This former military train car is over 70 years old and has an interesting history that includes it being used during World War II and the Cold War. Now installed on some rural land in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains in Maryville, Tennessee, it has been painstakingly renovated into a guest house and is available to rent on Airbnb.
The wagon was made in 1942 and served as a kitchen car for US army cooks while troops were transported throughout the country for the war effort. After WWII it was mothballed then pressed back into service during the Cold War to carry computers and communication gear.
Finally retired in 1998, the train lay unused until it was purchased in a military surplus auction by a Lieutenant Colonel who installed it on his own property. He had plans for it, but ended up getting divorced and his home, train car included, passed to its current owners.
The new owners hit on the idea of turning the train into guest accommodation and named it Platform 1346. It took around eight months for them to strip it out and source the new furniture and sort out the wiring and plumbing, but the end result is very well done and the decor is a nice fit for the space.
Still finished in military green, Platform 1346 is accessed by steps on its front and end entrances and also has a small deck area outside. Its interior is mostly taken up by a large open living space with a well-stocked kitchen and a breakfast bar, plus a nearby living room with a sofa bed and a small office nook with a drop-down desk. A Murphy-style bed turns this nook into a bedroom.
At the far end is a bathroom with a bath/shower, sink and toilet that's accessed by barn-style sliding door.
Platform 1346 is now available to rent on Airbnb.
Source: Airbnb
