All aboard the train! OUR WHISTLE STOP RENOVATION

A brave couple’s quirky DIY project keeps their dreams on track

- Rebekah Hebenton

When he retired after almost 50 years as a firefighter earlier this year, the last thing Colin Beswick expected to happen was that he would become an owner of an old train carriage. But that changed when his wife Trish was looking on TradeMe for ways the pair could bring in some extra money.

“I fell in love with the size and height, and I could see this beautiful house forming out of this little train,” Trish says. “If they didn’t sell them, they were going to scrap them, and I just thought, ‘You can do something amazing out of something old that isn’t going to be used anymore.’”

With plans to transform the carriage into an Airbnb, the pair drove from their home in Hastings to Taumarunui to see them in person.

“We put a bid in and by midday Wednesday, 48 hours after hearing about it, we owned the thing! There wasn’t a lot of thinking that went on,” Colin tells.

The couple, both 65, have transported four houses across New Zealand in previous renovations, so they are no strangers to moving large loads. While most people would find it tense watching a train carriage the length of three shipping containers navigating the narrow winding roads around Lake Taupō, Colin and Trish knew they could trust the professionals and instead enjoyed the bemused expressions of the people who saw it.