furnessvale Posted October 8, 2018 Report Share Posted October 8, 2018 2 hours ago, bizzard said: Wooden sleepers were generally pressure impregnated with creosote. There was a certain wood used for sleepers in deep cuttings liable to flooding that don't float in case the track tried to shift, but I can't remember what it was. I can't imagine even softwood sleepers floating anywhere when fitted with chairs/baseplates and rails. George Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tree monkey Posted October 8, 2018 Report Share Posted October 8, 2018 10 minutes ago, rasputin said: strange that I didn't know that definition, when looking up definitions it would seen that larch is an evergreen..lol I always refer to birch as a soft hardwood. It was a difficult tree to fell, in a confined space having no idea of its characteristics. It was nice to get back to the security of the pines when looking I haven't checked this list for accuracy Pinaceae: Larix (larches; 13 species) Larix decidua (European Larch) Larix sibirica (Siberian Larch) Larix gmelinii (Dauhurian Larch) Larix kaempferi (Japanese Larch) Larix principis-rupprechtii (Prince Rupprecht's Larch) Larix himalaica (Langtang Larch) Larix griffithii (Himalayan Larch) Larix kongboensis (Kongbo Larch) Larix potaninii (Potanin's Larch) Larix mastersiana (Masters' Larch) Larix lyallii (Subalpine Larch) Larix occidentalis (Western Larch) Larix laricina (Tamarack Larch) Pseudolarix amabilis (Golden Larch) Cupressaceae: Taxodium (baldcypresses; 2 species deciduous, a third evergreen) Taxodium distichum (Bald Cypress) Taxodium ascendens (Pond Cypress) Metasequoia glyptostroboides (Dawn Redwood) Glyptostrobus pensilis (Chinese Swamp Sypress) Ginkgoaceae: Ginkgo biloba (Ginkgo; not really a conifer) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Bob Posted October 8, 2018 Report Share Posted October 8, 2018 They tried to make railway sleepers out of recycled plastic (HDPE) but it didnt work!? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gejay Posted October 8, 2018 Report Share Posted October 8, 2018 A common timber for sleepers, and Way Beams (the longitudinal timbers on bridges as mentioned earlier) is Green Heart. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerra Posted October 8, 2018 Report Share Posted October 8, 2018 1 minute ago, Gejay said: A common timber for sleepers, and Way Beams (the longitudinal timbers on bridges as mentioned earlier) is Green Heart. I think that is another of the woods which doesn't float. Isn't it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gejay Posted October 8, 2018 Report Share Posted October 8, 2018 Yes, very dense and if you get a splinter it almost always turns septic.. Its very difficult to machine as well, blunts a lot of 'normal' wood working tools. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mac of Cygnet Posted October 8, 2018 Report Share Posted October 8, 2018 1 hour ago, rasputin said: strange that I didn't know that definition, when looking up definitions it would seen that larch is an evergreen..lol Larch is of course not an evergreen. There are several conifers that are not evergreen (TM has listed some) and many evergreens which are not conifers. 'Hardwood' and 'softwood' are timber terms only loosely related to the botanical conifer/ evergreen/ deciduous definitions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Pegg Posted October 8, 2018 Report Share Posted October 8, 2018 1 hour ago, Dr Bob said: They tried to make railway sleepers out of recycled plastic (HDPE) but it didnt work!? FFU. Sounds terribly impolite but trials so far suggest it will be successful. Recycled plastic is in use on light railways. JP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Bob Posted October 8, 2018 Report Share Posted October 8, 2018 16 minutes ago, Captain Pegg said: FFU. Sounds terribly impolite but trials so far suggest it will be successful. Recycled plastic is in use on light railways. JP Too much creep! .......in the plastic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murflynn Posted October 9, 2018 Report Share Posted October 9, 2018 In Turkey 10 years ago the railway track running alongside the River Yfrat (headwaters of the Euphrates) was being renewed. All the timber sleepers had been thrown down the steep bank of the river, ready to be washed away on the first snow-melt flood. So if you happen to be boating in the river in Basra and get hit by a log - you know where it came from. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captain birdseye Posted October 9, 2018 Report Share Posted October 9, 2018 15 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said: I was lucky enough to pick up a few brand new (untreated) Mahogany sleepers a few years back - don't know what they were doing being used as sleepers but they didn't half knock my chain saw about. Beautiful wood, 9 foot long x 11" x 9" (from memory) They won't be Mahogany but will be Yarra, which is a very hard eucalyptus from Australia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robbo Posted October 9, 2018 Report Share Posted October 9, 2018 7 minutes ago, captain birdseye said: They won't be Mahogany but will be Yarra, which is a very hard eucalyptus from Australia Yes but it is it this hard?.