How long is a railroad tie supposed to last?

Question

omg another train question! sorry but I've always liked trains since I was a little girl .. growin' up us kids used to watch'em all the time .. I still don't mind waitin at a crossing or somewhere and watch one go by. I know .. I'm weird .. lol

Answer 1

O Dingy One........

This is the rail category, so no apology for asking another railroad question is needed. If you had been asking about a chrome plated swizzle-stick or an electric dog polisher, that would have been odd, but still wouldn’t require an apology.

A creosoted wood tie installed today has an estimated life span of 40 years. Environment actually plays a smaller part than one would think. For example, if installed in some sort of ‘swampy’ territory, the ballast may need to be dressed more frequently, but the preserved ties go on.

These days, system “tie gangs” roam about, replacing ties where needed. It is both art and science. A good tie gang can replace 15 or 17 miles of ties in ten work days. Then they hop over to somewhere else. The 15 miles replaced have nearly an equal amount on each end done perhaps ten and twenty years ago, respectively, so they continue to serve. This rotation keeps the system tie gangs traveling, but you’ll rarely see more than 15 or 20 miles of ties less than a few years old strung together, except for new railroad.

Today, all engineering data is stored and readily accessible. But, back in the day, record keeping, especially where millions of ties were concerned, was a practical impossibility. the way they circumvented the problem was through the use of “date nails.” As their name implies, the date nails were nails that had the year stamped into the top of the nail. They were driven into the ties every so often so that future maintenance of way or track engineering personnel could easily and quickly determine how long the ties had been in service.

Some years ago, a jewelry cottage industry bloomed as the date nails were en vogue as gifts to fathers in the industry or the rail fans. They nail heads were sawed off, cleaned, plated in either gold or silver, and fashioned as tie tacks and lapel pins, the numbers on the date nail heads being the recipients birthday, anniversary, etc.

Concrete ties will last a bit longer, but longevity comes at a price. In the event of derailed equipment, where a single wheel, or even an entire truck drops off the rail, they will run often times for a long distance on top of wooden ties. The ties get cut up pretty bad, but often the problem is found before the wheels come to a switch, or grade crossing, which is when the cars scatter all over the place.

If a wheel or truck drops on top of a concrete tie, they shatter immediately. Any hope of discovering derailed equipment before a major pile up occurs is nonexistent.

So, apology accepted for seeking another answer...........

Answer 2

I have seem old ties still in use today that had nails date from the 50's (nail driving into ties that had the year stamped on the head). Most on them was oak ties. Pine ties 15 - 20 year average. I replace ties that was in sharp curves after 8 years, this was due to not being able to hold a spike. The more you plug the spike hole to re-gage the track, the weaker the tie get. The center would be good, but the end would split.

Answer 3

You have the answers on wooden ties, concrete ones are supposed to last up to three times as long. Some places where termites are a problem, tracks were laid with steel ties several decades ago. With light traffic these ties are still in place - look for the "Gulflander" on the net. Much of the new construction in Australia has used concrete.

Answer 4

I've had 4 in my back yard for 15 years. :-) A railroad worker
friend says his railroad replaces them after 20 years of
service. They will last a lot longer than they will support a
train. I like trains too. I have a train horn on my pick up truck.

Answer 5

It kinda varies with the region it can be short as 5 years or as long as 100 years (the 100 years can be achieved in semi arid or arid places) but most places there is an average of 20 years

Answer 6

I work for a class 1 railroad in the USA. I work in the track department. On a 50 mile an hour track, the ties last five years. On slower tracks or very dry tracks the life span goes up to 10 years.

Answer 7

Ties are meant to be in service for 40 years. Granted there are more factors in weather it will actually last that long. If the railroad does not clean the old ballast when replacing the ties then the new ties will rot faster.

Answer 8

trains are sooo coool!! Sine I was 11, first time I really stoped and watched a train, since then i'v always loved trains!.
I was a track laborer for 6 months. About 35-45 years. Inless they ar reported to be real bad for what ever reason.

Answer 9

No your not weird. My father worked on the railroad and I used to love to go to the yard with him and when he came home to tell all the stories. I did not care for when he left for weeks at a time to go on derailments but....

Anyhoo railroad ties a LONG Long Time lol! We have several and they are old to begin with and will be here on the property a long time....

Answer 10

No set answer, depends on the usage, siding, heavy main line, curves, mountian grade, hardwood or soft, etc etc. I would have to say a good average is after 20 yrs they are ready to come out, much much sooner in extreme conditions.