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http://ogrforum.ogaugerr.com/displayForumTopic/content/12129987972340381/page/1
For once, instead of starting a thread, I used the search function to see if there was already a similar thread. I knew there was a somewhat recent one, but instead,all I could find was this thread. Sadly, I don't think any of the poster above , post here anymore.
I'm reading a March, 2003 issue of Trains Magazine that has a short article about UP trying composite ties. They were to buy 1,000,000 ties for $55 million, over a 4 year period for use in the wet areas of Louisianna and East Texas. I wonder if anybody knows how they worked out?
Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.
Cedrite composite ties failed. Can't drop them. Can't put them in tension.
Centerbroke ties were common.
mudchicken wrote: Cedrite composite ties failed. Can't drop them. Can't put them in tension. Centerbroke ties were common.
...a distressingly high number did. The special handling is also unwanted.
Hint: what survives is mostly in yards. UP never bought the full contracted amount.
I am working on a research project in Quebec that is going to attempt to use hemp with plastics to create an automotive composite that may be able to be used on fascias (bumpers). This should be able to reduce cost dramatically, provide more strenghth and be more environmentally friendly.
We are currently looking at other uses for the hemp composite. Ties may be something that may be feasible.
Any opinions?
mudchicken wrote: ...a distressingly high number did. The special handling is also unwanted.Hint: what survives is mostly in yards. UP never bought the full contracted amount.
Same problem as Cedrite - They are heavier and they fail in tension.
BNSF had some at Argentine, Northtown, Barstow and and Alliance. I know the cut spikes failed & they were looking at screw fastenings as switch ties and I-Bond ties. Some of the plastic ties initially caught fire with ease as did the flangeway filler material on crossings.
(ps to another poster - signal department hates concrete ties with a passion.)
The quest for new concepts for the production of ties is intriguing, but coming up with a new process using virgin material that can compete with the cost and durability of concrete or timber is probably all but impossible. However, it does appear as though there is quite a bit of activity pursuing the recycled plastic composite ties. Getting rid of a waste material by casting it into dense masses that can fill the endless demand in the huge market for railroad ties seems like a real win-win proposition. But I would think there would be a devil in the details. There must be hundreds of variations in combinations of used plastic, tensile reinforcement fibers, bonding materials, and processes that might lead to the most ideal result. But with such a huge potential payoff, it really seems like fertile ground for the inventors.
Natural fibers such as hemp as mentioned above by SURF-PREP might indeed be viable as tensile members cast into polyethylene ties. Square stem rosin weed (Silphium Perfoliatum) also has strong fibers in big stems. I can imagine these low cost natural fibers being wound into rope or cords of maybe 1/8" diameter and composing a quite dense matrix where they are less than 1/16" apart with the poly filling around them. These fiber bundles would run the length of the tie just stopping short of the ends. So there would be probably as much fiber as there would be plastic in each tie. The plastic would be injection molded under high pressure, so it might be possible to completely penetrate the cords and encapsulate each fiber. If the fibers were neutralized from any natural decaying chemicals that they possess, the plastic might be a perfect protection from any moisture that could threaten their longevity. Waterproofing is one of the virtues of plastic. I would think that using recycled plastic and hemp reinforcement to produce ties would result in ties that could truly be called "green," as in in as "going green."
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