Western Railroad Discussion > Looking for used railroad ties for landscaping...

Hello all!! I'm trying to find a good source for used wooden railroad ties for use in my backyard landscaping. I have a plan for making a raised planting area around some existing Birch trees, and i think I'll need somewhere around 35 ties to make it happen (I'll need to cut some of them down a little.) If you know how I can get a hold of such ties for a reasonable price in the Lodi, Stockton area, I'd appreciate it a ton!!
Thanks!!

Kevin (Lodiboi209)

Hang loose! If that rank out fit running the SJVR has it's way, there should be all kinds of used ties down there around Poterville!

KC

I just removed some last week. When I put them in about 20+ years ago I found a date nail with "29" on it. They were finally starting to get pretty rotten. My son and I picked up about a dozen last week. I think a new tie weighs about 300 - 350 pounds. An old one probably weighs 500 pounds, or seems like it when you start loading them on a truck. The Paducah and Louisville is replacing a bunch of ties near West Point, Ky. It's not anywhere close to you but I'm posting this just incase anyone around these parts is reading this and they have the same need.

John

lodiboi209 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Hello all!! I'm trying to find a good source for
> used wooden railroad ties for use in my backyard
> landscaping. I have a plan for making a raised
> planting area around some existing Birch trees,
> and i think I'll need somewhere around 35 ties to
> make it happen (I'll need to cut some of them down
> a little.) If you know how I can get a hold of
> such ties for a reasonable price in the Lodi,
> Stockton area, I'd appreciate it a ton!!
> Thanks!!
>
> Kevin (Lodiboi209)

Kevin-- It is NOT that hard to get TIES for your Yard if you really try.
Check out this supplier which is Nationwide:
http://www.akrailroad.com/

They have offices everywhere. (A&K Railroad Materials)...

A&K is the largest railroad supplier in the Country.. They have been in business for "49" years....
AND, you would be REALLY surprised as to HOW and WHERE they got their start !!

"Key Route Ken"...

Ken, Thanks for your reply. I have already got a price quote from A&K, and they are asking around 18.00 each tie. For my project that's around 650.00 or so. I'm looking for a cheaper way to get this done, and i know there have got to be people out there that have some either on a farm or scrap yard of some sort. Anyways, just wanted to let people know i'm a cheap skate. =)

Kevin (Lodiboi209)

Did you check with Weigum's?

I'm surprised to find that old wooden railroad ties are not more commonly used for landscaping in the USA as far as I am aware. In Australia, well in Canberra anyway, every mum and pop garden supply centre was selling old railroad ties. The ties make great edges for vegetable or flower gardens, retaining walls etc. As they are wood they blend nicely into the rest of the garden. The old ties were not particularly cheap either, but there was a strong demand.

Some of the ties they are replacing here on the Staples sub are such that the only thing they could hold back would be hungry termites.

can you say "hazardous materials"

the cresote in the ties has been said to be linked to cancer

the mainstream media triesto make ties dangerous

burning of old ties, fence posts and telephone/light poles
is prohibited by law in places

in alabama "adem" alabama department of enviroment management
will fine you if you burn cresote

I can only guess what law california has on the stuff

gardners and homeqwners love them because they are relative cheap
and last a long time if yu look at the long term costs

way the media play hazardous materials a lot of people become
scared of even the smallet amount of a "POSSIBLY" hazardous material

I knowof people that tremble at the mention of asbestos might be in
a building, they would want someone to spend millions to remove
something taht is contained and inert and is known to be there

werecently cleared some of our family's farm land that had
become over grown

we used a dozer to clear the property and pushed everything into
large piles to burn

this included trees, a old shed (wooden) and several old fence lines
with cresote posts
when we cleared the land we just broke the posts off at ground level
leaving the botton in the ground

one of our neighbors called adem when we started burning claiming we were
burning illegal and hazardous materials including tires

ADEM shows up and determines we were in compliance we had the right permits
they agreeded thta it was not possbile to seperate all the old posts and they did
not cinstiute a problem as we burned a hot fire not a smoldering fire

they neighbor was not happy, they wanted ADEM to make us dig out the old fence
posts as hazardous materials and get a haz mat firm to dispose of

ADEM refused to fine us no reason to

this is an example of may be why you do not see old ties

Old ties never die....they just get run over.

We've got a large pile of several hundred ties to dispose of at Richmond Pacific. If you feel like hauling them to Lodi, you can have all the ties you want for free. Contact me off-line to set something up.

