# Railway sleepers - how to keep them Black



## Unregistered (22 Apr 2005)

I have railway sleepers lining either side of my driveway. I like to keep them black so I paint them with creasot every year but they fade after a couple of months. I have noticed other people's sleepers in driveways and always seem to be a nice dak colour,is there a special paint I could apply?


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## HB1 (22 Apr 2005)

You could keep sh(x)tting on them.That made them black in the first place.Only joking.How do you get hold on creosote? It is illegal to sell it to some one who hasn't got  a chemical handling license.Because it is extremly dangerous.Check the web.


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## Unregistered (25 Apr 2005)

HB1,you must be a lawyer or something similar,you are really going O.T.T with you legal spoutings. I read you comments in the "Best time to cut Hedges" thread and found them highly insulting to the person who posted the question,its appears I wasn't the only one. You should take a good look at the posting guidelines,especially the section 
"Controversy and argument are welcome. But please keep your comments civil. Attack an opinion by all means, but please don't attack the person expressing the opinion."
most of your comments are way O.T.T


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## Alpha (25 Apr 2005)

creosote is freely available in hardware suppliers / builders merchants. At least a wood preservative called creosote is. This is NOT the same gunk that was used years ago which as the previous poster pointed out was very toxic. 

An outdoor wood paint would probably be more suitable to get the color you want but it may not provide the required wood preserving effect. Can't recommend anything I'm afraid.

By the way - if the railway sleepers are actually reclaimed sleepers from old, they may already be preserved with very toxic chemicals. Stuff that was never intended for ammenity use and should not be anywhere near kids, pets or vegetable patches. Unfortunately I don't think there is any restriction on selling this stuff on to unsuspecting homeowners.


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## Sue Ellen (25 Apr 2005)

There is some discussion on Railway Sleepers here also.


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## Unregistered (25 Apr 2005)

Thanks SueEllen and Alpha,
I am aware of the hazerdous nature of the toxin's in railway sleepers,thats why I have only used them as kerbing around the front driveway,I specifically didn't use them where the kids play (around the back).
I suppose I could use ordinary wood paint,although there is a large area to cover adn this could prove very expensive


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## Moneypit (26 Apr 2005)

I never knew anything about railway sleepers being hazardous until I read this!  A little worried now as we got three lengths of it put in our front garden last year as kerbing for our new driveway and two lengths in our backgarden for raised beds, we have a toddler, is this really serious?  Do we need to take them away?  Can we coat them with something to make them less toxic (probably not, but no harm in checking)?


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## extopia (26 Apr 2005)

HB1 was doing the original poster a favour, he was not being OTT. Anyone who does even a casual google search will find a lot of alarming info on railway sleepers. I wouldn't install them in my house if I had a toddler, to be honest.


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## Moneypit (26 Apr 2005)

Thanks Extopia.  
Just wondering is it possible to get 'railway sleepers' that aren't reclaimed at all but just made to look like they are?  Two of the ones we have don't look original if you know what I mean, whereas three of them do - more squared off at the edges and have holes.


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## Unregistered (26 Apr 2005)

I recently disposed of my railway sleepers and replaced them with round poles (5"). I sold them to somebody who had no kids. Many garden centres are not selling them anymore.

There are "new" sleepers. Malahide garden centre uses some for display purposes. They do not sell them but I think got them from Clonee Saw Mills. Be prepared to spend more than what the old sleepers cost.

You can also get "sleepers" which are thick round poles, but with two sides pared/shaved off, so you can sit them flat, or stack them on top of one another.


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## z102 (26 Apr 2005)

To the original poster :

How to make them lasting black: There is a method by burning/charring them with a gas torch,not only railway sleepers but any timber.But doing that with railwaysleepers is a dangerous thing.They would emit fumes of the worst kind, burning creosote resp.the weedkiller " agent orange " (used at them all over the world ) will form dioxines.Some will go into the air but some will stay in the timber.LIDL sells small gas torches this week.
But be very carefull when doing that.As the last poster said:better get rid of them.Off cuts from the foot end of a tree can be bought from a sawmill for very little,esp.if they are split or mouldy.You can use a chainsaw to give them the rough square look and then use the torch.Charred timber lasts for hundreds if not for thousands of years in the ground,many of our archeological timber findings are charred.Otherwise they would not have survived the time.Farmers used this method to  "treat" the foot end of fencing poles when they still knew how to handle timber.


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## pt08 (23 Jun 2008)

the creosote will stay blacker longer if you mix it with used engine oil.  This is obviously not recommended if there are pets or children around that could come into contact with this especially while it is freshly applied.


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## builder ed (23 Jun 2008)

I have used Black Fencelife on my sleepers once a year and they keep their colour pretty good.


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## mathepac (23 Jun 2008)

pt08 said:


> the creosote will stay blacker longer if you mix it with used engine oil...


Used engine oil (particularly from diesels) is highly toxic and can only be disposed of / reused in accordance with strict guidelines.

I don't think using it as an additive in these circumstances is one of them.


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## jhegarty (23 Jun 2008)

It's been 3 years since the question was asked.....


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## HR1 (9 Feb 2010)

This is actually quite a good method to sustain the blackness of your railway sleeper ( burning or scarring with a blow torch) and don't worry there are plenty of manufacturers who sell treated sleepers that don't contain any chemicals harmfull to children, the ozone, yourself or any plants. Try Irish fencing manufacturing they're in Newcastle near Baldonnell. Granted they don't have the aged look of origional railway sleepers but by burning them slightly and roughing the edges it's unlikely any non professional would know the difference! They come in dimensions of 125x225x2.4m or 3m and are actually a lot easier to cut, fit and stack due to the sides having a cleaner cut. Expect to pay about twenty quid for one though!


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## jhegarty (9 Feb 2010)

And 5 years now......

(where has the time gone !)


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## Hoagy (9 Feb 2010)

This thread is a sleeper...


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## ney001 (9 Feb 2010)

First post and a five year old thread and it mentions a company? Nice one HR1


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