Ordering
Overview
EACH MONTH we offer special reductions, offers or clearance deals on selected railway sleepers or other products. Find yourself a bargain! Pick up some cheap railway sleepers! Sometimes the reduced railway sleepers may be old stock with weathered and aged faces. Sometimes the clearance railway sleepers may have cracks or forklift damage. Sometimes the railway sleepers are the last of a line or size that we need to clear. Either way, they are good value, and very suitable for garden projects.
Grade: Reject packs of new railway sleepers. These are new railway sleepers that have been rejected as seconds. SEE NUMBERED PHOTOS ABOVE FOR EACH INDIVIDUAL PACK.
Colour: Variety of colours on the surface. Various lighter shades on the inside, when cut or planed.
Weight: Individual railway sleepers can weigh between 30kg - 95kg approx. How to Lift Railway Sleepers
Treatment: Unused railway sleepers are untreated oak or pressure treated pine.
Description: Bargain packs of new and unused oak or pine railway sleepers that have been put on one side as seconds, with potential cracks, imperfections, damage, twists or insect holes. (But not all of those at the same time!) We have banded together those of a similar'ish size, and sell them as a mixed bag bundle. SEE NUMBERED PHOTOS ABOVE OF INDIVIDUAL PACKS
Cutting: You wouldn't want to cut many hardwood oak railway sleepers by hand unless you were in training for an Iron Man competition. You'll need a circular saw / chainsaw or powered saw to cut these railway sleepers. Start off with a new or sharpened blade, and be prepared to re-sharpen. Pine railway sleepers, however, are much easier to cut. See Railway Sleeper Cutting.
Attaching / Fixing: Timberlok screws can successfully be used to fasten these reject railway sleepers together, although you will definitely need to pre-drill the oak first. Make sure the drill is particularly powerful. Oak and hardwood timber in particular can be pretty tough! See Fixing railway sleepers together.
Size: IMPORTANT. All sizes are approximate, especially with reject packs. That means that although a reject pack of railway sleepers is described as 2600mm in length, depth or width it may be a few centimetres longer or shorter, thicker or thinner. This is partly due to the fact that when sawmills cut railway sleepers, they don't see them as having to be centimetre accurate in dimension. As it happens, most landscaping projects have an element of flexibility or tolerance in them and can cope with this. If your project needs exact accuracy in length, width or depth, then you may to cut them to your precise specifications yourself, or think of using a different product.
OUR COMMENT
Obviously these reject packs of new railway sleepers are more imperfect, weathered, cracked or bowed than their higher grade relatives, yet will still be usable for all sorts of projects including landscaping, steps, raised beds, decking, aquatics etc.. not to mention internal furniture, lintels, woodturning etc.. Some of the railway sleepers, especially the oak, can be quite heavy, so plan for lots of help!
SEE NUMBERED PHOTOS ABOVE OF REJECT PACKS
PROJECT INSPIRATION!
You may know exactly what you are going to build with your railway sleepers. The great wall of China. The Taj Mahal. A perfect plan written in stone after hours of sleepless nights and youtube visits. However you may be more uncertain and in need of moral and practical support, especially if your nearest and dearest is sowing seeds of doubt, as they question your undeniable abilities to landscape the garden. In this case you need inspiration. A boost to your self esteem that will replace uncertainty with optimism. A visit to our projects section! Thousands of projects and photos that will fill you with confidence and excitement, and cement the guaranteed adoration of your once doubting loved one as you triumphantly complete your railway sleeper masterpiece. VISIT NOW!!
VOTE OF CONFIDENCE!
Please help us spread the word! If you've found our website helpful or inspiring please leave feedback or 'Like us' on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. A simple way of letting people know "This is a really useful website!" Thanks
Extra Info
EXTRA DELIVERY INFORMATION
WHAT DELIVERY OPTIONS DO I HAVE?
You have two options, depending on which delivery option you choose at the checkout stage online, or when you telephone the office.
1) STANDARD DELIVERY - CUSTOMER TO OFFLOAD RAILWAY SLEEPERS
This is normally a quicker & cheaper means of delivery that generally covers 100% of the UK, providing you have a forklift or sufficient strong people to offload your railway sleepers.
* DELIVERY TIMESCALE: You can choose any delivery day you want in advance within 2- 4 working days, Monday - Friday. Delivery will be between 9am & 5pm. You can choose, for a surcharge, a Saturday delivery.
* YOU are responsible for offloading the railway sleepers from the vehicle. The vehicle does NOT have a crane offload. If you do not have a forklift, you MUST have at least 2 or more strong people to manually offload. These timbers are too heavy for one person. The driver is NOT able to help you offload or carry materials into your house or garden. One exception! If the railway sleepers are 1.2m or less in length, the lorry driver CAN place the railway sleepers onto the pavement or road using the lorry tail lift and hand pallet truck.
* ACCESS: You must ensure that there is sufficient space for the lorry to access your road and property, and that there is sufficient area for you to safely offload. The vehicle is normally a rigid lorry which is about 10 metres long and about 2.6m wide (Imagine a full size bin lorry) It is crucial to tell us, when we contact you to arrange delivery, whether there are any delivery problems - e.g. a narrow road, cul de sac, cars parked in front of the property etc... An unsuccessful delivery will incur a further charge, often equal to the original haulage cost.
2) PREMIUM DELIVERY - THE RAILWAY SLEEPERS WILL BE OFFLOADED FOR YOU
This delivery charge is normally more expensive than the Standard delivery, but is essential if you order some heavy railway sleepers, and you haven't got a forklift, or sufficient strong people to help you offload. Having your railway sleepers placed on your drive is a perfect way of protecting your back and keeping your friends happy!
