KASARAGOD: ‘A train passing through the flyover, the railway station below, the track in front of it...’, the ambience resonates with a small town railway station, and it requires a second glance to realize the maverick is a house built by T Damodaran on Chalingal Ravaneshwaram road. The dream house took the theme of railways for Damodaran’s unending love for the department that he served for 22 years.

Completion of a station platform-style verandah and an interlocking tile system will give a green flag for the housewarming. Damodaran wishes to start living in his new house from February 24, on his 75th birthday. The construction of the two-storey house started three years ago and the total expenditure until now is Rs 50 lakh.

The second floor is in a model of a train coach and the lower floor resembles the model of a railway station. There is a seat and a 'berth' (bed) similar to the inside of the train, to bring the same aura of travelling.

In 1977, Damodaran joined Western Railway as a Train Examiner and retired from Southern Railway as a Junior Engineer in 1999. It was in his later years that a house resembling a train came into his mind. Damodaran’s dream house is named 'Aacha Coach' as ​​a dedication to his mother Keloth Kunnummal Aacha. His wife Kalavathi and children Deepak and Deepti supported him in the pursuit of the house.

The coach's wheels, treads, doors, windows, nuts and bolts are akin to a real train. To commemorate his stint in the Mumbai Division of Railways, the ‘Flying Ranee’ was given the same colour as the second-class coach of the train that ran between Mumbai and Surat.

Aacha Coach’s six-digit number is 05215, the last number taken from Damodaran's mobile number. The polishing work was done with the help of local concrete worker Dinesh. Damodaran is also a skilled carpenter who makes handicrafts out of scrap materials and wood.