Planked Crossties

A handful of mainline crossties met the woodmizer today. They went from 7” x 9” timbers to 1-1/4” thick boards.

The results were ASTOUNDING!

Hickory almost always impresses us with its beauty.

But we were not prepared for the amazing grain in the gum, sycamore, soft maple and even the hackberry. The photos do not do them justice. Some of these look like they are simply on fire. 

Rail Gang Table

Rail gangs and tie gangs are the large groups of railroaders working on big projects. Whether you use it for a dining table or a conference table, that’s just what this table is for - bringing a few folks together.

We’ve got a single hickory timber cut in half and then offset just a bit to give it some interest and sneak a little extra length out of the cross ties. Four legs made from Tennessee Coal & Iron Company rail complete the look and have you ready to eat or to meet.

We were pretty taken with our work on this one. Guess we weren’t alone in admiring it since it’s already found a home as a railroad executive’s conference table.

Photo credit: Matt Collins of Collins Imagery

Double Track Credenza

Made from a single hickory timber and four sticks of Tennessee Coal & Iron Company rail circa 1906. This one is unique because it is the only piece we have done to date with the legs left unsealed. You won’t want the natural rust material on a rug or anything that will stain easily, but dang it looks nice!

This one is sure to start a conversation when folks realize that it’ made of century-old railroad materials.

Photo credit: Matt Collins of Collins Imagery

Art direction credit: Hillary Humphreys (it was all you!)

Louisville and Nashville Coffee Table

This one is the little sister to the L&N Credeza we posted a little while back. It is the other end of the same crosstie, but rather than repeat ourselves, we made a Double Track Coffee Table 18”(H) x 54”(L) x 20”(W).

When the crew pulled this rail out, they called me and said, “Robert, we’ve never seen anything like this,” and I could not wait to lay eyes on it.

This rail bears the manufacturer’s mark AND the railroad’s name. This rail was made by Hoesch in Germany in 1902 for the Louisville & Nashville Railroad. The brand reads “L&N RR” and we only have a handful of these brands available. 

Again, we serve up our disclaimer on our Made in USA claim because these rails were made in Germany 109 years ago. They’ve been here long enough that we personally consider them naturalized citizens.

This is one of the first two pieces from that rail. Coupled with a very heavily featured hickory timber, this one has an entirely unique look and feel.

Photo credit: Matt Collins of Collins Imagery

Crossing End Table

We’ve posted the studio shots before, but here it is installed. Another one where the simple nature of it was so hard to arrive at, but so much worth the wait. CARNEGIE and TCI steel with a hickory timber separating the two.

The fish pillow on the sofa was done for us by our dear friend, Hobart Payne - calling him out for his incredible creative skills!

Photo credit: Matt Collins of Collins Imagery

Louisville & Nashville Credenza

OK folks, this is a special one. A beautiful credenza or hall table or console table (call it what you want) with a hickory timber. The wood has some gorgeous bark seams and wane that make it truly striking. Coupled with four sticks of Louisville & Nashville Railroad rail from 1902, this is one of our all-time favorites! 

The Brand reads “L&N RR” HB & HV MAI 1902 70 lbs.

The L&N RR is the railroad line. HB & HV is Hoesch in Germany. MAI is May (auf Deutsch) and 1902 the date with 70 lbs. being the weight per yard of rail.

Now here’s the disclaimer. We proudly say that everything we have is Made in USA, but I have to point out that these rails were made in Germany - granted that was 109 years ago, but we just want to be sure we’re up front that we’re using some non-US origin materials here.

Photo credit: Matt Collins of Collins Imagery