Re: Stock Car Tiny Home conversion video series

Hey all! I was finally able to get an account approved so I can give you all some details as to what's going on and a little glimpse at the plan looking forward. But first, a little backstory...

Since I was 10, I have work along side my father as a carpenter's assistant when he was building log homes in Pagosa Springs. When I graduated high school in 2012, I moved to Durango to work for the D&SNG. I have done many jobs there; gandy dancer, patrolman, brakeman, fireman, dispatcher, and building restorer. A handful of those years were spent, once again, working along side my dad was be restored the exterior and interior of the depot in Durango. Fast forward to now, I work in the car shop as a carpenter and carmen. So far, I have had the privilege to work on these old wooden cars and gain a fond appreciation of the amount of work that goes into keeping them up.

If some of you watched my videos, you will know that I was able to purchase the 5605 from the railroad with the long term goal of making it a tiny home. I was given the pick of the litter in choosing which stock car I wanted to buy and chose the 5605 as, at the time, I believed it was best suited for the project. I forked over the dough and waited a winter to move it. Once my wife and I started getting it ready to move, I really started looking at the car in detail and realized I had a lot of work ahead of me. This car has been neglected since it came to the D&SNG in the 80's and has been out in the elements for a long while, minus some of the upright posts, the top plates and all the sills have split and rotted through to the point where gallons of epoxy resin would not fill the gaps. It's been decided to take the car down to the trucks and start anew.

Phil's 6201 was a contract project we carried out in the car shop earlier this year. His car needed all eight sills and both needle beams replaced for the same reason; the wood was just too far gone. Working on that project gave me an idea of the work needed to replace all that and I committed to doing that on 5605.

Now here's where the fun begins. Seeing as It's going down to bare bones, might as well dream a bit.



The look I am trying to achieve is directly inspired from a car still in existence: 010145 owned by Travis Wheeler.



The car will be lengthened by four feet making it 34' long over end sills and a clerestory will be added in to give the car additional headroom. A lot of work and care will be needed to extend this car out but it's something I am prepared to do and will see that it is done right. I read a little earlier (somewhere) that it's odd to see everything was included with the sale of 5605 (trucks, air brakes, draft gear, etc.). This is intentional; I plan on making this car runnable. Where it'll run, hard to say as of now but seeing as I am learning carmen stuff in the car shop, might as well put that knowledge to good use.

I hope this answers a few questions. This has been a dream my wife and I have cooked over over the past few years and are very excited to carry it out. Please do not worry about the 5605's history as I am compiling as much information about it to create a written history of this old gal. Her story will not be lost to time; I will personally see to that!