A railroad tie or crosstie american english or railway sleeper british english is a rectangular. Scale model railroad information, and data for scale conversions of common dimensions. He mainly concentrates on their most important property economically. The lead length and closure radius were specifically determined for model railroad purposes and may not be directly scaled from prototype standard dimensions. The rail shall provide smooth and continuous rolling surface with least resistance. The previous owner had many garden beds, and the one he used for vegetables had old timbers surrounding it that looked questionable. I know, that sounds a little odd, but with a new table saw at home for recent remodeling projects, and a bag of ties not being the. Landscape timbers come in a variety of sizes other than the original railroad tie size.
The dimensions of tie crosssections are stipulated according to the anticipated load on the track, and tie lengths vary according to need as well. Standard specification for steel tie plates, lowcarbon and. The walkway, or fillin ballast shall be comprised of. For wooden ties, a baseplate is always fixed with rail spikes or. This specification deals with steel tie plates, lowcarbon and highcarbonhotworked that are used in railroad tracks. The walkway is to be level with the top of tie for a distance of 6 inches, and thereafter descending away from centerline at no greater than an 8 to 1 slope. All unseasoned or green switch ties shall measure in cross section a minimum of 7 in side thickness and 9 in face width. Its commonly believed and was even written about in popular mechanics, that the gauge. The railbearing areas are those sections between 20 and 40 from the center of the tie. How long a wooden crosstie can last in service depends on the volume of business carried over it as well as the environment that its in. Railroad tie plates dimensions let more professional railroad.
The railway tie association predecessor organizations date back to the late 1880s. Our cars are equipped with either cushioned or rigid underframes, single or double sliding or plug type doors. Listed below are the specifications for some types of railroad and crane rail. At that time railroad rail was even lighter than the 80 pound rail that was in use at the turn of the century.
The bottom of the head is sloped to match the slope of the flange of a rail. The steel shall be manufactured by either basicoxygen or electricfurnace processes and may be cast by a continuous process or in ingots. Railroad track facts construction, safety and more. Prototype railroad tie dimensions model railroader. These guidelines are provided by union pacific to assist our customers in the design, construction and maintenance of industrial tracks. M8 steel ties 8mm or 516 section can be used in nonunit facility tracks and are spaced at 24 centers with 8 ballast section. The weight of a railroad tie depends on their size and specifications. Used railroad tiecreosote treated 7 x 9 x 8 at menards. Apr 16, 2001 the united states standard railroad gauge of 4 feet, 8. However, rails are not all identical because of milling and may vary in size, up to 12 inches wide and nine inches tall. In general, rail tie plates are tapered at each end to improve the stability and reduce twisting and torsion along the rails. Railroad tie plate is generally tapered at either end in order to improve stability and reduce torsion and twisting along the steel rails. In specialized cases they may be longer, to spread the weight of the rails over a greater surface area. Concrete ties can be spaced at 28 center to center with an 8 ballast section.
Very few 8long ties are purchased even though this is a standard length according to the pub lished railroad tie specifications, but 9 es i tae rsommei t es erqeurd. Acceptable species for railroad ties vary according to the railroad customer and. Railroad tie plate dimensions and railroad tie plate. Railroad ties are common in older landscapes, but are old railroad ties safe for gardening. Rails that are installed with rail plates are able to better maintain their positions, which can help standardize the width and gauge of the track along their length. The gap between two rails is typically 12 inches so that the distance from the center of one rail to the center of the adjacent rail is approximately 21 inches. The crosstie spacing of mainline railroad is approximately 19 to 19.
What is the typical size of mainline railroad ties. Narrow gauge other tie products cedar ties trammer ties bridge ties. Railroad tie no2 grade 7 inch x 9 inch x 8 ft rural king. Widths a standard railroad tie is nine inches wide and seven inches tall. For your next decking project consider using the 7 in. But why not use a smaller tie, like a 6 railroad tie, or a longer tie.
The size is probably what was convenient, 8 being a common length, and the us gauge being 4 8 12. Railroad ties are treated wood, steeped in a toxic stew of chemicals, chief of which is creosote. Emdsw1 both up and bnsf have a concrete crossing standard that spaces the 10ft 7x9 ties at 19. Acceptable species for railroad ties vary according to the railroad customer and the historical success theyve had with various species. The csx 50 standard boxcar fleet can carry from 70 to 100 tons. Adds a rustic element to outdoor decorating and earth retention suitable for nonstructural applications only.
It is the most widely used railway track gauge across the world, with approximately 55% of the lines in the world using it. The grade of each tie shall be determined at the point of most wane on the top face of the tie within the railbearing areas. Ties treated with preservative, as all are today, can last an average of 25 to 40 years, although they may have a much shorter life due to mechanical wear. American railroad engineering and maintenanceofway association.
When using ties to retain a berm it can soak the backside of the ties my neighbor used them and did not get but about 5 years. A base tie plate, also called sole plate or baseplate, is a piece of plate made by steel used between the rails and sleeper ties in order to enlarge the bearing touching area and maintain the rail in right gauge all the time. All the rr ties at the store were in similar condition, with one useable side and some splitting or rot. In 1919 rta was formed as the national association of railroad tie producers and was renamed the railway tie association in 1932. The wedge is driven into the tie across the grain, that is, parallel to the track. The tracks are attached to the rails along any given line. Arema standard rail joint 115119re and 2re rail joint. Ties exceeding these dimensions by more than 1 shall be rejected. A railroad tie or crosstie american english or railway sleeper british english is a rectangular support for the rails in railroad tracks.