SW1200

lodiboi209 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Ken, Thanks for your reply. I have already got a
> price quote from A&K, and they are asking around
> 18.00 each tie. For my project that's around
> 650.00 or so. I'm looking for a cheaper way to get
> this done, and i know there have got to be people
> out there that have some either on a farm or scrap
> yard of some sort. Anyways, just wanted to let
> people know i'm a cheap skate. =)
>
> Kevin (Lodiboi209)

Dave Buccolo at the CCT in Stockton also has some that he's offered for free.

Be very careful about picking up "free" ties from a rail line. I was once called to testify in court about someone who'd filled his pickup truck with ties from a C&NW line in the Chicago suburbs. He said he had permission from an employee. However, that employee had no authority to give such permission.

This isn't intended as a flame to any of the above posts, just a caution about "free" ties.

Careful too about raising the ground level around a tree. Some trees don't tolerate it well at all, oaks particularly. A former boss of mine who had a side landscaping business had to replace an expensive existing crimson king maple on a client's property because he dumped some soil on its root zone - Killed the tree. I don't know specifically about birches, but it's worth checking out before you build your raised bed.

I am surprised that you are the only person pointing this problem out. You cannot use cresote treated ties for landscaping purposes in many places (legally).

Chico
http://www.heartlandrails.com


billsmith Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> can you say "hazardous materials"
>
> the cresote in the ties has been said to be linked
> to cancer
>
> the mainstream media triesto make ties dangerous
>
> burning of old ties, fence posts and
> telephone/light poles
> is prohibited by law in places
>
> in alabama "adem" alabama department of
> enviroment management
> will fine you if you burn cresote
>
> I can only guess what law california has on the
> stuff
>
> gardners and homeqwners love them because they are
> relative cheap
> and last a long time if yu look at the long term
> costs
>
> way the media play hazardous materials a lot of
> people become
> scared of even the smallet amount of a "POSSIBLY"
> hazardous material
>
> I knowof people that tremble at the mention of
> asbestos might be in
> a building, they would want someone to spend
> millions to remove
> something taht is contained and inert and is known
> to be there
>
> werecently cleared some of our family's farm land
> that had
> become over grown
>
> we used a dozer to clear the property and pushed
> everything into
> large piles to burn
>
> this included trees, a old shed (wooden) and
> several old fence lines
> with cresote posts
> when we cleared the land we just broke the posts
> off at ground level
> leaving the botton in the ground
>
> one of our neighbors called adem when we started
> burning claiming we were
> burning illegal and hazardous materials including
> tires
>
> ADEM shows up and determines we were in compliance
> we had the right permits
> they agreeded thta it was not possbile to
> seperate all the old posts and they did
> not cinstiute a problem as we burned a hot fire
> not a smoldering fire
>
> they neighbor was not happy, they wanted ADEM to
> make us dig out the old fence
> posts as hazardous materials and get a haz mat
> firm to dispose of
>
> ADEM refused to fine us no reason to
>
> this is an example of may be why you do not see
> old ties

IN MY ARROUND ABOUT WAY SOME FOLKS / RAILROADS SEE TIES AS A LIABILITY AND DO NOT WANT TO
PAY FOR SOMETHING IN THE FUTURE I.E, DISPOSAL COSTS OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS IN THE FURURE

HOW RAILROADS AND INDUSTRY HANDLE OLD TIES, POST AND POLES WARY

SOME GIVE AWAY
SOME SENT TO LAND FILL
SOME SELL THEM

i DO NOT KNOW THE LEGAL ASPECTS AND RAMIFICATIONS

WE FIGURE THAT IF SOLD TO A TIE RECLAIMER THEY MUST HAVE SOME SORT OF PROTECTION

CSX HAS A CONTRACTOR WITH A LARGE HIGHRAIL EQUIPPED TRUCK WITH A KNUCKLE BOOM LOADER
RETREIVE ALL THE USED TIES THEY ARE TAKEN TO A PILE AND BUNDLED WRAPPED IN METAL STRAPS AND HAULED AWAY ON FLATBED TRUCKS

AT ONE POINT THERE WAS A POWER COMPANY IN CANADA THAT WOULD BUY OLD TIES SHRED THEM AND BURN THEM IN ITS BOILERS FOR FUEL AT ITS POWER PLANT.

