Reclaimed Grade A Railway Sleepers

Not all railway sleepers are treated, most reclaimed sleepers at some point in their lives have been treated and sometimes not with very pleasant products. Softwood sleepers are generally pressure treated to improve their life span, and some cheaper softwood sleepers are dipped in preservative, but this is not such a successful method. Oak sleepers are generally not treated but we would recommend some level of treatment for any sleepers even oak that are going to come in contact with the ground

Only new oak and treated softwood sleepers are recommended for vegetable gardens, but reclaimed sleepers have been used for decades. You would need to be sure there is no Creasote, oil or tar present in the sleepers, so it best to avoid reclaimed sleepers for this application.

Railway sleepers can be laid directly onto the soil, but in most cases, it is advisable to give them some additional treatment to prevent rot, especially in damp or wet conditions. Full installation guide on installing railway sleepers is below:

Outdoor Oak and Softwood Sleeper Installation

You can paint Railway sleepers, but you must use an exterior wood paint or preserver that has been formulated to do this job specifically. The problem with painting sleeper is that you will have to continuously re-paint them to keep them looking good. We would recommend only doing this if essential, it is best to just let them age gracefully.

On the other hand if you are thinking of using additional wood preservative prior to installation to increase protection, this is a different matter and we would fully recommend that everyone does this if time permits, especially taking care to cover all cut ends with the preservative. This will greatly increase the life expectance of the sleeper installation and will result in a far better job.

Each type of sleeper will have a slightly different life span due to different preservative treatment and different wood types. A big factor in the life span of railway sleepers is the ground conditions of the installation site and the quality of the installation. Please read our guide on installing railway sleepers on the link below:

Outdoor Oak and softwood sleepers

Below is some general guidance on life span of different sleeper types:

Softwood treated sleepers (Tanalised not dipped) 8 to 10 years

New Oak sleepers 10 to 20 years

Reclaimed sleepers (hardwood) 15 to 25 years

This life spans are greatly affected by the quality of the timber used and the ground conditions so please take care to select the best sleepers which are quite often not the cheapest.