Red Caboose Motel Strasburg, Pennsylvania

The Red Caboose Motel is appropriately located near the famed Strasburg railroad, and is home to a number of retired railroad cabooses. In 1969, Donald Denlinger a museum president, attended an auction with a friend in nearby Mill bridge. On a whim he threw in a lowball bid on some railroad cabooses. Well, needless to say he ended up the proud owner of 19 N-5 cabooses, each weighing in at 475 tons.  As winter approached he needed to move these behemoths. Not wanting to spend the additional dollars that would be needed to move these mammoth machines, he got the brilliant idea to transform them into motels. An idea so crazy it may work.

Through tireless efforts and an immeasureable amount of work, he made all of the cabooses livable. After wiring electric and adding other amenities such as potbellied stoves and bunk beds, his project was finally completed.

While he was the owner, Mr. Denlinger was known to wear a conductor's outfit while he greeted and assisted guests. He also did extensive research on each caboose and placed historical information on each caboose to enlighten visitors even more.

Today the Red Caboose is under new management but still carries the same flair, all of which is topped off by the victorian decorated dining caboose that still serves three meals a day.