IRG Documents Database and Compendium


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Impregnation of railway sleepers - Pressure gradient and transversal penetration
2016 - IRG/WP 16-40731
Based on the possible ban of creosote in the future, the need for oil based alternative products has gained in importance. Due to possible differences in impregnation properties compared to creosote the need for re-implementing former technology is given, to determine if momentarily used impregnation processes have to be modified. The here reported tests measure the pressure gradient during the im...
M Starck, A Gellerich, H Militz


Penetration behaviour of different hydrophobic carrier substances for oily wood preservatives in Beech and Scots pine sapwood
2017 - IRG/WP 17-40804
The use of creosote as a wood preservative has a long history. Current areas of application are railway sleepers, transmission poles, timber bridges and marine applications. If the approval for creosote will not be prolonged, alternative wood preservatives will be needed. As the penetration behaviour after pressure impregnation of different alternative oily products in this fields of application i...
M Starck, A Gellerich, H Militz


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


Wood preservation and the environment: A Canadian perspective
1990 - IRG/WP 3577
The non-pressure (surface) and pressure treatment of wood impacts on the environment in four ways. These are: through the production of treated wood at sawmills and pressure treating facilities; during the storage of treated wood prior to use; when the pressure treated wood is placed in service; and finally, when the treated product reaches the end of its useful life and must be disposed. By refer...
J N R Ruddick


A new approach to the maintenance of wooden railway sleepers. (Second report)
1988 - IRG/WP 3492
The microenvironment and micro-ecology of wooden railway sleepers was investigated to assess their condition to determine the necessary treatment, repair and replacement criteria. In this report the efficacy of the secondary preservative treatment with solid boron rods is discussed and the development of an in-situ, nondestructive test method based on the creation and assessment of structural dyna...
W Beauford, P I Morris, A M Brown, D J Dickinson


A new approach to the maintenance problems of wooden railway sleepers
1986 - IRG/WP 3392
The microenvironment of wooden railway sleepers is being investigated to assess their condition to determine the necessary treatment, repair and replacement criteria. The research work involves the development of an integrity tester to determine the condition of sleepers, a remedial treatment of sleepers by selective application of boric acid and a synthetic repair system....
W Beauford, P I Morris.


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


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


A new approach to the maintenance of wooden railway sleepers. (Final Report)
1992 - IRG/WP 92-3724
The micro-environment of wooden railway sleepers was investigated to assess their condition, to determine the necessary treatment, repair and replacement criteria. In the final report the secondary preservative treatment of wooden sleepers with solid boron rods is discussed; the complete development of an in-situ, non-destructive test method based on structural dynamics analysis is described. The ...
W Beauford, A M Brown, D J Dickinson


Remedial treatment of creosoted railway sleepers of redwood by selective application of boric acid
1980 - IRG/WP 3134
An ideal preservative for remedial treatment must primarily be characterized by two requirements. First, it must have an ability to diffuse and distribut evenly into the wood and secondly, it must be fixed properly so that it does not leach out too fast. However, these two characteristics conflict with each other, and the choice of preservative must of necessity be a compromise. Wood preservatives...
C Bechgaard, L Borup, B Henningsson, J Jermer


Northern oak wood and its damages in Iran
1988 - IRG/WP 1377
The Northern oak species of Iran designated Quercus castaneaefolia C.A.M. is distributed widely in caspian littoral. In natural conditions (healthy) has favourable quality and it is used mostly in rural construtions, sleepers, parquets, cross arms for electric and communication poles, it is used also indoor and window construction, benches and finally veneer. This wood in the case of sleepers and ...
D Parsapajouh, P Niloufari


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


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


CreoSub – New protection technology to substitute creosote in railway sleepers, timber bridges, and utility poles
2014 - IRG/WP 14-30644
Creosote oil is one of the oldest industrially used wood preservatives. Due to its toxic profile, the European Commission has restricted the use of creosote specific applications, but it is highly controversial within the European Commission. Its approval for use after 2018 is very questionable and may depend on derived research results until then, i.e., the viability of alternatives developed to ...
U Hundhausen, K-C Mahnert, A Gellerich, H Militz


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


Treatability of beechwood railway sleepers with potential creosote substitutes
2017 - IRG/WP 17-40790
Maintenance of an efficient railway infrastructure still requires the use of wooden railway sleepers, particularly because wooden sleepers have more favourable properties for intensified vibrations than concrete or steel sleepers. Creosote, used for decades for the impregnation of railway sleepers, will possibly no longer be available for this application due to European legislation. This reveals ...
N Pfabigan, E Habla, R Gründlinger


Visual assessment of longitudinal wheel timbers and assessing the feasibility of extending wheel timber service life in the UK railway network
2019 - IRG/WP 19-20651
Timber has been a versatile building material for centuries and during the start of the Railway Age in the nineteenth century it was in considerable demand for use in the railway network, particularly bridge building. Timber is still in service and widely used throughout the UK railway network. The resilience and favourable strength to weight ratio and its relative ease of fabrication make it an...
J R Williams


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


Bioremediation technology for cleaning-up of the soil contaminated with creosote oil – the overall concept of BIOREM project
2020 - IRG/WP 20-50363
The aim of the communication paper is to present the conceptual framework of the BIOREM project, which started in May 2019. The final result of the entire project will be an innovative bioremediation technology that can be used in areas contaminated with creosote oil – a commonly used wood preservative being a complex mixture of various compounds such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). ...
M Sydow, J Zabielska-Matejuk, A Stangierska