AN AUSSIE couple who bought a secluded hand-built treehouse in Victoria could have never imagined the stunning find that would come with it.

Fleur and Mike Leslie had no idea what to do with the “derelict” train carriage that came with their quaint loft in a small rural town in Otway Ranges.

The pair originally listed the treehouse in Forrest on Airbnb in 2014.

Fleur explained that it’s a property “like no other” and a labour of love for the original owner – who lived in a tin shed onsite for over five years while he built it in the 80s.

But it didn’t take long for the abandoned 1920s steam train carriage at the end of the garden to grab the attention of Fleur and Mike’s guests.

Speaking to news.com.au, Fleur admitted that it was inherited as a “mistake” and there were no plans to do anything with it.

The train carriage was uncleaned and full of cigarette butts until relentless questions from visitors — particularly train enthusiasts – eventually gave the couple their lightbulb moment.

That inherited “mistake” is now one of the most popular listings on Airbnb and can bring in over $10,000 a month.

A minimum stay of three nights is required and this will cost you $385.

“Steam” can sleep up to six people and boasts three bedrooms, four beds and one bathroom.

Wi-Fi, air con, a kitchen and a private backyard are just some of the 60 amenities on offer.

This year, it won the couple the title of Most Unique Stay for 2023.

“We are so incredibly excited to win this award,” Fleur said.

“There are a lot of unique properties on the market so it’s exciting to be chosen among some other great listings.”

The train was built in 1926 at the Newport Railway Workshop in Melbourne as a First Class carriage and transported travellers throughout regional Victoria.

Between 1937 and 1980 it was converted a number of times between first and second class, operating between Melbourne and Sydney.

Not long after it was sold to a railyard in Collingwood in 1983, it was put on a truck from Melbourne to Forrest – a small township in the Otway Ranges.

And while the owner bought it for just $400, it was the cost of moving it that really made a dent in his pocket.

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“He had to get it transported (by truck) from a railyard in Collingwood. It’s about a two-hour drive to Forrest,” Fleur said.

The Airbnb host also revealed that the previous owner used parts of the train in the construction of the treehouse.

For example, he stripped panels out of the train and fit them perfectly into the grid of Eucalypt poles of the house.

Nonetheless, Fleur and Mike spent more than nine months restoring the carriage in 2014 before listing it on Airbnb the following year.

This included careful use of salvaged materials to create an original interior.

“We didn’t have the budget to authentically restore the carriage to its original glory from the Roaring Twenties,” Fleur said.

So instead the duo opted to convert it into a three-bedroom accommodation with a more “playful, steampunk theme (hence the name Steam Carriage)”.

During the Covid pandemic in 2020, the couple decided to do a second renovation, taking it back to the elegance of the 1920s and giving it a more “Great Gatsby feel”.

“It’s now a romantic homage to the simpler and slower time – the ‘Great Age of Steam’,” Fleur said.

“We also added an outdoor ensuite to complement the master bedroom and a bit more luxury and glamour.”

She said they want to create a space to evoke feelings of nostalgia, adventure and old world charm.

The rural location also plays a role in what makes the property so unique, popular and “almost always booked out”.

“It was a former logging town and now it’s a mountain biking mecca,” the Airbnb owner added.

“It’s close to nature-based activities and while the town is small it has quite dynamic businesses such as a brewery that does great beer and food.

“It feels like it’s in the middle of nowhere but has the benefits of a sophisticated town.”

Elsewhere, a pilot has transformed a plane into a luxury home that he can make hundreds of dollars from per night.

Jon Kotwicki’s unique home is in the picturesque lands of Big Lake, Alaska, and has been converted into a two-bedroom and one-bathroom stay.