With seven cabooses and one dining car, Red Caboose Getaway owner Olaf Protze is one stop closer to having a full yard.

Protze and his wife, Charlotte, came to town about eight years ago with a bed and breakfast plan and a suitcase model of his dream. Now, with his seventh caboose, he is three train cars away from putting up the no vacancy sign for old cabooses.

"We've started turning some caboose offers down," Protze said. "After getting this bay window caboose, I'm getting more and more picky, trying to get rare or interesting models."

Protze and a team of movers transported the newest railroad relic from atop a mountain in Oregon, near Eugene, to Sequim last week. A trip that should have lasted a day turned into a muddy mess.

"The truck got stuck, so then the crane couldn't get out and the crane was stuck, it was a mess," Protze said. "But it feels good to be back in Sequim with this caboose, which is in the best condition of all of them, I'd say."

Protze plans to refurbish the caboose into a themed cabin or room for patrons to rent. He has five cabooses installed with plumbing, furniture and even indoor whirlpools. He has two cabooses ready to be refurbished.

All 10 will face inward on the property at Old Coyote Lane and West Sequim Bay Road, with views of a duck pond, mock train depot and a dining car.

"I really love the historical nature of our project," Protze said. "I keep each caboose authentic by hiding their individual sewer lines and cables behind the wheels."

The Red Caboose Getaway is online at Web site www.

redcaboosegetaway.com or can be reached at 683-7350.