A Wisconsin Dells man is taking a piece of history and turning it into actual living space! He's completely refurbishing an old caboose and converting it into a motel. It's an idea that that he believes is on the right track!

Antoni Wolan is living the American dream.

“My husband is originally from Poland and when he came to Wisconsin Dells for vacation, he just fell in love with it,” said Sophie.

“I like it over here,” added Antoni.

He came to America in his mid-20's, met his wife Sophie in Chicago and then the couple moved to the Dells in 1991.

“I'm a city person, it took me a while to get used to the Dells,” admits Sophie.

Antoni is a mason by trade. During the cold months, business is slow. So to pass the time, Antoni channeled his inner-entrepreneur.

“So in the winter time he basically does nothing, so that's why he thought about opening a hot dog stand at first. He didn't know what kind of facility, then he decided on a caboose,” explains Sophie.

Yup. A caboose.

“I try something different see what happens,” said Antoni.

That was 10 years ago. And his caboose turned hot dog stand has turned out to be pretty successful.

“And it hit off right away because it's something different and everyone loves trains,” said Sophie..

So Antoni thought, why not do it again? He's purchased a second caboose but this time, Sophie wasn't on board.

“I was going to divorce him!” jokes Sophie. “So I'm just like OK it's another caboose big deal, I'm not into cabooses!”

But instead of a hot dog stand, this baby is going to be a one-room motel.

“He's going to put a whole lot into it,” said Sophie.

“So it's something different for people to sleep in with their kids,” explained Antoni.

Antoni's ideas may be a little tough to understand but his successful business model makes perfect sense. The couple hopes to have the caboose remodeled and opened sometime next year.