IRG Documents Database and Compendium


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Impregnación de durmientes de quebracho blanco (Aspidosperma quebracho blanco) con preservadores cromocuproarsenicales (CCA)
2008 - IRG/WP 08-40428
CCA impregnation of railroad ties is a recent process in Argentina which has not been optimized in a commercial scale. This study analyzed the influence of treatment pressure on final retentions to optimize the impregnation process. Results showed that a 3.2% m/v solution resulted in 10.8 kg/m3 CCA retention. At 1187 kPa (12 kgf/cm2) quebracho blanco wood had an average absorption of 338 l/m3. Als...
D Gherscovic, Z Cataldi, J M Languasco


Pre-treatment decay and strength loss of railroad ties, and their prevention
2013 - IRG/WP 13-30610
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 give...
A M Taylor, B Jordan, J D Lloyd


Ammoniacal Copper Zinc Arsenate Preservative Treated Wood Ties Their Performance in Testing and Track
2014 - IRG/WP 14-30636
While not a new preservative system, Ammoniacal Copper Zinc Arsenate (ACZA), had not previously been used to protect crossties. Its performance in treating difficult or refractory species of wood has been documented through its wide range of uses approved in AWPA. The establishment of appropriate testing for railroad material use was put in place and includes laboratory, field as well as commercia...
T Carey


New Method for Pretreatment of Railroad Crossties
2014 - IRG/WP 14-40675
Creosote has been successfully utilized for nearly 150 years for the protection of railroad crossties (sleepers) in the USA and remains today as the most widely used wood preservative for this application. One of the few shortcomings of creosote as a preservative is its inability to penetrate many of the refractory hardwood species which make up the majority of crossties in the USA. Lack of full...
A S Ross, R W Clawson Jr


Recycling of used railroad ties via two-staged pyrolysis for fractionation of wood preservatives and bio-oil: pyrolytic characterization by TGA and Py-GC/MS
2015 - IRG/WP 15-50311
Creosote and copper naphthenate (CuNap) (in an oil carrier) treated railroad tie materials (crossties or sleepers) were initially heat-treated at 200 – 300 oC and subsequently pyrolyzed via thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS) to recover wood preservatives and produce a higher quality bio-oil. Preservative-desorptive temperatures at 200 a...
Pyoungchung Kim, J Lloyd, Jae-Woo Kim, N Labbe


The performance of glue laminated railway ties after 40 years of service in the main line track
1989 - IRG/WP 2325
Two series of horizontally glue laminated ties made of a softwood body and topped with a hardwood lamination were creosoted and installed in 1947 in a tangent and a curved main line track. The tests are now 40 years old and the excellent condition of the ties of these two series suggest that a service life of 50-60 years can be expected....
J P Hösli, E E Doyle, C P Bird, T Lee


Performance of CCA treated Eucalyptus round ties
1985 - IRG/WP 3342
After 5.5 years of field exposure in the south of Brazil round Eucalyptus ties treated with CCA type A Oxide (OSMOSE K-33-A) preservative with retentions from 12 to 14 kg/m³ (0.75 to 0.873 PCF) (active ingredient basis) are performing very well. No decay or insect attack was observed in the 100 ties in test in real conditions of use; 10% of ties show incipient checking (what is a natural trend of...
V J Carlos, F R Niederauer, J P P Wehr


Comparative life cycle assessment of Swiss railroad sleepers
1998 - IRG/WP 98-50117
The results of an environmental LCA carried out on railway sleepers made of prestressed concrete, sectional steel and creosote impregnated beech as used on main lines of Switzerland's railways are presented. All extractions from and insertions into the environment which were connected with the manufacture, use and disposal of the different types of sleeper were inventoried and assessed, i...
T Künniger, K Richter


Preventing the introduction of Xylosandrus crassiusculus by dipping green lumber in insecticides prior to shipment
2007 - IRG/WP 07-40370
Xylosandrus crassiusculus, an ambrosia beetle native to Asia and Africa, was introduced into the southeastern United States in 1974. Since that time, this species has substantially expanded its range, causing damage to native ecosystems and healthy nursery stock. This species was found in The Dalles, Oregon in 2004, indicating that it is not limited to sub-tropical environments. This introducti...
C F Schauwecker, R F Mizell III, J J Morrell


Ambient-temperature borate dip-diffusion treatment of green railroad crossties
2011 - IRG/WP 11-40556
In the USA, borates are increasingly being applied prior to air seasoning and creosote treatment of railroad ties (railway sleepers). Borates are typically applied to green ties by vacuum pressure application at 1 to 10% disodium octaborate tetrahydrate (DOT) concentration or by traditional dip-diffusion treatments at elevated temperatures. Higher temperatures are used to maintain the 30 to 50% so...
Jae-Woo Kim, A M Taylor, C Köse


