BEXAR COUNTY ā Nestled among the pecan trees, two Scenic Loop homes boast treasures that are off the rails. One conceals an old San Antonio streetcar, and the other stops passersby in their tracks.
āWeāre going to restore them inside, back to their period, grace and glory,ā said Mike Robare, the enthusiastic owner of an old train dining car and two cabooses.
Theyāre a curious sight because trains donāt even run through the neighborhood. Two entrepreneurs brought them to the property back in the late 1980s, according to Robare.
āThey were going to build a restaurant and just really never got to it,ā he said.
Robare bought the acreage and the trains a few years ago, but his fascination with the railcars goes way back.
āI first saw them in 1993 when I moved here to San Antonio and fell in love with the whole concept and thought, āWow, what crazy person owns these?āā Robare said. āWell, fast forward almost 30 years, Iām that crazy guy, I guess.ā
Imaginative is more like it.
āI knew the day I bought these,ā he said. āI literally went home that night and drew this house.ā
The house is a showstopper, designed so it appears that the train is pulling into the station.
Robare is a custom homebuilder. While the ātrain houseā was his residence for a while, it is now becoming his showroom and office.
The interior design is what he calls industrial light.
āWe really tried to keep that train station, that depot vibe,ā he said.
The property is an attention-grabber.
āIf a hundred people have stopped by to look and take pictures, Iād be lying,ā Robare said. āItās more than that.ā
Heās already begun work restoring the blue and red cabooses.
āIāve taken them right down to the studs,ā he said. He plans to turn the cabooses into bedrooms and the dining car into a kitchen and long, narrow living room.
Robare does not describe himself as a train buff. So why do this?
āI see a lot of things being torn down that probably shouldnāt go away,ā he said. āI think part of America, weāre losing touch with who we were, where we came from a little bit.ā
Around the bend, Cat Olinās 1,600-square-foot house harbors a hidden treasure ā an old trolley car.
āAs I was told by the previous owner, this was brought out here for $100 in 1933,ā she said.
The house was built two decades later and is actually attached to the streetcar, now a room with a nostalgic groove.
āThe wood in here is made of mahogany,ā Olin said.
Rich wood, antique glass with visible waves, and even the push buttons to request a stop remain. Itās like stepping back in time, back to the early 1900s.
Thatās when Olinās St. Louis-built streetcar traversed the streets of downtown San Antonio, until the 1930s when electric streetcars got kicked to the curb in favor of buses.
Once the streetcar was relocated to the remote woods, Olin says it was used by hunters as a hangout.
Later, it was built into a residence. The streetcarās doors were removed and installed as windows at the front of the house. Olin bought it a few years ago.
āI have a history of living in interesting homes,ā she said.
āIf I had all the money in the world, I would expose the outside of it. Iām dying to know what the exterior of it really looks like,ā she said.
The interior is definitely unique. Itās not every home that has a refrigerator at the head of an antique streetcar.
āWow, cool, amazingā are just some of the reactions Olin said she receives from visitors.
Both Olinās streetcar and Robareās train cars have reached their final and unexpected destinations.
And, both owners said they intend to one day turn their properties into short-term rentals to share their treasures with others.
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