* DELIVERY TIMESCALE is generally within 1- 2 weeks, Monday - Friday, and between 8am & 6pm. Unfortunately you can't normally choose your own delivery day in advance, as the haulier will need to efficiently piece together a set of deliveries, according to which part of the UK they are driving to. Please let us know in advance if there are any delivery days you can't make. We will normally confirm the exact date a few days before.
* ACCESS: You must ensure that there is sufficient space for the lorry to access your road and property, and that there is enough area for the lorry to be safely offloaded. The vehicle is normally a rigid lorry which is about 10 metres long and about 2.6m wide (Imagine a full size bin lorry) It is crucial to tell us, when we contact you to arrange delivery, whether there are any access problems - e.g. a narrow road, cul de sac, cars parked in front of the property etc... An unsuccessful delivery will incur a further charge, often equal to the original haulage cost.
IS THERE A MINIMUM ORDER OF RAILWAY SLEEPERS?
No. It makes no difference. The cost to you is the same whether we deliver 1 railway sleeper or 10 railway sleepers... e.g. if the delivery cost to somewhere in the UK for 20 railway sleepers was for example £99 + Vat, then the delivery for 1 railway sleeper would cost the same. That's because our hauliers charge us according to how much lorry space the order takes up, so whether there is 1 railway sleeper on a pallet, or 20 railway sleepers on it, it makes no difference!
HOW DO WE WORK OUT THE DELIVERY COST?
The delivery charge depends on what type of railway sleeper you choose and where you live. If you go online and place the number of railway sleepers you are interested in into the shopping basket, and input your postcode, the website will calculate the delivery cost according to the number and length of the railway sleepers. If you play around with different lengths of railway sleepers, you will discover that 1.2m ones are the cheapest to have delivered, followed then by any sleeper up to 2.4m in length, and then finally the longer 2.6m, 3m and 3.6m ones. It's all about what space the railway sleepers take up on a lorry, and what the haulage companies then charge us. Lots of different variables! If you order online, the delivery cost will be worked out automatically by a computer brain. If you order by telephone, the delivery cost will be calculated by a mere human being, who will chat with you whilst working it all out!
CLICK HERE for more answers to DELIVERY QUESTIONS
REJECT PACKS of NEW RAILWAY SLEEPERS
Are they untreated or untreated?
1) Reject packs of new pine railway sleepers
THEY ARE TANALITH TREATED
Our new eco friendly treated softwood railway sleepers have been treated with Tanalith, a much more environmentally friendly, 'greener' alternative to creosote, and is suitable for all kinds of landscaping. It is a water based preservative treatment that helps protect against decay and fungal and insect attack.
~ The railway sleepers are treated using vacuum & pressure impregnation.
~ When impregnated into the railway sleepers the chemical components become fixed within the wood structure and are leach resistant.
~ Suitable for use even in the most extreme environments such as marine applications.
~ Usually specified for general construction and ground contact timbers
~ Can be used in residential, commercial and industrial applications
~ Easily painted or stained
It is so far the most environmentally friendly form of pressure treatment available and has replaced the original CCA treatment. It does not contain arsenic or chromium and have a very low potential for human toxicity. An eco treatment will not leak out in the summer, and is particularly suitable for schools, play areas, children, animals, growing food and indoors, where creosote is unsuitable.
For more technical information please have a look at the Tanalith website or contact the technical guys at Tanalith.
https://www.arxadawoodprotection.com/eu/tanalith-family/
HOW LONG DOES IT LAST?
NO GUARANTEE!
Believe it or not, the treatment companies (and hence us!) offer no guarantee as to the treatment and the longevity of the railway sleepers. They argue that because:
a) timber is used and constructed in so many different applications and settings (above ground, under ground, in water etc...), and because
b) timber naturally splits and moves after treatment, which can expose untreated wood... and because
c) customers cut and drill into the treatment on the timber, leaving bare wood...
- they cannot guarantee or predict how long the railway sleepers will last and how long the treatment will be effective.
SITTING ON THE FENCE
In reality, like many companies, they are frightened about people making claims against them, and so they choose to offer no guarantee, rather than risk someone wanting the whole of their railway sleepers to be replaced after 10 years, if it starts to rot.
Recently we were told of an old traditional timber company that had once rashly offered a lifetime guarantee on their oak fencing. About a year ago an 80 year old lady came into their office brandishing a yellow discoloured receipt from 1959, and stating that several of her fence posts were now rotten! All credit to them, they went out and replaced them!
And the moral is... be careful what you promise!
CONCLUSION
Although we all know that pressure treated railway sleepers will last considerably longer than 2 days (!) we are unable to say or guarantee how long it will last. Sorry. It's all very unsatisfactory, but it's the way of the world !
2) Reject packs of new oak railway sleepers
THEY ARE UNTREATED
Dense, tight grained, oak railway sleepers are completely different to light, softwood railway sleepers which have to be treated with either creosote or pressure treatment to prevent them rotting and collapsing. Reject hardwood oak railway sleepers are much more durable and naturally longer lasting.
Untreated oak railway sleepers are sometimes popular with those wanting to keep clear of chemical treatments, or potential contamination, and eager to use something that is naturally longer lasting. But remember they are heavier than softwood!
People often ask: 'Do I need to treat my new oak railway sleepers?'. Of course, you CAN apply a coat or two of wood preservative to them, and no doubt that would probably be beneficial, however it isn't essential, and most landscapers don't.