Trackside Iron Works

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Trackside Iron Works Custom creations from salvaged iron, and unique restorations for forgotten treasures. Situated in Sahtlam📍

Things just got a bit cooler here in the Trackside shop🧊This 1954 Philco refrigerator was salvaged from scrap a couple o...
08/22/2026

Things just got a bit cooler here in the Trackside shop🧊

This 1954 Philco refrigerator was salvaged from scrap a couple of years ago, and landed here with no hope in sight of bringing the temperature of anything down anywhere below room temperature🌡️

But every part of it remained intact, and in excellent shape⚙️ Right down to the butter compartment in the door and the vegetable crisper🥦

Following removal of a lot of stickers, and a good power wash🧼 it was sent off to a refrigeration technician for surgery🩻

Following installation of a new thermostat, repair of the cooling system, and a recharge of the refrigeration system🔧 the 72 year old Philco came back to life in a really cool way❄️

It's since received a retro paint job🎨 and the chrome's got a polish, and awaiting further assignment🏡

Such a neat old unit will find a kitchen to call home soon, and with a few groceries, it'll be back to work for decades to come🥡🍗🥑

Sometimes the history behind an every day item makes it so neat, you have to build a display for them🪚These dishes, amon...
08/20/2026

Sometimes the history behind an every day item makes it so neat, you have to build a display for them🪚
These dishes, amongst other treasures, were rescued from the bottom of a Vancouver Island lake earlier this summer, where they'd rested for at least 84 years, since the logging camp where they graced dining tables was demolished🏗️
Covered in sediment, and chipped in many places by the cruel passage of time underwater, they cleaned up nicely and maker's marks were still discernible on the bottom of each☕️ A little research reveals they're all made during the 1930s and 40s, and were therefore quite new when they landed on the lake bed⛵️
Naturally these deserved exhibition in a manner that accentuated their historic charm, so Trackside created a live edge cedar shaker rail with a shelf above and wooden pegs underneath🔨
Though no longer suitable for everyday use, today they hang in a kitchen once again, where they belong🏡

Made a little adjustment to the decor around Sahtlam Fire Hall last night🪄Composed of nearly 100% recycled material, inc...
08/16/2026

Made a little adjustment to the decor around Sahtlam Fire Hall last night🪄

Composed of nearly 100% recycled material, including an antique children's playhouse refrigerator rescued from Glenora, and a single-pane fir window salvaged from a home in Duncan🏠

Hopefully no one has any objections to another tiny library in the neighbourhood📚

Please take a book, leave a book, and enjoy this new installation created right here in Sahtlam😃

Sometimes the most mundane little items dug out of the mud can shine up into the most charming little pieces💎This tiny b...
06/26/2026

Sometimes the most mundane little items dug out of the mud can shine up into the most charming little pieces💎
This tiny bronze fire hose fitting was dug out of the muck on the shores of Cowichan Lake a week ago⛏️
Five minutes against a wire wheel, some wire brushing of the threads, and a shot of clearcoat🎨 and this tiny logging camp relic comes back to life🏆
A little piece of history that may easily have been buried forever🪏 Worth virtually nothing, and yet, what stories it might tell if only it could!📜

A time traveller arrived in the workshop last week⏳ It was created in 1928 or 1929, then at some point after 1930 it was...
03/31/2026

A time traveller arrived in the workshop last week⏳ It was created in 1928 or 1929, then at some point after 1930 it was discarded in the mud of a since long-silenced lumber mill, a once pivotal establishment for the Cowichan Valley, now a rural residential neighbourhood west of Duncan🏡
There under the earth it lay, for up to nine decades, as its enamel face eroded away and its previous owner undoubtedly faded into obscure history⏱️

By chance it was unearthed during some gardening near a house that sits nearby the former Hillcrest Lumber Mill🪚 Soon after, it found its way onto the Trackside work bench where it was cleaned, and the back was removed to reveal patent numbers and watchmaker's markings betraying its age, amongst other things🔬

This Westclox Pocket Ben pocket watch (as opposed to the same manufacturer's Big Ben clock) would have featured a two-handed enamel face, with a smaller second hand dial, still discernible through the rust, and a loop over its crown⏱️
Though not an expensive watch then, or even now, it was undoubtedly of great quality, as are Westclox timepieces today⏰

Although this old watch will never again tell the time, its discovery tells the story of time in a manner that its remaining springs and mechanisms could never rival🕰️

A bit of gun oil, a rag, and a bit of polishing and up comes BRITISH MADE, and H. Brindley 1943!Some days it's just nice...
03/23/2026

A bit of gun oil, a rag, and a bit of polishing and up comes BRITISH MADE, and H. Brindley 1943!

Some days it's just nice to have a seat at the work bench, and clean up a couple nifty old tools someone found in a tunnel far beneath a WWII gun pit near Victoria a half-century ago⏳

An early project that sparked the creation of dozens of subsequent figures, this intrepid forester has hiked back from w...
03/14/2026

An early project that sparked the creation of dozens of subsequent figures, this intrepid forester has hiked back from whence he came following its purchaser's downsizing to a more compact abode🏠

This BC Forest Service research surveyor was created in about 2010🕰️ Following a good coat of forest green paint and application of rudimentary BCFS crest, away it trekked to North Saanich, where it remained for 16 years⏳

Composed of 100% recycled materials including a Canadian National Railway spike, this fellow is equipped with solid steel backpack, bedroll, axe, canteen, and sturdy walking stick for adventures into the wilderness🏕️

Since his return he's been taking it easy in the shop, doubtless planning further excursions🗺️

An expedition along Vancouver Island's old railways yielded a number of treasures yesterday💰Recovered from the forest fl...
02/17/2026

An expedition along Vancouver Island's old railways yielded a number of treasures yesterday💰

Recovered from the forest floors for preservation were numerous glass insulators, still commonplace if you know where to search🔦

Less common is the iconic, diamond-shaped steel whistle sign⚠️ Used to indicate crossings on the tracks ahead, the W is still discernible behind the rust🔎

Also unearthed was a railway spike pry bar, with its wide-set claw and recognizably pronounced, heavily forged iron heel for maximized leverage🔧

Fourth on the inventory, but forty-third on the route🚂 marker post 43, still sporting its decades-old hand-painted numbers indicating its position forty-three miles from Mile Zero in Victoria🗺️

Four of the thousands of artifacts discarded by the railway companies throughout the last one hundred and forty years on Vancouver Island, these will be preserved and their stories told, instead of sinking below the surface of the ground, lost to mud and time⌛️

Knock-knock! Who's there?You'll know after you install your new, solid steel door knocker🚪Constructed from 100% recycled...
02/04/2026

Knock-knock!
Who's there?

You'll know after you install your new, solid steel door knocker🚪

Constructed from 100% recycled materials, including two locally salvaged railway spikes🚂 These decorative AND functional entryway fixtures are sprayed black and clearcoated for extra protection against the elements🌧️

Four pre-drilled holes for easy installation complete this design, ready for its new home at a stop further down the line🚂

Testing out the new, *highly* portable ArcCaptain 130 gasless welder with brand new, future welding ace Alex👨‍🏭
01/13/2026

Testing out the new, *highly* portable ArcCaptain 130 gasless welder with brand new, future welding ace Alex👨‍🏭

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Duncan, BC
V9L6H8

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