Plastic Railway Sleepers

Interesting read Doug thanks, However,

"An EU-wide creosote ban in 2013 had an exemption for railway sleepers until 31st July 2021. Softwood sleepers will no longer be used in this country from that date."

I take it that is not including preserved/private lines?
 
Network Rail is pretty late to the party on this one. They've been using these sleepers on the Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railways for years and I think they're also used on the London Underground. They're far superior to wood in every way and you can't tell the difference visually (they put some in at Harbour station without announcing it to see if anyone would notice - nobody did), as such I would imagine that other preserved railways will make the switch to the same type of sleeper.
 
HotshotJimmy said:
"An EU-wide creosote ban in 2013 had an exemption for railway sleepers until 31st July 2021. Softwood sleepers will no longer be used in this country from that date."
Click to expand...

But since Brexit, the UK is no longer part of the EU. Does that nullify the ban?
 
pware said:
But since Brexit, the UK is no longer part of the EU. Does that nullify the ban?
Click to expand...

Unlikely as all existing EU law became British law when we left. It's possible the UK government has passed new laws to lift the ban since Brexit, but I don't recall reading anything about it and also the current UK government is relatively environment conscious.
 
Sherrington Viaduct is just a few mile up the track from where I live and a similar article has appeared in the local papers over this past week but why all the extra plates attached to the sleepers. The spacing might suit a narrow gauge but looks odd for third rail. Peter
 
wilts747 said:
Sherrington Viaduct is just a few mile up the track from where I live and a similar article has appeared in the local papers over this past week but why all the extra plates attached to the sleepers. The spacing might suit a narrow gauge but looks odd for third rail. Peter
Click to expand...

Guard rails so that any potentially derailed vehicles don't fall off the viaduct.
 
edh6 said:
Network Rail is pretty late to the party on this one. They've been using these sleepers on the Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railways for years and I think they're also used on the London Underground. They're far superior to wood in every way and you can't tell the difference visually (they put some in at Harbour station without announcing it to see if anyone would notice - nobody did), as such I would imagine that other preserved railways will make the switch to the same type of sleeper.
Click to expand...

That's great. Its interesting how new tech sometimes makes it to the preserved lines before the main network. Bo'ness regularly gets the new tech for practicing crews so its track is pristine.
 
Thanks for the article. Pretty amazing that they can make plastic that doesn't degrade for 50 years! Usually it is the UV that gets to plastic, so this is great to hear.
 
We looked into the plastic sleepers for our line but unfortunately they're rather expensive, the saving being in their longevity. We only use wood on turnouts and the rest was switched to concrete years ago so I suppose the cost could be justified given a lot of our turnout timbers are near life expired. Oddly enough, nobody has ever complained about seeing concrete sleepers.
 
PET, the plastic used in plastic water/soda bottles is nearly immune to UV. In fact, that trait is the central problem. It takes many decades for it to degrade. It is, however, readily reusable. The article says they use a composite blend. I would guess that the plastic ties include a significant amount of PET due to it's durability and resiliency. That's a good thing as we don't really need masses of nearly indestructible plastic bottles littering the landscape and filling the landfills. More reuses that call for PET's properties = better.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

J
  • Locked
For those needing access to the White Pages FTP try this: I E virtual mode.
Replies
2
Views
338
JCitron
J
B
win+11+22h2 Update bug can slow file downloading by 40%
Replies
18
Views
2K
boleyd
B
D
Sleepers (ties) from recycled plastic
Replies
1
Views
2K
clam1952
C
J
The abandoned and existing lines in my area a bit of RR Tycoon in the early days!
Replies
15
Views
1K
UP5521
U
G
N3v3rf1x3d
2
Replies
21
Views
2K
RoysTrainz
R
Back
Top