cutting railroad ties

[wmthrower]

I have to cut some railroad ties for a guy I work with in a couple of months. I'll probably be using an 044.
Any recommendations on chain?

 

[DirtTroll]

Since they are known to have the occansional nail or spike embeded, I would say one of your least favorite chains.

 

[ricksvar]

Semi chisel chain would likely be better then full chisel on this job.If you do hit metal(odds are against you)probably will not do as much damage to the cutters compared to full chisel.I also think semi chisel is better in dirty cuts but never cut any railroad ties.

Rick

 

[gatkeper1]

Railroad ties, here on the Railroad the standard chain is Stihl 33RS. It is on every saw we use. be it new or old ties they have found it to last the longest. None of our workers sharpen their own chain so this is what they have found to take the most abuse until the saw is returned to the tool room at the end of the day.

 

[wmthrower]

Thanks for the replies. I planned on using one of my least favorite chains before I bought one to use just for an hour or two. I think that I have just the one.

 

[tony marks]

just thot id mention to u ,,that gatekeeper who apparently works where they cut the ties all the time.,,is recommending an fast full chisel chain..
its not clear ,,but i suspect they are cutting new ties.. the main problem i see with them .... has to do with the railway braking system. [if it hasnt changed]
they use goodly amounts of sand dropped on the track to help the metal against metal braking work better..
if i was doing this on used ties i think and good pressure washing ,,making sure to drive this imbedded sand out rather than deeper into the wood fiber mite help save a lot of sharpening..jm take on it . good luck.
ps also u mite want to cut from the side that was down ,,when they were in use..

 

[lucky]

I'll take it one step further. I keep an old Mcculloch around just to cut stuff like RR ties, becasue of the miserable cutting conditions. This way I won't care when anything is ruined. Many times cutting one or two ties will dull the chain. Lucky

 

[gatkeper1]

Tony. New ties old ties same chain. the least of the problems is sand from braking. Sand is only used during conditions of "slippery rail" In the fall when leaves are on the tracks and winter with ice. Sand is more of a traction aid with locomotives when accelerating from a stand still. The wheel contact area to the rail is approx the size of a dime. Not much to deal with when trying to move an eight car train. Sand is still used for braking but mainly at least here mostly for acceleration
Spikes, nails and embedded ballast stone and stone dust, not to mention metal dust from the wheels and rails do not make for a good cutting medium

 

[wmthrower]

Unfortunately I won't have the option to do much to the ties. My coworker is using them as fence posts. They are already in the ground and needs to have some of them trimmed for height. Hopefully the weather will wash off what dirt may be on them. As far as the stuff in the wood, I guess I don't have much choice.

I hope that I didn't open pandora's box

 

[tony marks]

thanks gate keeper.. i assumed u could shed more lite..

 

[scottr]

Old railroad ties sometimes have end irons or "S" shaped steel plate driven into the end grain to help control splitting. Maybe a metal detecter would be helpfull.

 

[lucky]

dam good point Scott. Watch out for spikes too!

 

[mlk]

Norfolk Southern has a big yard here. My local Stihl dealer told me that they use Stihl carbide chain almost exclusively. I think the designation is RD33. It is much slower than sharp RS33, but faster than rocked, dull RS33.

 

[Jacob J.]

The problem with cutting railroad ties isn't your chain or your saw. It's breathing the fine saw dust that has particles of creosote still embedded in it. One ingredient of creosote is cyanide.

 

[WoodTick007]

cyanide

MMMMMM Yummy!!!

Will go with the Lead Paint Chips I ate as a child.

 

[MasterBlaster]

 

[Lewis Brander]

Cutting Rail Road Ties:

The fellows have mentioned quite a few tips. The only thing I would add is, I think that I would cut my bar oil with a bit of deisel fuel or Kerosene to keep the creosote from building up and or gumming up the saw. JMO. Lewis.

 

[Bill G]

A few points to add fuel to the fire.

Granted I am no expert on railroad ties but I have put quite a few in the ground. I have never seen one much over 8 feet. I am sure there are some longer but I think the majority are 8 feet. You said you are trimming off fence posts. I see no reason to trim them unless the guy putting them in my too lazy to dig a decent hole. At worst you would have 48" in the ground and 48" above. For line posts we can skimp and put 42 down and 54 up. There is no reason to trim a post under 48" I prefer 9-10ft posts thus ties generally do not work except for line posts. in ideal situations you put 60" under and 60" up. As for the S shaped iron it is just in the end and should be easily visable. I haveer never trimmed the top off a tie but I would question if the cresote penetrated the end grain down a long distance. If you trim the top off you are exposing fresh end grain to weather.

Just my random thoughts,

Bill

 

[don]

cuttin ties

33rs or 33 rsk They say round ground version is a little better.

Turn the oil all the way up.

I would a rental if I had a choice. Especially if you are using a saw you like.

Hmm keep a crappy saw around for this ... hey another reason to own another saw !

 

[wmthrower]

Maybe I'll keep quiet and he'll forget my offer. I'm having second thoughts now about cutting those ties.
I think that I'll try to go out there and take a look at them before I cut them and see what they are like.