Cleveland | 4/3/1998
Father Schleicher, pastor at Holy Rosary Church in Pennsylvania — a lifetime train enthusiast — had purchased two caboose cars from a defunct railway. The cars were tucked away in the woods of western Pennsylvania. Fr. Schleicher used them as a quiet retreat from daily stresses. There was just one problem: how to connect them for maximum use.
A parishioner in his congregation suggested a sunroom, but no one knew for certain if this would work. They placed a call to Patio Enclosures, Inc., the largest manufacturer of custom sunrooms in the nation based in Macedonia, Ohio.
“It was the craziest thing I ever heard of — using a sunroom to connect two train cars,” said Ed Hannah, a salesperson for Patio Enclosures, Inc. “I just kept thinking, he’s a priest; maybe he has some vison that’s hard for the rest of us to see.”
With help from the company’s engineering department, Hannah found a way to make it work. They designed a glass room of beauty that would connect the two caboose cars in the center. Today, Fr. Schleicher uses the unique retreat as a place for reflection and communin with nature, where he is often inspiured to write a Sunday sermon.
Fr. Schleicher has shared his caboose story on one condition, the exact location of his unique retreat not be disclosed. It seems the unique “train house” has become somewhat of a tourist attraction — luring a host of uninvited guests to his quiet reserve.
