him he was still trying to figure out how it got there.?ÿ His aunt had bought the place in the '40s and never did any remodeling.?ÿ She probably never knew what was under the walls.?ÿ None of the neighbors were any help either as the house had been there as long as they remembered.
Sounds like the assessor's office where I used to live, only did drive by work, so no harm no foul.
I can't quote the exact time period involved, but the Santa Fe railroad, among many others, were unable to hire enough workers.?ÿ They brought in large numbers of willing workers from Mexico and housed the families in box cars converted to living quarters.?ÿ One local city holds their Mexican Fiesta every year in mid-September honoring those first generation workers.?ÿ The workers referred to their box car settlement as Little Mexico.?ÿ My sister lived for a time with the daughter of one of those first or second generation workers when they were in business college together.
Box cars, much like shipping containers today, became a popular and apparently relatively inexpensive item to purchase for a variety of uses.?ÿ The box car on my childhood farm was used for grain storage used for grinding our own cattle feed.?ÿ Many others served similar purposes.?ÿ Some were moved to city locations and converted into inexpensive housing.?ÿ I might be able to find one or two of those yet.?ÿ The passenger cars were sometimes used, as well,?ÿ They all seemed to have a bit of a curved roof off each end to better shelter travelers going between cars.?ÿ I know where one of those is located yet.
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There is still an active rail that runs through Warwick.?ÿ So does Deep Fork Creek, the headwater to our Lake Eufaula.
Early in the 20th. century the railroad bridge washed out there and several cars took the plunge.?ÿ My buddy is convinced the boxcar that became his house was probably from the incident but cannot verify anything.?ÿ One railroad "expert" examined his boxcar walls during the remodeling and determined the car was probably from the '30s making it too new to have been in the wreck.?ÿ
Who knows??ÿ An opinion does not make one an "expert"...?ÿ 😉
Here is a map of OK railroads that may be fairly accurate today.?ÿ I found Warwick on the Stillwater Central Railroad.
https://www.odot.org/maps/railroad/2007/map_rail_2007.pdf
The UP has two lines crossing at Wagoner.?ÿ The eastern line coming from the north runs all trains to the south while the western line coming from the north actually runs all trains to the north.
Got a laugh from this resource about the Stillwater Central Railroad.?ÿ Under the heading of interchanges it lists one at Pittsburgh, Kansas.?ÿ That's funny as they are owned by WATCO, which has its headquarters in (correctly spelled) Pittsburg, Kansas.?ÿ The Webb family is the W in WATCO.
https://www.kcsouthern.com/pdf/short-line/slwc-stillwater-central-railroad.pdf
Here are some beautiful examples of box car houses.
https://www.countryliving.com/life/travel/g21100294/airbnb-train-cars/
