Everything old is new again

Of course this was in 1934, today's pricing would be a little higher.

Modern Mechanix » Boxcar Homes for $3 Per Month

Boxcar Homes for $3 Per Month

AN INNOVATION in living quarters is represented in a boxcar village which has recently sprung up in New York City.

Inhabitants of this unique village, pictured below, pay only $3 a month rent, or $6 a week for room and board—reasonable enough in these hard times.

Each boxcar—there are 40 in number— is equipped to sleep four men with respectable comfort, and has a wood stove, washing accommodations, and a carpet.

When good times come back—which won’t be long now—the village will probably be abandoned.

Alert business men, however, or leaders of groups of organized unemployed should take a tip from this project and petition the heads of their local railroad for the use of old box cars and spurs. A very useful community can be built from the bodies of old box cars, as they are in the most cases very well built to carry grain and other perishable bulk commodities, and hence make easy buildings to convert into livable homes. Being tight they are easy to heat. A winter’s supply of wood for the community can be had by wrecking other cars.

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