Rail road ties for fence posts?

[DanD78]

Has anyone ever used rail road ties for fence posts. I have heard they will not last but I thought they were treated with the same stuff used on telephone and power poles. I already have a bunch of good as new ties but don't want to re-do the posts in 5 years or less.

Dan

 

[beenthere]

Don't know what you are hearing, or from who. Different treatments for poles than ties.

RR ties treated with creosote last a long time. For sure, more than 5 years.

Then again, ties pulled out of a track have been determined to not have much life left in them. So using old ties is a risk for life expectancy.

 

[adjusterr]

Don't waste your time with ties for fence posts. Railroad ties last a long time because they are laid on a heavy gravel bed which causes water to drain away allowing the tie to dry. Ties on end in the ground soak up water and rot from the center out. I personally used ties to surround my garden, made the mistake of placing them directly on the ground, three years, rotten. You would do much better using locust, it will outlast you.

 

[schmism]

I know many corner posts are set with ties. Fresh ties, not old ones that were pulled out.

the only issue can be they can be on the short side for corner posts set 3'ish deep.

 

[beenthere]

I've two ties set in the ground in 1965 for a line fence and as near as I can tell, they are as good as the day they were "planted". They were nearly new, and were in pretty good condition.
A lot of variables enter in here. Treatment retention, species, soil conditions, etc.

 

[MossRoad]

My father built retaining walls out of RR ties. They rotted from the backside out. You couldn't tell they were weak until the day they failed. They are not made for ground contact. As mentioned, they are made to be set on ballast (rocks) for drainage.

Two weeks ago I helped a friend remove a retaining wall and garden beds made from railroad ties. Again, they rotted from the dirt side out. Looked good on the outside.

With that said, I have seen RR tie corner posts in the same place my entire life. Don't know how sturdy they are.

 

[forgeblast]

Same happened to rrties that the previous owner had placed down as a raised bed. The entire back was rotted. I moved them to one spot and then had to move them again. What i didnt realize was there was a nest of bees now in the rotted out timber. Had to get out of there fast. Waited until spring when they were frozed to try and move it again.

 

[Chuck52]

A RR tie retaining wall at my old house was full of termites when I moved part of it.

Chuck

 

[beppington]

I made a ~3' tall retaining wall out of used RR ties in 1992. Most are rotting now & need to be replaced, but I'm satisfied with how long they lasted.

That said, it sure seems like every instance where I've seen RR ties used as fence posts/ corners, they're always on their last leg ... or worse. Like splintering/ disintegrating, generally falling apart. It does seem like they don't do well vertically for some reason.

 

[JESSE1]

Used railroad ties are usually rotted when removed, otherwise the RR wouldn't remove them. I've used and replaced plenty of them over the years until I found a source for new ones. I use new ties for corner posts. Biggest drawback is they are very heavy.