Carbon_Liberator said:If they are true railroad ties the preservative they pressure treat them with does not "wear" away.ohlongarm said:A friend of mine has about 5000 railroad ties,they are about 20 years old ,most of the creosote is worn away.These ties are rock solid mostly if not all oak,all very dry,he wants to unload to woodburners,35$ a cord which is solid with no air space.What's your opinions? I don't think it would be good for a cat stove.I cut a segment off one it cut easily and the wood was hard and dry.
If they are in good shape they would be much more valuable as landscaping ties. They sell for $5 a piece around here.
+1.
Even if they are treated with creosote, that can *appear* to wear away, but there is still a healthy dose of chemicals in that wood.
My dad accidentally put a 2" x 12" cut-off from a telephone pole in the stove. It got ugly. It looked like the preservative had "worn away" too.