How much does a railroad tie weigh? We are thinking of using some for a
landscaping project but are wondering how difficult they might be to handle.

Perce

On Apr 27, 7:49�pm, "Percival P. Cassidy" wrote:
How much does a railroad tie weigh? We are thinking of using some for a
landscaping project but are wondering how difficult they might be to handle.

Perce

older ones were much heavier, perhaps it was the creosote?

i have a friend with a large retaining wall, perhaps 12 feet high 50
feet long,

how long do they last? home is about 30 years old, wall must be same
age...

they are thinking of selling...........

house needs lots of work,

"Percival P. Cassidy" wrote in message
...
How much does a railroad tie weigh? We are thinking of using some for a
landscaping project but are wondering how difficult they might be to
handle.

Perce

If you're referring to real RR ties, and not pressure treated landscape
ties, they're not only heavy, but they're dirty and messy, and I'd guess
about 100 lbs each. More important, they're soaked with creosote, which
stinks, and it's sticky, and you certainly won't easily get it out of your
clothes

On 04/27/08 08:04 pm RBM wrote:

"Percival P. Cassidy" wrote in message
...
How much does a railroad tie weigh? We are thinking of using some for a
landscaping project but are wondering how difficult they might be to
handle.

If you're referring to real RR ties, and not pressure treated landscape
ties, they're not only heavy, but they're dirty and messy, and I'd guess
about 100 lbs each. More important, they're soaked with creosote, which
stinks, and it's sticky, and you certainly won't easily get it out of your
clothes


I did rough calculations and guessed maybe 150 lbs. I know about the
creosote and have no problem with the smell. But are RR ties still
sticky by the time they are "pensioned off" by the railroads?

Perce

Percival P. Cassidy wrote:
How much does a railroad tie weigh? We are thinking of using some for a
landscaping project but are wondering how difficult they might be to
handle.

Varies depending on age, species, etc., but can figure an used 8-1/2-ft
standard tie will be a minimum of 100-lb to an average of probably 125
or so. New may be 125 to as much as 175. I've been replacing some in
the feedlot fencing from the stockpile of used ones that has been here
for 20 years at least so they're dried out as they're gonna' get. Some
are relatively easy to handle, there are some I still can't carry by
myself but have to lift one end at a time...

You'll need a buddy w/ a strong back...

--

Percival P. Cassidy wrote:
On 04/27/08 08:04 pm RBM wrote:

"Percival P. Cassidy" wrote in message
...

How much does a railroad tie weigh? We are thinking of using some for
a landscaping project but are wondering how difficult they might be
to handle.


If you're referring to real RR ties, and not pressure treated
landscape ties, they're not only heavy, but they're dirty and messy,
and I'd guess about 100 lbs each. More important, they're soaked with
creosote, which stinks, and it's sticky, and you certainly won't
easily get it out of your clothes



I did rough calculations and guessed maybe 150 lbs. I know about the
creosote and have no problem with the smell. But are RR ties still
sticky by the time they are "pensioned off" by the railroads?

Perce

'pends on how long they've been laying around. But I can tell you from
personal experience that unless you and several very good friends are
both large and in good shape, that trying to move them around by hand
will get real tiring real fast.

You'll need a chainsaw to cut 'em, too. Just make sure that there
aren't any spikes hiding in them.

nate

--
replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.
http://members.cox.net/njnagel

In article ,
"Percival P. Cassidy" wrote:

On 04/27/08 08:04 pm RBM wrote:

"Percival P. Cassidy" wrote in message
...
How much does a railroad tie weigh? We are thinking of using some for a
landscaping project but are wondering how difficult they might be to
handle.

If you're referring to real RR ties, and not pressure treated landscape
ties, they're not only heavy, but they're dirty and messy, and I'd guess
about 100 lbs each. More important, they're soaked with creosote, which
stinks, and it's sticky, and you certainly won't easily get it out of your
clothes


I did rough calculations and guessed maybe 150 lbs. I know about the
creosote and have no problem with the smell. But are RR ties still
sticky by the time they are "pensioned off" by the railroads?

Perce

I picked up a dozen or so a number of years back, and they weren't
sticky. And judging by the health of plants nearby, they also don't seem
to be leeching anything detrimental into the soil.

I don't remember them being all that heavy. 100 pounds isn't much for
two guys to handle readily.

how long do they last? home is about 30 years old, wall must be same
age...


My house was built in 1986 and the front yard was landscaped with RR
ties. I'm in the central valley of CA (HOT, bone-dry summers; wet,
foggy, cool winters.

