Enfield B&B renovates caboose as guest house

Eileen Bach, who runs a bed and breakfast in the Enfield area, is in the process of renovating the caboose behind her home to serve as a guest house.

Bach and her husband purchased the caboose around 1990 from the Delaware and Hudson Railroad Company. At the time, the company was going out of business and was selling its engines and boxcars but had difficulty selling its cabooses, which were obsolete. The Bachs purchased the caboose for a nominal fee, although they had to pay a large amount of money to ship it home, a cost they shared with a colleague of Bach’s husband.

“A caboose is not something you can get any old day,” Bach said.

In 2016, Bach, realizing that she could not do the necessary work to maintain the house, started using her home as a bed and breakfast to pay for expenses. Bach eventually decided to turn the caboose in her backyard into a guest house, and the caboose is expected to open to guests next spring.

“I’m really looking forward to the time when it will be up and running and I can have family and friends as well as rent it on AirBnB for folks to enjoy,” Bach said.

The caboose has beds for four people — a bunk bed for two children and a foldout couch bed that can accommodate two adults. Bach said she will look to other caboose bed and breakfasts when determining what price to charge.

Bach is the owner and sole employee of the bed and breakfast, although she receives help from a woman who comes to clean for three hours once a week. According to Bach, running the bed and breakfast is labor intensive, as she spends 6 a.m. until noon serving breakfast and her afternoons cleaning, washing dishes and doing laundry.

“It ends up being a very full day for me for a couple of consecutive days,” Bach said. “As I age, I’d like to reduce that workload.”

According to Bach, renting out the caboose will allow her to lock her house and go into town for errands instead of staying at home while her rooms are being rented out. The caboose will also allow her to put out a self-serve continental breakfast rather than require her to make breakfast every morning.

Bach estimates that about 200 guests stay at her bed and breakfast every year, with more visitors coming during the pandemic. Bach said this was because people were reluctant to travel far due to their fear of contracting and spreading the virus but still wanted to go somewhere close to home.

“I think there were people who were reluctant to fly, and they were looking for a getaway within four hours of driving distance,” Bach said. “I ended up with far more people traveling from Pittsburgh and Philadelphia than I had pre-pandemic. Pre-pandemic, it was pretty much folks who were bringing their children to college or were coming to a wedding at a winery.”

Bach hopes to provide guests with an authentic caboose experience by keeping as many features of the original caboose intact as possible, such as having an ice chest that can chill wine. There will be travel brochures and train-related books, such as The Boxcar Children, for guests to read.

“I’m hoping people who have a real love of trains will take a special interest in staying in caboose,” Bach said.

Bach enjoys meeting the people who stay at her bed and breakfast. One couple has repeatedly visited the bed and breakfast, first coming when they were dating, then returning once they were engaged and coming back multiple times after getting married.

“There are folks who started coming when their children were students at Cornell and then they continued to return for the occasional weekend just to enjoy the area,” Bach said. “So, I’ve established some nice relationships with guests that I value.”

Bach recommends the bed and breakfast to people who are looking for a fun getaway.

“If you’re looking for a special adventure, it could be going back in time a bit, then consider spending a night in a caboose,” Bach said.

Send questions, comments and story ideas to editorial@VizellaMedia.com.

In brief:

Enfield holds monthly Town Board meeting

The town of Enfield will hold its monthly Town Board meeting Nov. 9 at 6:30 p.m. For more information, including the agenda and the Zoom link, go to the town’s website at townofenfield.org.

Danby Town Board to meet

The town of Danby will hold a Town Board meeting Nov. 16 from 6 to 8 p.m. The meeting will be held in a hybrid format and can be attended at the town hall or online. Masks are optional but are recommended and will be available at the town hall. For more information, or the link to the meeting, go to danby.ny.gov/event/town-board-meeting-19-oct-2022-2/.

Danby holds food pantry

The Danby Community Church, 1859 Danby Rd., will host its monthly food pantry from 4 to 6 p.m. Nov. 17.