# Wood for ties



## dpotp (May 25, 2011)

I am installing a stranded bamboo floor. I was wondering if this would be good for ties?


Lou


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## Homo Habilis (Jul 29, 2011)

I don't think that it would be a good candidate for something exposed to the elements. Assuming that your are talking about the flooring that is made up of glued strands of bamboo, I would be concerned about its long term ability to not de-laminate. While the bamboo itself is kind of resistant to various rots and insects who know what the glue's properties are and what effect ground and weather exposure will have. Depending on the brand I would also be concerned about the glue's UV resistance. To my knowledge the UV resistance of the flooring is usually due to its surface finish and not inherent in other components of its manufacture. 

Also, this type of flooring is very hard on the Janka Hardness scale and driving spikes in it will be rather difficult without drilling. And, once the spike is driven in, will it stay put or work itself out over time?

I guess you could make a small section to test in the elements to see what happens after a while. Perhaps make some ties and place then in water for a couple of weeks or longer to see what happens. Just keep in mind all of the various weather related elements the ties will be exposed to throughout the year(s) in your particular area.

I would think it's better to use more traditional lumber such as cedar or heart redwood. But many people have success with products and techniques that others do not. Perhaps you will be one of those who have success, but from my view it looks doubtful.

Good luck!


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## Dave Meashey (Jan 2, 2008)

"Stranded bamboo floor is the best bamboo flooring because It's made up with thick wood material which can absorb moisture & give you the best services as compared oak wood for long time.So go with stranded bamboo flooring will give you the best result"

OK, do we really need a Spammer on a 6 year old thread? I have reported this once. What does it take to get rid of them? They even have a link to their business.

I get enough of this garbage via email, David Meashey

P.S. Problem removed. Post now redundant.


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## Pete Thornton (Jan 2, 2008)

> P.S. Problem removed. Post now redundant.


Yep. I reported it yesterday when I saw the adv link. Probably a dozen others did too!


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## Totalwrecker (Feb 26, 2009)

The Santa Fe railroad was looking for a long lasting wood and thought they had found the perfect tree down under. They planted a large grove in southern California, they only harvested one tree, seems as though Eucalyptus grows with a twist and they couldn't cut a flat tie!
The grove became an oasis in N San Diego county aptly called Rancho Sante Fe.
No foolin.


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

I can see RSF from my railroad, besides the twist, eucalyptus splits easily, won't hold spikes. Limbs fall off from healthy trees, called "widowmakers" in Australia. 



Funny, the people in RSF think it's named after Santa Fe New Mexico. They get upset when I tell them their elite community is named after a railroad, and their trees a failed experiment.


Greg


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## KeithRB (Sep 25, 2015)

Well, the railroad was named for the city, so there is just one level of indirection.


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## fyrekop (Sep 20, 2011)

And eucalyptus has a lot of oil in it. Burns fast and hot as we found out when the Oakland CA hills went up in smoke in the 90's


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Yep, we had a bad fire in La Costa, just west of us, and that is west of Rancho Santa Fe.


The trees burned, and then lit the old cedar shake roofs of La Costa. We were standing in our to-be-completed house, which was framed but not sheathed, and were ducking cinders, and we were 3 miles away.


We have a small grove of eucalyptus just down the hill from us, between us and the golf course, and we do worry a bit during fire season.






Greg


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## Batsco (Mar 30, 2011)

The railroad just picked the wrong variety of Eucalyptus, Australian railways have been using them since the 1800's 
You will find that when Eucalyptus burns it is most likely the oil that catches first, it is released from the leaves and the tree does what the firefighters call "Gas". It is observable when it starts as the tree has a haze around it which then violently erupts like a petrol fire. It is not fun to be around and when I first experienced it I was absolutely terrified as it happened so fast.
Eucalyptus evolved around fire and will come back fairly quickly after one. 
In the last bushfire season there were what is termed "ember attacks" in excess of 10 Km away due to the strong winds.


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## EDHRailroad (Mar 14, 2020)

There is a grove of eucalyptus in Newark, CA that was planted by the South Pacific Coast RR. It is now a historic park. One of the docents said that the main reason they don't work as lumber is that the trees are from the southern hemisphere and have a natural twist. When planted in the Northern hemisphere, the twist tries to go the other direction and it makes them week. Dunno if it would hold up to scientific scrutiny but sounded plausible.


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## traukinys (Jul 3, 2020)

You could try to use charred wood, it has more durability and can last for up to 100 years


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## du-bousquetaire (Feb 14, 2011)

I have been using oak ties some of which date back to 1978 which are still in service although in quite poor shape now. I just installed one new tie between every old one and renovated it four years ago. I dip them in a mixture of creosote, old crank case oil and some tar paint for colour as the creosote clears up after a few month. I am installing this old track on part of my new layout. the ties are 8 mm wide by 8 mm deep ort 10 mm wide by 10 mm deep. overscale size in thickness but once ballasted you can't see that.


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