The Trolley Car — Old Colorado City

February 1, 2020

Just a few steps away from the charming historic district of Old Colorado City is a restored 1850s Pullman Train Car hiding right in plane sight, and it just might be one of the more curious vacation rentals in all of Colorado.

Known as “OCC” by locals, Old Colorado City sits along the northwestern edge of Colorado Springs and was the first capitol of the Territory of Colorado founded in 1859. Those visiting the region have a lot to choose from—Pikes Peak, Garden of the Gods, Cave of the Winds, and the Manitou Cliff Dwellings, just to name a few—but there’s quite a lot to see right in the neighborhood itself.

When you see The Trolley Car from the exterior, it appears as a simple and slender cottage set on a quaint and grassy lot. No one passing by, I’m assuming, would even remotely guess what it is. And when you step inside, you can’t help but try to figure out which parts are authentic versus what’s cosmetic as the transformation is a spotless reconstruction. And, I mean, literally spotless. More on that in a second.

Rumored to have carried passengers on the rails that are now buried underneath the streets nearby, the car was in poor condition when the owners acquired it. But a renovation team managed to salvage the guts of the trolley, creating a cottage that speaks to a fascinating era in transportation history.

Today, modern walls cover the trolley’s steel hull. Beadboard slats wrap the structure of the original ceiling where frosted panels replace the previous windows. LED lighting on dimmer switches brighten the space and replicate daylight pouring in. Inside the washroom, thick wood timbers inset in the upper walls are also original. And there are plans to add some features to the exterior to further enhance the trolley experience.

Getting back to the spotlessness, it’s no joke. The place might as well be maintained by my older sister who views cleaning and immaculate organization as a religion. But that’s a good thing. I have a pretty wide span of forgiveness when it comes to cleanliness at rentals on Airbnb, and I suppose that’s because I know that not all renters treat a home like it’s their own. For starters, I can’t even count the number of dirty dishes I’ve found after checking into an Airbnb. Not this place. For as much as we travel, the Trolley Car will probably be my personal Holy Grail for gleaming, tidy awesomeness for all of 2020. Just a prediction. And that’s just one of its many charms.

Exterior photo courtesy of our amazing Airbnb host; All others by Elaine Skylar Neal / Travels and Curiosities