From 1940 to 2017, Whidbey Island was home to a railcar that acted as a beach cottage.
Today, that car is under the care of the Northwest Railway Museum in Snoqualmie and will eventually be ready to hit the tracks once again.
The car, called parlor car 1049, has a long history. It was originally crafted in 1901 for the Northern Pacific Railway, an important railroad that connected Minnesota to the Pacific Northwest…