Can I make firewood from old railroad ties?

[Woodchuck77]

Hey everyone,

I'm brand new here and excited to find this forum. My family and I are about to move into a house we own in the Hungarian countryside. We have lots of improvements to work on, and I need to get ready to heat the house with wood during the coming winter.

In the garden, we have around 60 old wooden railroad ties that are used for stairsteps (the garden is on a hillside). Unfortunately, the wood is partly rotted, and we are installing cement block steps to replace the railroad ties.

That leaves me with a massive pile of wood, and I'd like to put that wood to the best use. Unfortunately, these ties have iron bands and spikes embedded in them. I'm afraid they can't be split or cut without risking damage to whatever tool I'm using. Plus it might not be safe, with all that iron in the wood.

On the other hand, I can probably see most of the iron and avoid it. But I'm worried about the one I'll surely miss.

How can I process these old railroad ties? Is there a way I can convert them into useful firewood, without taking stupid risks?

Thanks!!!

[breederman]

I would be much more worried about burning whatever preservative they are treated with than hitting any metal that is in them !   
Welcome to the forum !

[Woodchuck77]

That's a good point about the preservative! They're definitely treated with something.

My wife says we should burn them in the wood-burning furnace if we can ... but I'm not sure if that's a good idea or not ... even if I CAN manage to somehow cut them down to size.

So what can I do with these things? I hate to waste anything, so usually I try to either use things like this, burn them for heat, or return them to nature somehow.

[Al_Smith]

Creosote treated oak ties will smoke like soft coal .Probably not the best choice for firewood but might work to deter mosquitos.

[thecfarm]

Woodchuck77,welcome to the forum.
Not the best thing to try and cut up. I made a retaining wall at my other house with them. I got about one cut with the chainsaw and would have to sharpen the chain. I would not want to burn them in a stove that was inside. Lots of junk in the chemicals that was-is in the creosote. But I see you are from Hungary? Those might be diffeant where you are.

[Woodchuck77]

Great info about the creosote, thanks Al_Smith and thecfarm. If they're treated with creosote and smoke like soft coal, then burning that material in our wood-burning furnace might be very bad for our chimney.

I wouldn't want to build anything with these particular railroad ties because they're too badly rotted.

This is making me think it might be best to burn them outside, thereby returning the material to nature.

[Stroover]

Trust me, you DON'T want to burn railroad ties in your wood stove, not unless you want to melt or warp your stove! That stuff burns so frigging hot, you wouldn't beleive it! You think ironwood burns hot? Creosote ties burn way hotter!

[sawguy21]

Not a good idea to burn treated posts, they contain nasty stuff many preservatives are carcinogenic. My buddy's dad burned creosoted fence posts in the furnace, they were miserable to handle and stunk. He also had periodic chimney fires, fortunately never burnt the house down.

[Ianab]

Might they be CCA treated? Copper / Chromium / Arsenic.\

Burning that and returning it to your environment might not be the best? The ash is classed as toxic waste.

[beenthere]

Ian
Not very likely from what I've understood for the last 50 years.. or so.. Creosote treatment prevails.

[Ianab]

OP is from Hungary, not sure what they use, or more to the point, used in the past (Soviet era?)

[petefrom bearswamp]

creosote, CCA and Penta bad bad bad!
sawed some penta poles several years ago while wearing a mask and still had a headache.
Same with creosote.
IMO dont burn them.
Pete

[Al_Smith]

Years ago I had a buddy who was a masonary contractor and tight as the bark on a tree .I welded two 55 gallon drums end for end and made a stove so he could thaw his masonary morter sand in winter .

The cheap skate salvaged old cut up ties from the railroad .Oh they burned hot allright .Those old oil drums would get red hot even piled over with sand .

Fact at the end of the day he could stuff those drums full of cut ties,shut the air intake down and still have fire the next morning .

[Higgo]

Another point to consider... A lot of Train brakes used to be made from asbestos right? I've been told that depending on which section of track a sleeper/tie came from it could have been dusted with asbestos each time the train passed over it (maybe 3 or 4 times a day for a few years)... think about a long train descending a hill... each truck has its own baking system and each truck passes over the top of the sleeper/tie. I can't actually say I've tested this theory myself but I have been told by a few people in the rail industry. Not to mention the other stuff they could/would be treated with. All that said... heaps of people still burn them, but I wouldn't personally use them. Interesting topic!

[Woodchuck77]

Wow, this is much more complex than I thought!

I've no idea what they treated these ties with, but they're probably Soviet-era as Ianab mentioned. Whatever they used, I'm sure it was nasty.

After reading all the advice here I settled on a simpler solution. I removed all the ties from the garden stairs and stacked them in the driveway. Next step is to post an advertisement on a local classified website offering them free to anyone who takes them away. Someone can still use these in their garden (despite the partial rot).

Thanks a ton!

[Compensation]

I would dig a hole and bury them. Not sure if that's the answer either but I wouldn't want to risk breathing the smoke from rr ties. I don't care if its OK to huff the smoke, I personally will avoid it.

[garret]

Burial of this wood in any significant quantity may contaminate groundwater (your well, or someone else).  They were treated with creosote oil which contains o-,m-, and p- cresoles (phenolic compounds) that are toxic.  Also, burning these generates a noxious smoke that will incite your neighbors.  Same applies to utility poles. 

[beenthere]

One would think if they could possibly contaminate the groundwater if buried that the treated ties would contaminate equally as much (or more) water when laid side by each on the miles and miles of RR tracks across the land around the world.

Just sayin....

[Compensation]

That's what I was wondering Beenthere. I typed this but forgot to hit the post button.

Wouldn't buring be the same as using them as perimeter guards when they sink in the ground? Just read the EPA says to dispose of them with ordinary trash collection. So I guess they bury them for you.

[DR Buck]

I burned about 40 of them a few years ago in my outdoor furnace.  Didn't hurt the furnace and I didn't notice any additional smoke.   Got a fair bit of heat from them too.

[Al_Smith]

Most likely in an outdoor burner with a forced draft blower it wouldn't smoke .Actually even with soft coal and enough air it doesn't smoke badly either .

I can't help but wonder if with old tires with  gobs of air if they would smoke .Some brave soul might try it and report back with the findings .Might be a good idea to use a small tire first before loading the burner with old semi tires .

[Compensation]

My coworker tried half a tire in his burner. Ended up replacing all the hot water lines and faucets. I had a big brush pile that wouldn't start so I grabbed 2 old tires from the neighbors sink hole and they didn't smoke. They were about 50 years old so I don't know if age helps them not smoke or how they were made back then.

[hardtailjohn]

One would think if they could possibly contaminate the groundwater if buried that the treated ties would contaminate equally as much (or more) water when laid side by each on the miles and miles of RR tracks across the land around the world.

Just sayin....

Common sense would say so, wouldn't you think?  HOWEVER!!!! Once, when I was hauling hot oil (heated asphalt) the loader spilled about 5 gallons on the ground, next to my truck.  They completely closed the loading rack, blocked off the road, escorted everyone out.... guys in haz-mat suits came to stand over it and make sure it didn't go anywhere....etc.  EPA showed, DEQ showed, the police showed....it was a huge zoo!! I was amazed that when it was spilled onto the gravel, outside my truck that it was a hazardous material and was going to contaminate the ground and anyone/thing around it....yet when I deliver the load....the same material is mixed with gravel and layed on the ground, sometimes even on a bridge over a stream...and called asphalt and all of a sudden it's not hazardous anymore........go figure. :P
John