As of the last few years, the RR ties are deteriorating badly. Totally
infested with roaches and other bugs, albeit no termites.

I guess 22 yrs isn't bad, but the bug infestation isn't pleasant.

-Zz

On Apr 27, 4:49*pm, "Percival P. Cassidy" wrote:
How much does a railroad tie weigh? We are thinking of using some for a
landscaping project but are wondering how difficult they might be to handle.

Perce

Depends. Youw ill run into some that are easy to handle, most will be
best at one end at a time and few in the "Dayum!" category. I did
fencing and retaining wall (100 ft x 5') high back in the early 80s.
Some of them are already rotted off, others are still rock solid.

Creosote - depends on how heavily treated. If you can smellit when
you pick them up, you will smell it on a hot day for severall years to
come. I would give mine a sniff test but the eweather isn't warm
enough yet. Don't recall smelling any last year though.

Ties make a cheap retaining wall (compared to alternatives) but have
thier drawbacks.

Harry K

"Percival P. Cassidy" wrote in message
...
How much does a railroad tie weigh? We are thinking of using some for a
landscaping project but are wondering how difficult they might be to
handle.

Perce

There are all kinds. There are true railroad ties that were used as rail
beds, taken up, and sold. And of them, there are various widths, cross
sections, and methods of treatment for the various road beds they were
applied to.

Then there are landscaping ties. Those that are cut to the similar
dimensions, but that were never driven with spikes, nor were laden with
rails.

You have old used ties, and new ties that were intended for rail use, but
for some reason just not used. Then there are the modern look alikes that
are just for landscaping.

So, it's hard to give a one size fits all answer.

If you're just looking at them, try to look for even ties that aren't
warped, or overly laden with gook that preserves them. If you're looking at
truly used ties, you can turn the used side down, so look to see if the
clean side is presentable. Where I live, they go for eight to ten bucks
apiece.

Steve

"Percival P. Cassidy" wrote in message
...
On 04/27/08 08:04 pm RBM wrote:

"Percival P. Cassidy" wrote in message
...
How much does a railroad tie weigh? We are thinking of using some for a
landscaping project but are wondering how difficult they might be to
handle.

If you're referring to real RR ties, and not pressure treated landscape
ties, they're not only heavy, but they're dirty and messy, and I'd guess
about 100 lbs each. More important, they're soaked with creosote, which
stinks, and it's sticky, and you certainly won't easily get it out of
your clothes


I did rough calculations and guessed maybe 150 lbs. I know about the
creosote and have no problem with the smell. But are RR ties still sticky
by the time they are "pensioned off" by the railroads?

Perce

Walter Johnson, and "Death Valley Scotty" bought up the old railbed from a
train that ran from Rhyolite, Nevada past their ranch in the desert. They
bought and stacked thousands of ties intending to use them for firewood.
They spent a lot of money, time, and effort.

When they burned the first tie, they realized that they could not use any of
them because of the acrid smoke from the creosote.

They still sit stacked at Death Valley Ranch, about 100 years later.

Steve

So how come the two of you (in this thread) did not even come close to
answering OP's question?

I built a small retaining wall out of used RR ties about 28 yearfs ago. The
ties were well used at that time and they still weighed over 100 lbs each.
There were a B _ _ ch o handle alone, but with a helper it wasn't too bad.
"Zz Yzx" wrote in message
...
how long do they last? home is about 30 years old, wall must be same
age...


My house was built in 1986 and the front yard was landscaped with RR
ties. I'm in the central valley of CA (HOT, bone-dry summers; wet,
foggy, cool winters.

As of the last few years, the RR ties are deteriorating badly. Totally
infested with roaches and other bugs, albeit no termites.

I guess 22 yrs isn't bad, but the bug infestation isn't pleasant.

-Zz

I'm sorry. Was I drunk, disoriented or absent the day you were put in
charge?

Steve

"Doug Brown" wrote in message
news:O_udneLD87MNIIjVnZ2dnUVZ_h6hnZ2d@sasktel...
So how come the two of you (in this thread) did not even come close to
answering OP's question?

I built a small retaining wall out of used RR ties about 28 yearfs ago.
The ties were well used at that time and they still weighed over 100 lbs
each. There were a B _ _ ch o handle alone, but with a helper it wasn't
too bad.
"Zz Yzx" wrote in message
...
how long do they last? home is about 30 years old, wall must be same
age...


My house was built in 1986 and the front yard was landscaped with RR
ties. I'm in the central valley of CA (HOT, bone-dry summers; wet,
foggy, cool winters.

As of the last few years, the RR ties are deteriorating badly. Totally
infested with roaches and other bugs, albeit no termites.

