Quirky Sleeps by Bruce and Susan Armstrong—Train Car Update
Whistle Stop B&B
I first reviewed Quirky Sleeps by Bruce and Susan Armstrong in May, 2015. Quirky Sleeps is a travel book that
lists unusual hotels across the United States. As I mentioned in that review, I
had already checked one remarkable hotel off the list—the Dog Bark Park B&B
in Cottonwood, Idaho. I loved sleeping
in the dog-shaped hotel! It’s not
something you get to do very often. But we had more funky hotels planned. At
the end of September my husband and I finally took our postponed vacation,
which included two uncommon stays listed in the book, plus a bonus one I found
on my own.
 |
| Imperial Car |
First up was the Whistle
Stop B&B in New York Mills, MN.
What can I say about this luxury train car? Well, it exceeded all my expectations. My husband and I stayed in the “Imperial
Car,” a former day coach on the Yellowstone Park line, built at the turn of the
century. It was just gorgeous—and big. I’m guessing it was about 70 feet long.
 |
| Living Room |
The car was a Victorian wonder—looking up we counted
eighteen stained glass windows in tall rounded, tin-pressed textured ceilings. The walls were dark wood, the carpet dark
green with a flower motif. The long
train car was pure luxury split into separate sections. There was a bedroom,
dining room, living
room and sitting area in front of a wood stove. Details were
well thought out—velvet valances hung over the many windows, brass hat racks held
vintage purses, gloves and stoles. Steamer trunks and suitcases were
strategically placed throughout. Oh yeah, I forgot the private toilet room and
a separate soaker tub—pure heaven.
The B&B is in the middle of nowhere. The town is a
bumplet in the road with no other attractions, but that’s perfect because there
was no reason to leave this place. We had burgers delivered to us and we sat at
the dining table eating and drinking wine and listening to the soft music of
the CD player that was on when we arrived. I kept thinking how lucky we were to
experience this!
Find out more about this unique B&B at
There are actually three luxury train cars and one caboose
as well as rooms available in the huge Victorian home. I don’t know about the others, but our train,
the “Imperial Car” was perfect.
And it wasn’t over yet.
Breakfast was brought to us in a basket with a little vase of flowers,
and piping hot omelets, along with honeydew melon, strawberries and blueberry
scones and of course, coffee and orange juice. Yum!
At the time of our stay, I was reading Eighty Days: Nellie Bly andElizabeth Bisland’s History-Making Race Around the World by Matthew Goodman.
This true event of the race took place in 1896, right around the time
our train car was built, which made my stay even more exciting being able to
imagine Nellie or Elizabeth right there beside me. It was like stepping back in
time with them.
Find out more about this unique B&B at
Happy travels,
happy reading,
Annette
Comments