Railway Sleeper LIFTING

SORRY! YOU'RE NOT AS STRONG AND AS YOUNG AS YOU THINK YOU ARE! 
Do not underestimate the task of moving a dozen railway sleepers. The muscles between your wrist and elbow are seriously put to the test!  Most railway sleepers are pretty heavy, so it makes sense to lift within your capability and remember to bend your knees and not your back. Spending a week or two in bed with a strained back is agony and such a waste of life.  Avoid your macho tendencies and attempts to beat the 'Carry the railway sleeper' record by the world's strongest man or the 'toss the railway sleeper competition'!  It is unwise to mix railway sleepers and alcohol. By all means bribe people to help you, but it is recommended to serve the drinks and vol au vents afterwards. Carrying the end of a heavy railway sleeper with someone who's been drinking is a recipe for disaster. They'll either drop it on you, or cause you to fall ceremoniously backwards into the herbacious border.

DIFFERENT WAYS OF LIFTING HEAVY RAILWAY SLEEPERS. BE CREATIVE!
Of course there is the conventional way of lifting and carrying them by hand, but there are ingenious alternatives. Consider using straps, metal tongs, trolleys, suction pads, wheelbarrows, skateboards etc..  So saying,  sometimes you have to accept that some railway sleepers are simply TOO HEAVY to be safely manually carried down the garden.  For example the 2.6m x 300mm x 175mm size of tropical hardwood railway sleepers CANNOT be lifted by mere mortals. They are too heavy. (120kg - 140kg each). You'll need a forklift machine or an extensive search in your local parish magazine for recently furloughed Olympic weightlifters.

                               

TAKE CARE WHEN LIFTING RAILWAY SLEEPERS!
Wear sensible boots (not sandals, flip flops or crocks) and strong gloves. Dropping a railway sleeper on your foot is really painful. Beware of trapped fingers when one person lifts a railway sleeper while the other is still getting their hands underneath. It makes sense if one authorative looking person is 'in charge' of the lifting, i.e. "I'll lift my end of the railway sleeper first, & then you do yours". Look after your back, fingers & toes & take your time. Lifting a railway sleeper on your own to prove your Herculean strength is a sad inadvisable pastime. A back injury will often last a lifetime! End of sermon!

CUSTOMER RECOMMENDATIONS: 
'Can I suggest you take a look at an item from Parrs Workplace Equipment - item nos HTR115 Steel Dolly with Puncture Proof Wheels - made by Ravendo. It's absolutely brilliant for moving the railway sleepers around on (although the steering could be improved !) and I moved all 72 of mine to the other end of the garden, single handed within about 1 hour.'
Gwen Phillips

OTHER CUSTOMER COMMENTS:
On lifting tropical hardwood railway sleepers:
'Boy, are those things heavy.  Fortunately, I managed to off-load the "transport" problem, (from the front of the house to the bottom of the garden), onto my two sons.  Let's face it, why have children if we cannot make use of them...!'
Bob Gale

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