[Closed] railway sleepers

what do you want us to help with?

Dave

http://www.uksleepers.co.uk/product-catalogue/Reclaimed_%28used%29_Railway_Sleepers

What are they for?

I'm not carrying the bloody things!

harris and bailey (in east croydon) sell new ones... I bought some 'landscaping sleepers' (light ones, not the real deal) fairly cheap from there a while back... i don't remember them costing all that much.

Dave

edit: oh, and they deliver for free.

Sleepers are bloody horrible things. Absolutely full of creosote + god knows what other foul chemicals. You do know that railway yards are almost always contaminated sites?

Is your dad building a railway then?

no he wants to build raised bed??

Choo-choo!

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Ok, but where's your mum going to sleep?

on the floor as always!!

don't use old sleepers to make a raised bed, thems poisoneded

What they said - they will leach bad stuff into the soil over time.

They ain't going to rot, tho'.

I've had them in my garden for over 20 years
Last time I looked, I didn't notice anything bubbling up to the surface

never had any trouble growing anything thing in those beds either

£45 each seems crazy when there must be hundreds if not thousands lying on the side of the tracks up and down london rotting away. I would take a drive out in the country next to some line and see what comes up as my father says they treat them like disposable tooth picks in the railways and will throw them any where not to have to take them away after the days work.

Dont worry about all the h+s issues so long as they outside and not in the house you will be fine.

Makes nice benches, retaining walls, raised beds, paths, drives or many other things with them and they last for ages.

You could always try scafolding planks instead, granted they are not going to last as long, but price wise, used ones, are cheap as chips.

Guess someone around the NE should really tell the allotment owners who reclaimed the sleepers when the mines and lines started closing. There's hardly an allotment around here that doesn't have them, some how no one or their plants have died from the scare of toxins. I've some remains of a one in my garden, it's going to get split into kindling.

Know where I can get some for raised beds for £10 but it's along way from London.

you can get replica sleepers from B&Q. About £18 for 2m lengths if I remember correctly. They are tanilised as standard specifically for outdoor garden use. I got them untreated and made a unique and incredibly sturdy feature fireplace out of them last year for about 1/4 of the price of a shop bought 'off the shelf' one!

they guy wants £45 each plus delivery and he is only 5 mins from my house.

He is only 5 mins from your house ?

Well there's your solution mate..........do what any other self-respecting New Addington lad would do.
Go round there tonight with a few of your mates and nick them.

Sorted.

I looked into this for the same purpose but ended up buying lengths of treated timber from Buildstore for a fraction of the price, easier to work with, cheaper and, I think, looks better.

Warrenpfo - Member
I would take a drive out in the country next to some line and see what comes up as my father says they treat them like disposable tooth picks in the railways and will throw them any where not to have to take them away after the days work.

Great idea if you like getting done for trespass and then theft from the railway which now-a-days carries a pretty hefty tag.

Buy them, it's not worth getting caught

well at £45 a shot they are worth steeling BUT i dont condone that sort of thing and there on a travels camp!!

what to do?? i was hoping one of the STW massive could help!!

what to do??

don't pay it - put a wanted ad on Gumtree or similar?

Pay someone else to steal them?

We have some cut-up bits of sleepers roaming loose in our garden - no idea why; left by previous owner

When it's warm they weep tar/creosote all over the place, they're totally saturated with the stuff (no bloody wonder the bofires went so well when foot & mouth was going on !)

If the sleepers have been used on the track recently remember that some train toilets flush directly on to the track, hence do not flush in stations signs in the train toilets, so wear gloves!
PJ.

im still trying to locate some!!!! well anoying

Why does he need railway sleepers for raised beds? 100x100 fence posts work just as well for most applications and cost naff all.

Scaffolding planks as mentioned above. I bought some for £2.50 each for 4 metre boards - check your local yellow pages

what to do?? i was hoping one of the STW massive could

help!!

Help with what?

Fetching them? Finding some cheaper ones? An alternative solution? Growing some trees for lumber?

dont worry freddyg way above your brain capacity. most people worked it out.

Try your local railway depot, helps if you know someone, and have your own transport, also depends what part of the country you're in, some areas have already changed over to steel or concrete sleepers, got a feeling the wooden ones are classed as hazardous waste these days, I work in the railway and in the old BR days we used to get an allowance of sleepers that we could buy of the company but that all stopped when we were privatised, you need to speak to a local track worker in your area to see what the situation is, good luck!
PJ.

we got ours from the local builers merchants £25.00 delivered

thanks PJ. i have a mate who you have just remined me of.

For raised beds you want new ones, not reclamed shitty brown ones, or you will all DIE##

Anyway £45 quid is having a laugh

I've just bought some nice big new softwood 2.6 x .125 x .250 m for £21 each and £20 delivery

Hardwood is a bit more, but not £45.

I bought some reclaimed oak ones the same size a couple of years ago for about the same amount.

Most chains do them e.g. B&Q, Wickes, Jewson, etc but these tend to be in kit format (which might be ideal for a raised bed) and/or smaller than a 'railway' sleeper. They are a bit more than a specialist but still much less than £45. Of course, small ones are easier to work with, big hardwood ones are pretty difficult even for 2 people to shift about and cut.

Wait till autumn, find some chestnuts and plant them in the garden, wait for approximately 80 years then cut the trees down and use the trunks.

Cheap and no delivery problems.

🙂

I work in the railway and in the old BR days we used to get an allowance of sleepers that we could buy of the company

You could always try scafolding planks instead, granted they are not going to last as long, but price wise, used ones, are cheap as chips.

+1

I bought a huge pile from our local scaffolder for £20 - enough for 4 huge raised beds in our garden (triple plank width high), my inlaws had enough to do their raised beds too and I've still got a few left over.