I guess 22 yrs isn't bad, but the bug infestation isn't pleasant.

-Zz

Percival P. Cassidy wrote:

How much does a railroad tie weigh? We are thinking of using some for a
landscaping project but are wondering how difficult they might be to
handle.

Perce

I actually once weighed some.
The ones that I had were around 180 pounds, of course, YMMV.
Quite a challenge to move them by my self.

SteveB wrote:
How much does a railroad tie weigh? We are thinking of using some for a
landscaping project but are wondering how difficult they might be to
handle.

Perce

It varies with the wood. Some were made intentionally for railroad use, and
some were made intentionally for landscape design.

The ones on the railroads I would estimate at close to 200# each, and
landscapers at up to half that weight.

But even for those which are actual r-r ties they can be different.
There are two groups in the batch I have, both of which are used ties
("used" as in having been rail ties)--one is white oak, the others are
yellow pine. Needless to say, there's a difference in average weight
between the two groups owing to the density difference of the two wood
species. Within that, there are still pine ones that weigh more than
some of the lighter oak ones.

When in TN, I spent quite some time at a small one-man sawmill in order
to get good deal from the old codger on hardwood that came in hit-n-miss
where his prime business was ties for the N&W or mine timbers. These
were mostly oak w/ black locust also used when it was brought in by the
loggers. OTOH, farther south and west where there were few if any
hardwoods, SYP was common and in the west firs and other coniferous
were/are the most likely to be found.

--

How much does a railroad tie weigh? We are thinking of using some for a
landscaping project but are wondering how difficult they might be to
handle.

Perce

It varies with the wood. Some were made intentionally for railroad use, and
some were made intentionally for landscape design.

The ones on the railroads I would estimate at close to 200# each, and
landscapers at up to half that weight.

Steve

SteveB wrote:
....
Yes. IOW, in a lot of places, they used what they had. This was
particularly true on the first coast to coast railroad. I would be
interested in the exact number of different tree species used for those.

I suspect there's no way to know and probably wasn't known at the time,
even.

In railroad ties, to a real old railroad person, I'm sure that there would
be a list starting from the best to the worst, yet sometimes they used the
worst for lots of reasons. It was close, cheap, etc.

And wouldn't gauge (width) of the wheels dictate the lengths of the ties?

For standard line ties, of course. There are a multitude of other
lengths as well for special purposes such as switchpoints, etc., of
course. A standard rail tie these days is nominal 8' 6" (or at least
was when I was sawyering and are what the ones I have are, which are
roughly 30-yr of age now, being left over from the truckload we bought
when first built the lots).

Now, unfortunately, often the railroads use the big rippers that go down
the center of the track and split them in two and simultaneously roll
the tie and rail to each side of the roadbed before laying new seamless
rail--consequently used ties the traditional way of buying them from the
railroad and going and picking them up along the right-of-way where they
were being replace is getting pretty hard to come by here. My pile is
down to only a couple dozen so I've been keeping my eyes open but
nothing has shown up yet...

--

"dpb" wrote in message ...
SteveB wrote:
How much does a railroad tie weigh? We are thinking of using some for a
landscaping project but are wondering how difficult they might be to
handle.

Perce

It varies with the wood. Some were made intentionally for railroad use,
and some were made intentionally for landscape design.

The ones on the railroads I would estimate at close to 200# each, and
landscapers at up to half that weight.

But even for those which are actual r-r ties they can be different. There
are two groups in the batch I have, both of which are used ties ("used" as
in having been rail ties)--one is white oak, the others are yellow pine.
Needless to say, there's a difference in average weight between the two
groups owing to the density difference of the two wood species. Within
that, there are still pine ones that weigh more than some of the lighter
oak ones.

When in TN, I spent quite some time at a small one-man sawmill in order to
get good deal from the old codger on hardwood that came in hit-n-miss
where his prime business was ties for the N&W or mine timbers. These were
mostly oak w/ black locust also used when it was brought in by the
loggers. OTOH, farther south and west where there were few if any
hardwoods, SYP was common and in the west firs and other coniferous
were/are the most likely to be found.

Yes. IOW, in a lot of places, they used what they had. This was
particularly true on the first coast to coast railroad. I would be
interested in the exact number of different tree species used for those.

In railroad ties, to a real old railroad person, I'm sure that there would
be a list starting from the best to the worst, yet sometimes they used the
worst for lots of reasons. It was close, cheap, etc.

And wouldn't gauge (width) of the wheels dictate the lengths of the ties?

Steve

Probably all three.
"SteveB" toquerville,utah@zionvistas wrote in message
...
I'm sorry. Was I drunk, disoriented or absent the day you were put in
charge?