Laboratory investigation of fire protection coatings for creosote-treated timber railroad bridges
2014 - IRG/WP 14-30639
As the incidence of timber railroad bridge fires increases, so has the need to develop protective measures to reduce the risk from accidental ignitions primarily caused by hot metal objects. Of the six barrier treatments evaluated in the laboratory for their ability to protect timbers from fires sourced with ignition from hot metal objects only one intumescent coating provided adequate fire prote...
C A Clausen, R H White, J P Wacker, S T Lebow, M A Dietenberger, S L Zelinka, N M Stark


Encapsulation Systems Combined with DOT Borate Treatments – The Future of Treated Crossties
2014 - IRG/WP 14-40670
Borates have been utilized in wood protection systems for many decades but only recently have been used in North America to treat crossties. This colorless, ordorless and very effective wood protection chemical has the ability to arrest and prevent the colonization of wood by both basidiomycete decay fungi and insects such as beetles and termites while ties are air seasoning or in service. Since ...
S C Kitchens, T L Amburgey


Borate treatment of green ties: An initial report on the effects on mechanical properties
2014 - IRG/WP 14-40686
Borates are increasingly used as components of wood preservative systems for railway cross ties (“sleepers”) in the USA. A variety of methods exist for incorporating the borate component; however, the so-called ‘two-step’ treatment, which involves treating the green tie in borate, followed by a pressure treatment with creosote or copper naphthenate after drying (‘seasoning’), offers th...
A M Taylor, J D Lloyd


Best handling practices for wood crossties (sleepers)
2015 - IRG/WP 15-40714
Wooden crossties (sleepers) dominate the rail industry in the USA. Most ties are hardwood treated with oil-borne preservatives using pressure treatment. Incipient decay (called ‘stack burn’) commonly develops during the pre-treatment drying process and reduces tie performance and longevity. Practices to minimize stack burn and enhance wooden tie performance are discussed as an aid to non-wood ...
N Irby, J Lloyd, A Taylor, J Watt


Borate and Copper Naphthenate Dual Treatment of Bridge Timbers-Borate movement over time
2017 - IRG/WP 17-40795
Preservative treated wooden bridge ties in the South Eastern USA have a service life of about 15 to 20 years, which falls well below the average service life of 40 years of railroad cross ties (sleepers). It has been shown that cross tie life is significantly extended using borate dual treatment and this is now commercialized in bridge timbers using borate inserts. In previous research, it was dem...
J-W Kim, J D Lloyd


Dual Borate and Copper Naphthenate Treatment of Bridge Timbers:- Potential Performance Enhancements and Cost Savings
2017 - IRG/WP 17-40797
Dual treatment technology combining diffusible preservatives with oil borne preservatives, widely used for crossties in the USA, has now also been commercialized with bridge ties/timbers. In order to understand the implications of these changes, the historic service life of creosote treated bridge timbers in northern and southeastern USA were considered as well as field test data for both creosote...
J Lloyd, C Brischke, R Bennett, A Taylor


Protecting Sustainable Wood Infrastructure ̶ Improving the Performance of Poles, Piles, Ties & Timbers with Dual Treatments
2019 - IRG/WP 19-30735
Wood is by far the best structural material in terms of environmental impact, as shown by a number of LCA studies. This environmental impact superiority can be improved if the longevity of the commodity is extended. The main durability concern in large cross-section treated materials is the susceptibility of the heartwood to decay, as it is not typically treatable using traditional methods. This ...
J Lloyd, A Taylor, C Brischke, N Irby, M Manning


Economic and Alternative Preservative Research with an Overview of its Impact on the Dynamics of Wood Tie Markets and Railroads
2019 - IRG/WP 19-30751
This presentation will discuss the Railway Tie Association’s (RTA) efforts in economic research for the North American wood tie industry, along with decades-long research into improving wood preservation processes and its resulting economic impact for railroads. Ongoing research is continuing to expand the knowledge-base by comparing existing standard creosote (C) and borate-creosote (B-C) dual...
J C Gauntt


2018 Railway Tie Survey and the Non-Hazardous Secondary Materials Rulemaking Activities
2019 - IRG/WP 19-50352
This presentation will discuss a survey AAR recently completed on the management of used crossties in the North American rail industry. Approximately 23 million new wood ties are purchased and installed in the North American rail network every year. The presentation will show the number and percentage of ties which are managed by reused in track, reuse in commercial, agricultural or residential la...
R Fronczak, S Smith


Impregnation of railway sleepers - Investigation of a system-sleeper as an alternative for creosote treated sleepers
2020 - IRG/WP 20-40896
For nearly 200 years wooden railway sleepers are impregnated with creosote. After initially using vacuum pressure processes for impregnation, empty-cell processes have been developed quickly and are used until today. Because of political developments, creosote will probably be banned on the European market in the near future. The Fürstenberg-System-Sleeper, which combines for Europe innovative as...
M Starck, A Heidel, C Brischke, H Militz