Subject: Help - Care of Railroad Ties

From: "/\\/\\arshall \\/\\/atts" <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 13 Feb 1997 07:04:32 -0600

I own a home in St. Louis that has some railroad tie walls in
the back of it.  My real estate agent said they were the good
ones, real ones, not some of the new ones that don't last.
My question is, I heard they use to soke them in creosote.
I've also heard you can't get it anymore because of health or
enviromental reasons.  What can I use to maintain these things?
The creosote made them look black tar like, which I would like
to maintain if possible.

Can anyone help???

Marshall
[email-masked]

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From: Termite <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 13 Feb 1997 11:57:51 -0500

You might try 'Lamp Black'. Farmers use it to put on wooden roof
shingles. Try one of the ariculture supply houses in your area for it.

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From: [email-masked] (John Paquay)
Date: 13 Feb 1997 18:38:16 GMT

In article <[email-masked]>, [email-masked] says...
>The creosote made them look black tar like, which I would like

Older railroad ties were indeed soaked in mixtures of creosote and Penta
(pentachlorophenol, as I recall), which turned out to be a pretty serious
cancer risk.  If the ties have lightened considerably, meaning that the outer
surface of the ties has become porous, you can almost surely use a dark
oil-based exterior stain to restore their color.

-- 
John Paquay
[email-masked],  [email-masked]
http://www.physics.purdue.edu/~jep/
-----------------------
Without my wings you know I'd surely die...

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From: [email-masked] (Steve Knight)
Date: Fri, 14 Feb 1997 04:11:00 GMT

>The creosote made them look black tar like, which I would like

Spray Paint? railroad ties are a poor item for ground contact. hell a
poor item no matter what. They Were not meant for ground contact.

Doggie~ on Irc

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From: "David J. McBride" <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 13 Feb 1997 21:40:30 -0800

> >My question is, I heard they use to soke them in creosote.

	I spent the hottest summer of my life working at the creosoting plant
for the S.P. (now U.P.) here in Houston.  Railroad ties are not just
soaked in creosote; they are loaded on trams and a dozen trams or so at
a time are shoved into a big tube that is sealed and then filled with
creosote under pressure for several hours.

> >The creosote made them look black tar like, which I would like

	Why on earth?  Creosote treated wood is definitely NOT recommended for
vegetable gardens as the creosote leeches into the soil.  Since they are
already in place I would just let them weather naturally. 

-- 
YrHmbl&ObdntSrvnt
David J. McBride
Houston, Texas

"Involvement and commitment are much like ham and eggs: the chicken is
involved - the pig is committed."

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From: [email-masked] (John McCoy)
Date: 13 Feb 1997 18:43:11 GMT

In article <[email-masked]>, "/\\/\\arshall \\/\\/atts" <[email-masked]> writes:
|> I own a home in St. Louis that has some railroad tie walls in
|> the back of it.  My real estate agent said they were the good
|> ones, real ones, not some of the new ones that don't last.
|> My question is, I heard they use to soke them in creosote.
|> I've also heard you can't get it anymore because of health or
|> enviromental reasons.  What can I use to maintain these things?
|> The creosote made them look black tar like, which I would like
|> to maintain if possible.

If they're real railroad ties then yes, they're soaked in creosote.
And yes, you can't get creosote because it is a carcinogen.

As for maintaining railroad ties, they'll last for 60 to 90 years,
if they're kept dry.  The railroads go to a lot of trouble to
pile up rocks ("ballast" for the RR literate) to set the ties in,
to keep them out of the dirt.  Once the ties get in the dirt and
stay wet, they'll rot out in about 10 years.

In your case you're probably using them as a retaining wall to
hold dirt where you want it, so you're stuck.  They'll rot out
>from  the back regardless of what you do to "maintain" them.
The fronts should stay fairly dark without attention (RR ties
are made of Oak, if they're real ties, which tends to go
black naturally).  Once they start to rot you could call the
RR and try to buy a few new ties (I believe creosote is still 
allowed in industrial applications) to keep the same look - 
expect to pay around $120 per tie.  O'course, if you don't plan 
to stay in the house for 10 years you wouldn't have to worry :-)

John

(thinking cinderblocks probably sound attractive about now)
********************************************************************************
John McCoy                                [email-masked]
                                          [email-masked]
Motorola Inc Radio Products Group
8000 W Sunrise Blvd Plantation FL 33322