Steve

"Doug Brown" wrote in message
news:O_udneLD87MNIIjVnZ2dnUVZ_h6hnZ2d@sasktel...
So how come the two of you (in this thread) did not even come close to
answering OP's question?

I built a small retaining wall out of used RR ties about 28 yearfs ago.
The ties were well used at that time and they still weighed over 100 lbs
each. There were a B _ _ ch o handle alone, but with a helper it wasn't
too bad.
"Zz Yzx" wrote in message
...
how long do they last? home is about 30 years old, wall must be same
age...


My house was built in 1986 and the front yard was landscaped with RR
ties. I'm in the central valley of CA (HOT, bone-dry summers; wet,
foggy, cool winters.

As of the last few years, the RR ties are deteriorating badly. Totally
infested with roaches and other bugs, albeit no termites.

I guess 22 yrs isn't bad, but the bug infestation isn't pleasant.

-Zz

SteveB wrote:
"dpb" wrote

....
In my part of the country, you can buy some really old ones with a Wanted ad
in the local Quick Quarter or on the AM Tradio station. And sometimes
remarkably reasonable.

Steve in Utah, ...

Where in Utah? Used to service coal analyzer at Huntington plant...UT
is too far to haul economically for less than full tractor-trailer load
which I don't need.

Listen to local AM show most every morning and weekly state-wide ag
call-in; haven't heard ties mentioned in don't know when...

--

"dpb" wrote

Now, unfortunately, often the railroads use the big rippers that go down
the center of the track and split them in two and simultaneously roll the
tie and rail to each side of the roadbed before laying new seamless
rail--consequently used ties the traditional way of buying them from the
railroad and going and picking them up along the right-of-way where they
were being replace is getting pretty hard to come by here. My pile is
down to only a couple dozen so I've been keeping my eyes open but nothing
has shown up yet...


In my part of the country, you can buy some really old ones with a Wanted ad
in the local Quick Quarter or on the AM Tradio station. And sometimes
remarkably reasonable.

Steve in Utah, where they found a new use for sheep
..................................... wool .........

That would explain my half of the debate. What about yours? If you are in
charge of this newsgroup, I'm either going bowling or going to kill myself.

Steve

"Doug Brown" wrote in message
news:CsudnZdsv8afGIvVnZ2dnUVZ_v2pnZ2d@sasktel...
Probably all three.

"SteveB" toquerville,utah@zionvistas wrote in message
...
I'm sorry. Was I drunk, disoriented or absent the day you were put in
charge?

Steve


"Doug Brown" wrote in message
news:O_udneLD87MNIIjVnZ2dnUVZ_h6hnZ2d@sasktel...
So how come the two of you (in this thread) did not even come close to
answering OP's question?

I built a small retaining wall out of used RR ties about 28 yearfs ago.
The ties were well used at that time and they still weighed over 100 lbs
each. There were a B _ _ ch o handle alone, but with a helper it wasn't
too bad.
"Zz Yzx" wrote in message
...
how long do they last? home is about 30 years old, wall must be same
age...


My house was built in 1986 and the front yard was landscaped with RR
ties. I'm in the central valley of CA (HOT, bone-dry summers; wet,
foggy, cool winters.

As of the last few years, the RR ties are deteriorating badly. Totally
infested with roaches and other bugs, albeit no termites.

I guess 22 yrs isn't bad, but the bug infestation isn't pleasant.

-Zz

Pioneer Shopper covers most of SW Utah, and Tradio is on every weekday at
nine to eleven on KSUB Cedar City. I 15 runs right through it. I live near
Leeds in a small town called Toquerville.

Steve

"dpb" wrote in message ...
SteveB wrote:
"dpb" wrote

...
In my part of the country, you can buy some really old ones with a Wanted
ad in the local Quick Quarter or on the AM Tradio station. And sometimes
remarkably reasonable.

Steve in Utah, ...

Where in Utah? Used to service coal analyzer at Huntington plant...UT is
too far to haul economically for less than full tractor-trailer load which
I don't need.

Listen to local AM show most every morning and weekly state-wide ag
call-in; haven't heard ties mentioned in don't know when...

--

SteveB wrote:
Pioneer Shopper covers most of SW Utah, and Tradio is on every weekday at
nine to eleven on KSUB Cedar City. I 15 runs right through it. I live near
Leeds in a small town called Toquerville.

Been through sightseeing after analyzer service trips -- last time would
have been about '94/'95 time frame iirc. Been back to family farm in
far SW corner of KS since '99. We're east of Liberal.

