Trigger Mike Posted June 9, 2016 Share Posted June 9, 2016 out in the woods are close to a dozen piles of railroad ties left there by someone. I've lived here 3 years and who knows how many years they were there. you can't burn them due to the creosote. sometimes i will take a few to form a barrier to stop trespassers on 4 wheelers. i know there are various critters living under them for i see the path leading into them, likely snakes are in there. what is a good way to put them to use or get rid of them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dantankerous Posted June 9, 2016 Share Posted June 9, 2016 Craigslist might be your friend if you just want somebody to haul them off, usually this can be done with no expense to you. Otherwise, if you have grandkids you could build them a cabin or a fort to play in. You could use them for a shooting backstop depending on where you live. And if you have enough, I have seen people make 3 rail fences out of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paladin Gun For Hire Posted June 9, 2016 Share Posted June 9, 2016 They can also be used in different landscape arrangements. Borders around the yard, posts etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967 Posted June 9, 2016 Share Posted June 9, 2016 Lots o' cool things you can do with 'em...  Railroad Tie Landscaping  Wish someone would leave ME a stack of 'em! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chili Ron Posted June 9, 2016 Share Posted June 9, 2016 Howdy, For many years railroad ties were the backstop for many targets. After some random piles we took two metal fenceposts on each end and stacked the ties between them with heavy wire between the fenceposts to hold the ties in solid. A lot of shootin offn the pickinick table turned many ties to dust. So: Backstop? Best CR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles B. Gatewood SASS #48517 Posted June 9, 2016 Share Posted June 9, 2016 You might talk to any farmers in the area. RR ties, if in good shape, make good corner posts for fences. Â Â Â CBG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forty Rod SASS 3935 Posted June 9, 2016 Share Posted June 9, 2016 If you weren't clear to hell and gone across the country I'd take a pickup load of them, maybe more than one. They'd be perfect for my back yard... and I hadn't even considered them until I read your post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noz Posted June 9, 2016 Share Posted June 9, 2016 They make wonderful raised bed gardens. I'm with 40, I'd love to have a pickup load. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irish ike, SASS #43615 Posted June 9, 2016 Share Posted June 9, 2016 Our horses kept pushing over the panels. So we dug holes, with a back hoe, and dropped in railroad ties. Nothing has broken or been pushed around since. Â Also if you want some good exercise cut one in half with a hand saw. I learned the hard way. Ike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rye Miles #13621 Posted June 10, 2016 Share Posted June 10, 2016 Okay, dumb question, why can't you burn them? What's the deal with creosote???? Â Â Never mind I found out!!!! Â http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/phs/phs.asp?id=64&tid=18 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boon Doggle Posted June 10, 2016 Share Posted June 10, 2016 Before you go hauling them off, you might want to check with the owner of the property that they are sitting on. They may have "Get around to it someday" plans for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capt. James H. Callahan Posted June 10, 2016 Share Posted June 10, 2016 If you want to work that hard you could load 'em up and sell 'em on the roadside for some nice folding money. Go see what they cost at Lowe's! JHC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capt. James H. Callahan Posted June 10, 2016 Share Posted June 10, 2016 Okay, dumb question, why can't you burn them? What's the deal with creosote???? Â Â Never mind I found out!!!! Â http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/phs/phs.asp?id=64&tid=18 It would be fun to burn 'em just to p*ss off the EPA! JHC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shorty Jack Hammer Posted June 10, 2016 Share Posted June 10, 2016 You could always build a short line Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rye Miles #13621 Posted June 10, 2016 Share Posted June 10, 2016 It would be fun to burn 'em just to p*ss off the EPA! JHC Great minds think alike!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allie Mo, SASS No. 25217 Posted June 10, 2016 Share Posted June 10, 2016 I don't think I'd want to use them for a garden. When watering, chemicals from the ties could leech into the food plants. Â When we bought our property the previous owners used them for a garden. We cleared that out. Now they are just stacked next to a shed that was here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trigger Mike Posted June 10, 2016 Author Share Posted June 10, 2016 i liked the green idea the most but the chemicals are problem so won't do that. they are in my woods i just don't know what the person who put them there had planned. maybe fence post. each one weighs a ton. hope my sons grow up soon to help me move them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramblin Gambler Posted June 10, 2016 Share Posted June 10, 2016 Can the creosote be cleaned off? If not, is there clean wood underneath? And what kinda wood is it? Do they still use redwood? Â Â Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chili Ron Posted June 10, 2016 Share Posted June 10, 2016 Howdy, I bet that stuff goes all the way thru. Just go right ahead and clean one, I can watch..... Best CR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yul Lose Posted June 11, 2016 Share Posted June 11, 2016 Whatever you do with them don't use them near or in a creek, stream or river. When I first moved into my house in 1992 there was a ravine with a galvanized culvert in it and when we got a lot of rain it would wash out around the upstream end of the culvert. I found some old railroad ties cheap and built a wall and wing walls to control the water a little better. Well the U S Fish and Wildlife was doing a study out in my area on a tree frog and a kangaroo rat that they wanted to put on the endangered species list and they saw my railroad tie flood prevention and the guy about had a heart attack. He got the state fish and wildlife dept involved and to keep from having a huge legal bill I had it all torn our and a stone wall built that has worked well. I guess the problem is that the creosote on the ties will leach into the water and is toxic to fish and also a carcinogen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blastmaster Posted June 12, 2016 Share Posted June 12, 2016 creosote is a hazardous substance. Â Below document is from one state agency but you can guess the reset. Keep googling if you have more interest. Â Â Â http://nj.gov/health/eoh/rtkweb/documents/fs/0517.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alpo Posted June 12, 2016 Share Posted June 12, 2016 Can the creosote be cleaned off? If not, is there clean wood underneath? And what kinda wood is it? Do they still use redwood? Creosote is like ugly - it goes clear to the bone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alpo Posted June 12, 2016 Share Posted June 12, 2016 Double tap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hillbilly Jim Posted June 12, 2016 Share Posted June 12, 2016 Snakes love to den in old ties so be very careful when moving them. I would wait until mid-winter to have them hauled off. Craig's list the way to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaukValley Sam, SASS # 66557 Posted June 12, 2016 Share Posted June 12, 2016 I found that used RR ties do not last forever in landscaping. I bought some used ties (you could see where the rails had been spiked down) and set them around a garden for my wife and then used some to make a set of steps up a steep bank. In just a few years (6-8) I pulled them out and they were half rotted. The RR does not replace them for no reason. Best bet would be to find source of new ties with full creosote treatment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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