Came across this while looking for something else:

http://inhabitat.com/last-surviving-ell ... ting-home/

This site is normally a "green" sort of place, and to be honest, I don't like most of what's on it, but this is a little different. One of the things that stands out is that it looks like alterations to the boat were relatively minimal; supposedly the boat is even operational.

I personally think it is impressive that this boat is, in a way, a more functional version of the "Sunshine," in that so much of its interior is polished wood. Even something so utilitarian as a ferry or a trolley was often timelessly stylish and graceful in the past; why are their modern counterparts so ugly today?

I had the fortune to be invited aboard one of the last Conrail inspection trains before the CSX/NS acquisition battle. The old "office cars" on the train retained much of their former opulence, although much of the detail was hidden behind a few layers of paint. The newer cars, typically rebuilt to service from conventional passenger service, were reasonably nicely done, but seemingly the decor and hardware owed more to Lowe's or Home Depot than Pullman or Budd--off-the-shelf particle-board kitchen cabinetry, for example, instead of custom-built metal.

I happened to mumble observations along this line to a Conrail car maintainer: "Not exactly the rail baron opulence, is it?" He answered, "The rail barons didn't have stockholders to answer to."

Debate the relative merits of NS, CSX, UP, etc. operating their "executive train" fleet for shippers and the public and inspection trains all you want, but I guarantee you that the big shots have to vigorously defend what little they still have out there.

Also, remember that the "nice things" tend to get preserved just because, well, they are nice, whereas the utilitarian, workaday Staten Island Ferry or tugboat gets disregarded and forgotten.