Evidence of fungal decay in air-drying, untreated railway crossties is referred to as ‘stack burn’ in the industry. The deleterious consequences of stack burn on tie mechanical properties was confirmed by evaluating the impact bending toughness of wood samples taken from untreated tie stock air dried in the southern United States. These results suggest that careful consideration should be given to tie drying methods and the timing of treatments with diffusible preservatives in addition to the normal oil borne treatments.

Download document (695 kb)
free for the members of IRG. Available if purchased.

Purchase this document