--

replying to hallerb, Dave Brandt wrote:
In the 60s they used oak and fir ties on curved track and softer woods for
straight that's the main difference. Light ties are nice and easy but will rot
faster. I learned the hard way to staple bisquin plastic to the dirt side so
they don't sit there moist all the time. This will probly about double their
life. If selling why replace it? New owner will maybe have different ideas.

--
for full context, visit https://www.homeownershub.com/mainte...ie-303300-.htm

On Sunday, April 27, 2008 at 5:49:29 PM UTC-6, Percival P. Cassidy wrote:
How much does a railroad tie weigh? We are thinking of using some for a
landscaping project but are wondering how difficult they might be to handle.

Perce

I'm removing some that have been used for terracing for the last 50 years and used by the railroad before that. I'm a big guy and I can't pick these up by myself. I would say they are 200 lbs.

On 2019-04-16 2:37 p.m., wrote:
On Sunday, April 27, 2008 at 5:49:29 PM UTC-6, Percival P. Cassidy wrote:
How much does a railroad tie weigh? We are thinking of using some for a
landscaping project but are wondering how difficult they might be to handle.

Perce

I'm removing some that have been used for terracing for the last 50 years and used by the railroad before that. I'm a big guy and I can't pick these up by myself. I would say they are 200 lbs.

if you can't lift 200 pounds you're not a big guy

On 4/16/2019 4:37 PM, wrote:
On Sunday, April 27, 2008 at 5:49:29 PM UTC-6, Percival P. Cassidy wrote:
How much does a railroad tie weigh? We are thinking of using some for a
landscaping project but are wondering how difficult they might be to handle.

Perce

I'm removing some that have been used for terracing for the last 50 years and used by the railroad before that. I'm a big guy and I can't pick these up by myself. I would say they are 200 lbs.

Most are 7"x9"-8' -- 3.5 ft^3

If were dry oak, that would be about 46 lf/cu-ft -- 160 lb; in such use
they'll be pretty-well saturated so if use 62 lb/cu-ft -- 210 lb
which is probably pretty close...

--

wrote in message
...
On Sunday, April 27, 2008 at 5:49:29 PM UTC-6, Percival P. Cassidy wrote:
How much does a railroad tie weigh? We are thinking of using some for a
landscaping project but are wondering how difficult they might be to
handle.

Perce

I'm removing some that have been used for terracing for the last 50 years
and used by the railroad before that. I'm a big guy and I can't pick
these up by myself. I would say they are 200 lbs.

Likely Perce has worked that out in 11 years.

On Tue, 16 Apr 2019 14:37:31 -0700 (PDT),
wrote:

On Sunday, April 27, 2008 at 5:49:29 PM UTC-6, Percival P. Cassidy wrote:
How much does a railroad tie weigh? We are thinking of using some for a
landscaping project but are wondering how difficult they might be to handle.

Perce

I'm removing some that have been used for terracing for the last 50 years and used by the railroad before that. I'm a big guy and I can't pick these up by myself. I would say they are 200 lbs.
A creosoted 7" x 9" x 8.5' Hemlock tie is about 160 lbs. Locust
would be closer to 240?

On 4/16/19 8:08 PM, Rod Speed wrote:


wrote in message
...
On Sunday, April 27, 2008 at 5:49:29 PM UTC-6, Percival P. Cassidy wrote:
How much does a railroad tie weigh? We are thinking of using some for a
landscaping project but are wondering how difficult they might be to
handle.

Perce

I'm removing some that have been used for terracing for the last 50
years and used by the railroad before that.Â* I'm a big guy and I can't
pick these up by myself.Â* I would say they are 200 lbs.

Likely Perce has worked that out in 11 years.

Just in case Perce recovers from the hernia he suffered back then, here
are some specs of weight depending on type of wood:

https://rtax.memberclicks.net/assets...0for%20web.pdf

See page 35 where weights vary from 156# to 218# for a standard tie.

On Wed, 17 Apr 2019 10:08:12 +1000, cantankerous trolling geezer Rot Speed,
the auto-contradicting senile sociopath, blabbered, again:


I'm removing some that have been used for terracing for the last 50 years
and used by the railroad before that. I'm a big guy and I can't pick
these up by myself. I would say they are 200 lbs.

Likely Perce has worked that out in 11 years.

More likely that you seem to be getting some sort of senile mini-orgasm,
every time you find an opportunity to auto-contradict or correct someone,
you abnormal forsaken senile pest from Oz.

--
Kerr-Mudd,John addressing senile Rot:
"Auto-contradictor Rod is back! (in the KF)"
MID: