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News10.net
PARADISE, CA - They don't build houses like they used to-- and sometimes that's a good thing. A couple that bought a bank-owned home built in 1945 has discovered the house was made of salvaged railroad ties. SLIDESHOW: House built of railroad ties
"I would guess from a lot of research those are about 1935 railroad ties," said Mike Ledbetter as he peered at the side of the house exposed by the addition of a dual pane sliding glass door.

Ledbetter, 47, and his wife Daphne closed escrow on the house on Red Hill Way in Paradise last December. They first realized the exterior walls were composed of stacked railroad ties when they began remodeling in March.

The exposed ties show marks left by rails and holes from the spikes.

Ledbetter said the unorthodox construction material didn't seem to pose a problem until summer heat brought eye-watering creosote vapors inside the home. "If you walked the railroad tracks as kids playing by trains, you would know the smell," he said.