TIES WITH CRESOTE HAVE A HIGH HEAT CONTENT WHEN BURNED BUTGIVE OFF UNFAVORABLE FUMES AND PARTICUILATE MATTER THUS REQUIRES SPECIAL EMISSIONS EQUIPMENT

THERE A 3 SUPER FUND HAZ MAT SITES THAT ARE RAIL RELATED
L&N HAD A CRESOTE PLANT IN GAUTIER MISS THAT PROVIDED ALL L&N'S TREATED TIMBER FOR THE LINE IN MISSISSIPPI AND LOISIANA TO
NEW ORLEANS ACROSS THE SWAMPS

IN MOBILE THERE IS A SITE ON THE L&N NEAR THE OLD GM&O FRESCIATTI YARDS THAT IS A SUPER FUND SITE

IN PENSACOLA NEXT TO THE L&N YARD IS MOUNT DIOXAN THE SITE OF ANOTHER CRESOTE PLANT

CRESOTE IN LARGE QUANTITIES GETS INTO THE GROUND WATER, ESPICALLY WHEN RELEASED IN LARGE QUANTITIES SUCH AS SPILLAGE IN YEARS PAST AT THE TREATMENT PLANTS. FRESH TIES DRIP CRESOTE

TIE PLANTS USED TO BE MESSY WITH CRESOTE EVERYWHERE LOOK AT OLD PHOTO OF TIE PLANTS

IN ALABAMA ADEM CONSIDERS A POST OR POLE AS CONTAINED AND THE ANOUNT OF PRODUCT MINOR.

BEING IN AND ARROUND INDUSTRY AND AGRICULTURE WE RECONIZE THE NEED TO BALANCE BETWEEN CHEMICALS AND SAFETY

TIES HAVE VALUE WHETHER NEW OR USED.
THAT VALUE DEPENDS ON NOT ONLY USE BUT ALSO LIABILITY NOW AND IN THE FUTURE

YES WE USE OLD TIES AT HOME FOR LANDSCAPING, BUT WE ALSO HAVE THE WAY TO DISPOSE

OH BY THE WAY DO NOT DO ANYTHING ILLEGAL, TAKING TIES FROM THE R.O.W IS THIEF AND THE SPECIAL AGENTS CAN NAIL YOU

WE HAVE ALWAYS ASKED FREEBIES SOMETIMES WE ARE TOLD NO

THE LAST TIME CSX DID A TIE REPLACEMENT THEY TOLD US THEY COULD NOT / WOULD NOT HELP US, WE TALKED TO THE CONTRACTOR'S HOME OFFICE AND SINCE WE ASKED THEY LET US HAVE ALL WE WANTED FOR $5.OO AND THEY EVEN LOADED THEM FOR US WITH THE KNUCKLE BOOM LOADER.

AT THE SAME TIME THEY WERE HAULING TO COURT A GUY WHO WAS CAUGHT TAKING 15 TIES WITHOUT PERMISSION

THE TIES AT THAT TIME, PER THE COMPANY, WERE GOING TO PENN. AND THEN EITHER TO CANADA OR OVERSEAS

Bill, Typing in all caps is considered yelling.

A&K has many grades of ties, I picked up a bunch of the lowest grade for much cheaper than that.
Also consider the weight factor, I could obly get 8 in a Toyota pick-up.
The creosote had long since soaked back out except in the very center on a few that we had to cut.


TCS - free is good, richmond is kind of a drive though

What do the RRs do with the used wooden ties ?
Well, lemme see.....2 miles down the road the BNSF has bundled a bunch of them for recycling.......the UP Portola yard
was full yesterday with a long string of loaded gray containers on their way to Flanagan, NV to be chipped for fuel for a co-gen plant
near Wendell, CA (you cannot chip them in CA, but you can burn the chips !!)

DaveL......back to work on the 11th....about time !!

Waybiller Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Dave Buccolo at the CCT in Stockton also has some
> that he's offered for free.

Note to "galenadiv"--

Dave Buccolo is the General Manager of CCT and OTR.. He is definitely authorized to give out FREE ties. Ok??

I've been around CREOSOTE for years. Loved the smell! Used to visit the "Tie Treatment Plant" in West Oakland several times. SP employees simply called it the "Creosote Plant"... Still living--no creosote health problems noted!

SP, many years ago (1948) "gave" some 200+ ties and a large number of 17 x 24 bridge timbers to the Golden Gate Live Steamers club in Oakland, Ca. Timbers came from the 16th Street/IER overhead approaches. All material was FREE and SP delivered FREE and cut timbers to size for Club for FREE. Ah, the good old days ! By the way, BIG SP trucks delivered all materials to Redwood Park on company time--for FREE... Ties came from an old "ballast deck trestle" in Cordelia that was being ripped up.. Keep your eyes open--There are ties to be had!!

KRK

Always check with the local roadmaster or track supervisor. In Barstow, you could, a few years ago, buy used ties for $2.00 each after signing a release form. I'll bet someone at Stockton on UP or BNSF has authority to sell used ties.


Norm