anyone ever get new untreated RR tie ends and how did you stack?

[jeanw]

was getting slabs cheap. then found out about a mill that makes RR ties. First 3 loads were palleted together and banded.... they loaded nice. $40 for each pallet load. But of course we dont have a " forklift" or loader or whatever to unload. so we had to unload ourselves.....
well those have been stacked since last fall seasoning..
the owner decided of course it was too much trouble to band and pallet. So we took our trailer and neatly double layered loose RR tie ends.
some were several inches thick some 3 feet in lengths. It took us 2 hr to pick up and carry and load to our trailer. Hubby is still unloading ,some each day and stacking/ in the back on our old pallets
He(saw mill Mennoinite owner) says we were the first not to just throw in a pickup or trailer. Hubby thinks we overpaid this time $125 for a (OUR)16 foot length of trailer two blocks high... 6 foot wide trailer. The owner said he thought what we had was equal to 4 PALLETS....
he(hubby) still not sure > I told him he should have offered $100..... as we did all the work
now Hubby is leaving only abouty 1 inch between RR tie blocks...while
anyone any experience in this?????
Slabs only cost $5 or $10 a banded load. But most slabs were black walnut......
The saw mill owner now has a big semi come in quite often and gets most slabs for "charcoal making"
thoughts anyone?
Unfort. I dont think I took any pics of the original banded pallet of ties...Dang it
thanks yall

 

[kennyp2339]

Crib stack them for more air flow between the individual pieces; I wouldn't stack any higher than 4ft because you don't want them to get top heavy and fall over. Do you know what kind of wood it is, I was always under the impression that 6x6 where mainly pine / soft wood.

 

[jeanw]

what is crib stacked? Hubby said the RR ties are NINE BY SEVEN... definetely oak and hickory. As I lifted lots of them off the ground ...them ..myself into the trailer...
He finished getting them out of the trailer before dark and stacking them....behind the garage edge of property
course the slabs are cheaper but 40 mile trip and they have to be cut to lenths. he likes them 2 to three feet long for the outdoor burner...

thanks

 

[kennyp2339]

Wow - 6x6's of oak and hickory! That's awesome , you diffidently want to crib stack them on a whole pallets (cris cross stack) you want air to dry out as many sides as possible since oak is a tight grain wood.

 

[Oldman47]

what is crib stacked? Hubby said the RR ties are NINE BY SEVEN... definetely oak and hickory. As I lifted lots of them off the ground ...them ..myself into the trailer...
He finished getting them out of the trailer before dark and stacking them....behind the garage edge of property
course the slabs are cheaper but 40 mile trip and they have to be cut to lenths. he likes them 2 to three feet long for the outdoor burner...

thanks

Thanks for the update. I thought the 4x6 or 6x6 estimate was way too low. It always struck me that a RR tie was about 9 or 10 inches across and not quite as tall.

 

[lost in the woods]

a typical Railway Tie Association crosstie is 7x9 or 7x8 and 8'6" length. . . one tie company we deal with also purchases 6x8 crossties. . . your 4x6 and 3.5x6 and 5.5x6 are what is called 'pallet cants' they are send to pallet shops where many times they are re-sawn down to whatever various dimension they need at the time. . . ANYWAY it all makes awesome firewood! especially for outdoor burners! I get some tie ends from work to burn in my wood furnace, however I split them in half before stacking to aid in the drying process. . . hope this info helps