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nbfiresprite Posted October 9, 2018 Report Share Posted October 9, 2018 23 hours ago, Captain Pegg said: FFU. Sounds terribly impolite but trials so far suggest it will be successful. Recycled plastic is in use on light railways. JP Not just light rail, Network Rail have been using plastic sleepers for the last nine years, As have other countrys railways. The Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland railways have also been relaying with plastic sleepers some of their englnes weigh 62 tons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Pegg Posted October 9, 2018 Report Share Posted October 9, 2018 14 minutes ago, nbfiresprite said: Not just light rail, Network Rail have been using plastic sleepers for the last nine years, As have other countrys railways. The Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland railways have also been relaying with plastic sleepers some of their englnes weigh 62 tons. Plastic sleepers are not in normal usage on the national rail network. I did a shift on the cob at Porthmadog about five years ago installing recycled plastic sleepers on a winter's day of severe winds and tidal flooding. In the words of Jones the Steam it was jumping cold. JP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bizzard Posted October 9, 2018 Report Share Posted October 9, 2018 Wooden sleepers are still used in certain instances, like certain over bridges and such to soften the vibration, and some stations and terminus stations for quieter running. Perhaps its those that plastic sleepers might replace. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nbfiresprite Posted October 9, 2018 Report Share Posted October 9, 2018 26 minutes ago, Captain Pegg said: Plastic sleepers are not in normal usage on the national rail network. I did a shift on the cob at Porthmadog about five years ago installing recycled plastic sleepers on a winter's day of severe winds and tidal flooding. In the words of Jones the Steam it was jumping cold. JP You better tell Network Rail then, as there are stacks of them in Whitemoor Yard being delivered and loaded onto trains wor weekend work. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/road-and-rail-transport/5274149/Network-Rail-to-replace-wooden-sleepers-with-recycled-plastic.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark99 Posted October 10, 2018 Report Share Posted October 10, 2018 If they are creosote impregnated, the creosote never appears to stop leaching out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dor Posted October 10, 2018 Report Share Posted October 10, 2018 On 08/10/2018 at 20:46, tree monkey said: I haven't checked this list for accuracy Pinaceae: Larix (larches; 13 species) Larix decidua (European Larch) Larix sibirica (Siberian Larch) Larix gmelinii (Dauhurian Larch) Larix kaempferi (Japanese Larch) Larix principis-rupprechtii (Prince Rupprecht's Larch) Larix himalaica (Langtang Larch) Larix griffithii (Himalayan Larch) Larix kongboensis (Kongbo Larch) Larix potaninii (Potanin's Larch) Larix mastersiana (Masters' Larch) Larix lyallii (Subalpine Larch) Larix occidentalis (Western Larch) Larix laricina (Tamarack Larch) Pseudolarix amabilis (Golden Larch) Cupressaceae: Taxodium (baldcypresses; 2 species deciduous, a third evergreen) Taxodium distichum (Bald Cypress) Taxodium ascendens (Pond Cypress) Metasequoia glyptostroboides (Dawn Redwood) Glyptostrobus pensilis (Chinese Swamp Sypress) Ginkgoaceae: Ginkgo biloba (Ginkgo; not really a conifer) But which one is "Number 1"? (MP reference for the under 50s). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Pegg Posted October 10, 2018 Report Share Posted October 10, 2018 7 hours ago, nbfiresprite said: You better tell Network Rail then, as there are stacks of them in Whitemoor Yard being delivered and loaded onto trains wor weekend work. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/road-and-rail-transport/5274149/Network-Rail-to-replace-wooden-sleepers-with-recycled-plastic.html I have no need to do that. See Dr Bob's comments above. What was an aspiration in 2009 remains so today. Synthetic sleepers are still only used on a trial basis. The stacks of sleepers you see being delivered to Whitemoor Yard for track replacement work will be steel or hardwood. Concrete sleepers will arrive already loaded onto rail wagons in far greater numbers. JP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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