The sound of the trains walking, the anecdotes of family members who traveled in them, the stories about different stations in the country, the movies, have made the railway world be remembered with emotion and with a share of magic.Gallery Magazine - Montevideo PortalHad they been able, many would have chosen to travel by train all their lives, but unable to do so, they decided to give a new life to old AFE wagons.These are American freight cars from the 1950s that different entrepreneurs acquired and that today are located in the Sierra de las Ánimas and Punta del Este.The best thing about the original initiative is that its owners decided to open the doors of their wagons to the public and offer the possibility of renting them for short periods to stay and enjoy the surroundings.In the mountainsIn the toughest moments of the pandemic, when travel was not an option and social activities were limited, leaving the city to rest and breathe new air was the desire of many.This same need was felt by the brothers Andrés, Juan Pablo and Ignacio Pío Guarnieri, who decided to return to the field.Although the three lived in the city for a long time, they had a childhood closely linked to the countryside by their father, who lived on a farm in Sauce, so they were always attracted to the most peaceful places.Inchala StationIn 2019 the possibility arose of acquiring two American AFE freight cars from 1951 and in turn they found a place in the Sierra de las Ánimas with which they were delighted.So it was that they decided to move them to that place, initially to live there.Later they thought about the possibility that others could also enjoy such a wonderful part of the country and connect with nature as they did.Inchala StationRevalue something old, give it a new life and do it with feeling.That is what the three brothers did, who remembered with great clarity and enthusiasm the anecdotes of distant relatives linked to the small Achar Station (Tacuarembó), where their great-grandparents don Héctor and doña Angelita lived.That was what led them to work on the two wagons and move them from Toledo to Sierra de las Ánimas with three trucks and two cranes, since each wagon weighs 10,000 kilos.All the pieces of the wagons, which are made of 100-year-old pinotea wood, are original, except for the baseboards and the kitchen.In fact, one of the wagons was a portland freight car, so it was totally white and before moving it to the mountains, it required intense work to recover the wood.Inchala StationCurrently the two wagons are located at kilometer 38,500 of Route 60, on the departmental border between Maldonado and Lavalleja, on the Sierra de las Ánimas.One of them is called Sierras de Leskem and is managed by Andrés.This works as a studio apartment and offers lodging for between two and three people, it is pet friendly and its bathroom is outside.A few meters away is the other car, Estación Inchalá, managed by Juan Pablo and Ignacio.Although both are the same, the latter is attached to a small construction that pretends to be that Achar Station that the brothers remember so fondly.This space connected to the car has a room with a double bed, one with two beds and a bathroom, so it can accommodate up to six people.The person in charge of the whole place is Nicolás Centurión.Inchala StationThe decoration of both spaces is the work of the three brothers, mostly with furniture and objects obtained at auctions, ornaments belonging to relatives and some gifts they received from visitors.The point of the country in which the wagons are located is enjoyable in itself.The view, the air that is breathed, the canyon and the starry nights are some of the motivations that attract visitors, in addition to the curiosity of sleeping in a wagon.Others are interested in the historical, such as the stone tapera from 1700 located next to Estación Inchalá, or in the mystical aspect of the Sierra de las Ánimas.Very close to the place there is a Buddhist temple and a Salesian center.Another attraction are the animals.Considered hosts, they are domesticated and even have names.The purpose of their presence is exclusively the interaction with visitors, who enjoy connecting with them and vice versa.There's a four-month-old female Czechoslovakian wolf named Lobita, who hangs out with the chickens;there is the pig Betty, who as soon as she perceives that they are going to caress her, she throws herself belly up;and the ex-career mare Manigua, who after rupturing her spleen was going to go to the slaughterhouse and the brothers bought her, recovered her and today she lives there in the mountains."We are open to all the options that are proposed to us. What is good about the wagon is that it is very modifiable and easy to convert into something else," says Andrés, and explains that they often receive people in cowork mode, who are looking for inspiration. in the mountainsThey have also held celebrations for a few people or activities with those interested in spending the day such as families, groups of friends or companies.Although it is still a tourist place, the philosophy that Andrés, Juan Pablo and Ignacio follow is that people can live in that mystical place the same thing they experience every day.In the same way, they assure that they do not feel like owners of the place but rather guardians, who, together with the residents of the area, protect and give life to the place.For inquiries visit the Instagram accounts @sierrasdeleskem and @estacion_inchala_ruta_60_In the city and in the country.For the air freshener and designer Aarón Hojman, the railway has been an inspiration since he was a child.When he traveled the highway with his father, he used to see the small wood and sheet metal stations on the side of the road and they always caught his attention.About six years ago he participated in a tender and got his first wagon from AFE, and two years later he bought four more.Aarón's wagons are also American freight cars from the 50's and, like the three brothers, the businessman tried to intervene them as little as possible.They all have an indoor bathroom and are located in different parts of Punta del Este.The first is in the Divisadero field, along Camino del Cerro Eguzquiza, very close to the Fasano hotel and Aguaclara, an area that offers the possibility of carrying out various activities.There is another wagon right there, which is intended to be ready to receive guests next summer.Another of the wagons rescued by Aarón is located on the same property as the Casa Zinc inn, which he owns.Where there used to be a bocce ball court, he chose to place one of the wagons and create Angostura, a small studio/apartment that bears that name because of the narrowness that forms in the land and in reference to Villa la Angostura, a city in Argentine Patagonia.One of the peculiarities of this wagon is that its deck, which simulates being a platform, is a flat attached wagon.Two other wagons are located on land in the La Barra area and, due to their proximity to the Maldonado stream and inspired by the railway workshops, he named them Talleres Arroyo.Although the owner installed them there thinking of offering them as lodging for short periods, what he defines as "a nice coincidence" happened to him.The ceramic artist Lola Piñeyrúa was looking for a workshop where she could work and teach, and the entrepreneur offered her to do it in one of those wagons, so the space ended up being a workshop, as her name indicates. .The idea for the Talleres Arroyo wagons is that during the summer they function as Airbnb and at the beginning of the school year they once again become the meeting point between artists and students.By 2022 it is already expected that painting and graphic art classes will be offered.That is something that wagon entrepreneurs agree on, that space is very ductile.Today it can be a hostel, tomorrow a workshop, later a brewery and so on.The decoration of Aarón's cars is also mostly with furniture and objects obtained in auctions, antiques that, according to the guests, "give the feeling of traveling."The furniture that Aaron chooses is repaired;he prefers not to use the word restored, which would be brought to new.This is because the entrepreneur likes to create the feeling that these elements have been part of the place for a long time."My leitmotif is that things have roots, what I do is curate findings that allow me to put the puzzle together. The wagon, despite being a freight car, gives the feeling of being in motion, and it is also a faithful example of what I usually do in decoration", assures Aarón.The passion of the owner of Salón No 3, Trading Post and Café Zinc for the railway world has also led him to acquire some other wagons, which he has later sold and decorated at the request of clients.Angostura in Casa ZincWagon in DivisaderoWagon in DivisaderoWagon in DivisaderoFor inquiries visit the Instagram accounts @casazinc, @aaronhojmanCopyright © All rights reserved, Magazine Gallery