I asked him if they were treated wood and he said he didnt know. Tie dimensions and quality he most common crosstie length in t north america is 8 6. Arema standard rail joint 115119re and 2re rail joint bar in stock sep 17, 2015 rail joint bar, also known as the rail fishplate, plays an important role in connecting any two ends of the rail tracks to ensure the safety of the transportation of the railway. According to practice, steel rails installed with tie plates are better able to maintain their position, which. Tie plates the use of single or double shoulder tie. The spikes used to fasten tshaped railroad track to wooden ties have an lshaped head and a square shank. We remove more than onehalf million railroad ties from tracks across the country annually, most of which are in excellent con railroad tie no2 grade 7 inch x 9 inch x 8 ft javascript seems to be disabled in your browser.
Railroad ties are not legal for home landscape use. Because they are thick and are treated with creosote or some other. The majority of railroad ties weigh close to 200 pounds. According to different applications and designs such as europe, america, russia, and china, the railroad tie plates have been respectively made by the hotrolled method, forged method or cast method some terms of railroad tie plates dimensions. Sep 17, 2015 arema standard rail joint 115119re and 2re rail joint bar in stock sep 17, 2015 rail joint bar, also known as the rail fishplate, plays an important role in connecting any two ends of the rail tracks to ensure the safety of the transportation of the railway.
The agency is aware that creosotetreated railroad ties are being used in the. Rail is rolled to standard specifications established by the following engineering organizations. The dimensions in the following table are for ho scale from nmra rp 12. Rail tie plate, also called rail plate, base plate or solo plates, is a thick steelmade panel which sits between the. The spacing means the distance of the center of one tie to the center of the next tie, and equals to the width of one tie plus the width of one crib clarification needed. Environments that are too wet or too dry will drastically reduce the lifespan of a tie. This used tie works great for nonstructural earth retaining projects, where the appearance is not critical. Standard dimensions 000222 the charts below are dimensional data that i find useful to have around. Model railroader is the worlds largest magazine on model trains and model railroad layouts. As a more professional railroad tie plate manufacturer, let us tell you some terms of railroad tie plates dimensions. It is a kind of railroad tie plate comply with arema standard.
So the next time you are handed a spec and told we have always done it that way and wonder what horses ass came up with that, you may be exactly right, because the. Cxt concrete ties have many advantages over wood or steel ties and are the preferred choice of railroads and railroad contractors. Generally laid perpendicular to the rails, ties transfer loads to the track ballast and subgrade, hold the rails upright and keep them spaced to the correct gauge. Standard specification for steel tie plates, lowcarbon. An eightbyeight fullsawn landscape timber 8 feet long is really 9 inches deep, 7 inches wide and 102 inches long, so its close to standard railroad tie size. Posted by anonymous on friday, february 11, 2005 12. Railroad ties are the wood structure that lie below the rails and serve as an anchor. You can find old railroad ties for sale even at garden centers, which makes the question confusing. Authentic used railroad cross ties salvaged from train track beds.
Proper bridge tie spacing model railroader magazine. The steel rail is used to guide the train wheels far forwarding, by withstanding the enormous stress by the wheel when a train passes by, and transferring to the tie sleepers as well. Union pacific is the largest railroad in north america, covering 23 states across the western twothirds of the united states register to access secure tools, applications and. Wood railroad ties are typically made from hardwoods like oak. Rail tie plate, also called rail plate, base plate or solo plates, is a thick steelmade panel which sits between the rails and rail sleepers on a standard railway track. A standard railroad tie is nine inches wide and seven inches tall. Interior arrangements include nailable steel or wood flooring, rails, bulkheaded and other securement methods. A standardgauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of 1,435 mm 4 ft 8 1. Railroad ties not only hold the rails in gauge, they also anchor the rails in the ballast. Union pacific is committed to working with you to develop the most efficient, costeffective rail plan to meet your transportation needs. Prototype railroad tie dimensions model railroader magazine.
Railroad tie plates dimensions let more professional. Todays standard for construction of new or replacement railroad track is the concrete tie. The united states standard railroad gauge of 4 feet, 8. The finest prestressed concrete ties are manufactured by cxt inc. Railroad ties of the 19 th century described by an expert writing in 1903. Standard landscape timber sizes home guides sf gate.
I recently bought a house just over the pennsylvania border in maryland. Tie plates the use of single or double shoulder tie plates makes a more stable track and greatly lengthens the life of wood ties. The most common size of railroad tie is 9 inches wide, 7 inches tall and 8 12 feet long. The standard for a road crossing surface installed and maintained by the bnsf is concrete plank for 141lb. Moisture is the one big problem i would be concerned with also.
The top of the tie shall be the narrowest face andor the. We remove more than onehalf million railroad ties from tracks across the country annually, most of which are in excellent con railroad tie no2 grade 7 inch x. This weight is based upon the most common size of railroad tie in use today, according to the railway tie association. Punched and sheared from hotrolled steel sections, tie plates provide proper cant, uniform bearing surface for the rail and better load distribution to the. You would be very challenged to bend the 120 pound rail in use today let alone find a tree that can act as a bearing surface. A railroad tie weighs between 145 and 200 pounds, depending on the condition or grade of the tie. Frequently asked questions railway tie association. Facilities that involve unit or shuttle train operations may utilize more stringent standards.
Rrken if you have not done so already, ensure that the variety of plants are tollerent to the creasoate in the ties even 40 year old ties have some that can leach. The standard gauge is also called stephenson gauge after george stephenson, international gauge, uic gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and european gauge in europe. Boxcars carry a wide range of products, including rolled. Longer ties are used in areas where the ground is soft and the stability of the rails would otherwise be a concern. The gap between rails is typically 12 inches so that the distance from the center. A rail tie plate is a thick steel panel which sits between the steel rails and ties on a standard railroad. A maximum of 1 of wane is allowed on the top or bottom faces within the railbearing area, which is defined as the section between 12 from each end of the tie.