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railroad ties are now often treated with creasode (spelling?), so unfortunately this isn't an option anymore.

Railroad ties are awesome! I have one that I sawed in half as a "console" shelf in my entryway... of course it needed to be hung with HEAVY duty brackets!

Creosote's an excellent preservative that's been around since Victorian times, so, rather than innocently assuming that, because this wood comes from the 19th Century, that it therefore hasn't been so treated, its survival until now may, in fact, be due to just such a treatment.

Even so, the fact that these wooden vessels might have been saturated with a toxic substance a hundred years ago probably wouldn't keep me from having them in my house. It would, however, keep me from using them to serve food. But, hey, they look good.

What magnaverde said. Attractive but probably toxic.

these are coated in clear laquer, for what it's worth.

Definitely a neat idea, but the use of creosote in the ties makes me a little nervous about having them in my home (over time, it may leach through the lacquer). Plus, what about the people working to make the bowls in the first place being exposed to the creosote in dust form while grinding them into shape? My inner chemist is shuddering at the thought.