Vacation perk is sleeping on a train

So, one hobo says to another, “Man, I am tired of riding the rails. I’d love it if someone would build a hotel out of old train cars and put it in the woods. I would so stay there!”

Well, Mr. Hobo, welcome to the Northern Railcar Inn and Suites.

The hotel uses old train cars as rooms and suites. A suite consists of a full train car. Two rooms make up a rail car.

We had a room. You would think that half of a train car would be small, but nope. It seemed like any other hotel room. The main difference inside the room is that it’s more narrow than a “regular” hotel room.

But, you will not notice. It’s a neat concept. It’s a boutique type set-up, since there are 10 cars. So, you know the total number of rooms is limited.

Northern Railcar is located on 160 acres of woodlands, about a 25-minute drive north of Duluth on the famous North Shore scenic route.

Staying at the hotel fit into our trip theme – with the Northlands sites we were taking in.

Our room had a golfer’s theme. The floor lamp had golf clubs and balls as part of the lamp stand. The wall décor had golf pictures. Each room has its own decoration theme.

The hotel’s interior had a train theme to it (duh!). It was interesting walking in the hallway and seeing the side of the rail car as part of the wall.

The lobby is an actual building connected to the train cars. The complimentary continental breakfast is hosted here. The lobby has quite a few train models scattered about. Families enjoyed their breakfast each day. Kids were encouraged to play with toys, puzzles, etc., in a nook in the lobby.

The only thing missing was a caboose. The owner/manager told us that they have one they can buy. But, it’s expensive to transport it. So, for now, they have other priorities, but do plan to bring it aboard sometime in the future.

For more information or to book your stay, check out their website at http://www.northernrail.net/