Recycled plastic railway sleepers

[John Hunt]

http://www.morethanwaste.com/Site/De...FE2C5E7F8A8573

[John H-T]

Sounds interesting. Hopefull they are lighter as well! Just thinking of my back.

Best wishes,

John H-T.

[DSY011]

I'm all for anything that recycles some of the thousands of tons plastic that the big stores insist we pay for, and end up in a land fill. It will also save thousands of trees. All that and I'm not even a tree hugger.

[swisstrains]

Originally Posted by John H-T

Sounds interesting. Hopefull they are lighter as well! Just thinking of my back.

Best wishes,

John H-T.

Apparently the recycled plastic sleepers (or should I say ties) that have been in use in the U.S. since 1996 weigh roughly the same as wooden ones and have an estimated useful life of 50 years.

[locojoe]

Recycled plastic to make sleepers, sounds like a good idea to me.

[richard thompson]

I think the fairbourne railway are testing some, if it works it is a great idea!
Richard

[John H-T]

Originally Posted by swisstrains

Apparently the recycled plastic sleepers (or should I say ties) that have been in use in the U.S. since 1996 weigh roughly the same as wooden ones and have an estimated useful life of 50 years.

That means they last about 20 year longer than wood but not as long as concrete!

Best wishes,

John H-T.

[swisstrains]

Originally Posted by John H-T

That means they last about 20 year longer than wood but not as long as concrete!

Best wishes,

John H-T.

That's true John but unlike concrete, the plastic sleepers flex slightly (like wood) which reduces the amount of wear on bogies and wheelsets.

[John H-T]

Originally Posted by swisstrains

That's true John but unlike concrete, the plastic sleepers flex slightly (like wood) which reduces the amount of wear on bogies and wheelsets.

Just about to add a report on this week's work at Shottle in my "Dash to Duffield Thread": laying to pannels of track on concrete sleepers!

Best wishes,

John H-T.

[Tony]

This sounds great but what about cost? Are they made from general domestic recycled plastics or from specially sourced industrial waste? The figures given by the manufacturer don't compute; 1.66 tons of CO2 from 1 ton of landfill plastic? I still have to be convinced by the recycling lobby and tree huggers.