Railway sleepers

[Leroy902]

After looking at options for a little retaining wall I need putting up in my back garden, I'm pretty set on the idea of using railway sleepers.
The end result(I'd hope) would be similar to this..



Has anyone uses sleepers as a retaining wall?
Looking online, there's various types of wood, old/new, treated/untreated etc...

Does anyone have any experience on using sleepers for a wall/steps, and recommended what type of sleepers they'd recommend?

[SAB888]

Those look like new sleepers. Always use wood that has been treated. Available from most wood suppliers. 200 x 100 x 2400mm is a standard size but other sizes are available.

[Chrisgr31]

I installed some new ones just over 10 years ago, they came treated and I gave them several additional coats of treatment. I then backfilled immediately behind them with pea gravel, my thoughts being to aid drainage and stop them being soaked the whole time.

10 years later no sign of rot, but they do need retreating, obviously can only do the visible front!

For the minimum amount of maintenance go for 2nd hand sleepers that have come off the railway, however they will be much heavier and much more difficult to cut than new ones!

[Welshbeef]

Re second hand railway sleepers we have them but they seep black goo I think it's oil of some kind.


Love sleepers personally old railway stock or the new tested stuff.


OP original pic looks good hope you achieve it too

[mr_spock]

Our house had sleepers as retaining wall when we bought it 2 years ago. We're getting rid of them as the upper ones moved a bit, there's some nasty looking fungus growing out of them and a couple are starting to rot. We're replacing with gabions.

[Jonesy23]

New ones need treating.

Old softwood ones are creosote impregnated so should last ok but can be messy and usually come with a health warning due to the creosote.

Old hardwood ones are untreated and usually a nice bit of robust timber, maybe Jarra, maybe something else. Some of these look like they have the potential to last forever without maintenance. Apart from being a waste of what is usually a beautiful bit of wood these are what I'd think of going for?

Someone had a link up recently to Network Rail's direct sales pages (easy to Google) or you can buy the same thing at a mark up elsewhere. Otherwise other sites dealing with these had a wider range eg. Belgium hardwood timber sleepers which looked like they're made from some really tough wood.

[jas xjr]

thanks for the picture , mine will look just like that , if and when it is done .

just a quick question , how do you fix / anchor them ?

[Leroy902]

There's varying opinions online, but would anyone know the lifespan of using sleeper?
It looks like treated oak sleepers would stand the test of time more than any others...

[Rick101]

http://www.railwayrecycling.co.uk/recycled-sleeper...

[Mr GrimNasty]

Nothing new will last very long in direct contact with soil. And you wouldn't really want creosote reclaimed ones in your garden these days either.

Masonry is much more permanent.

[Jonesy23]

The Azobe hardwood ones are meant to be good for survivibg most things, the recycled ones I've seen basically looked new.

[JamesNotJim]

Just to put you off using second hand sleepers.... you do understand that trains dump the contents of the toilets down onto track. So in some cases, thats 40+ years of poo & piss (and much worse) soaked in!

[33q]

I paid £12k to have my garden landscaped with them in 2010

I paid £45k for natural stone this year. Some of that was removing the rotten sleepers

New sleepers are a waste of money. Old sleepers can be carcinogenic

[jas xjr]

i am attempting to landscape my garden , although i am having a few emsman type isues this year,my budget will be closer go £45 though

[Leroy902]

I really wanted to get sleepers put in, I think they look very nice, but looking online, and reading this thread, I think I'm best looking at other options for a retaining wall.

[jas xjr]

looking at the picture you posted has made me want to use sleepers. going to build some raised beds using the same

[33q]

Sorry about the order

[Chrisgr31]

Fixing them depends on the type and height you need them for. The ones I have in the back garden are new, and I screwed a metal bracket on the back to hold them in place. Although on refection I used half sleepers so they are half the depth of a traditional sleeper. Been there 10 years, and no sign of rotting. Max height is 3 high staging down to none.

The ones in the front are again new, been in place 3 years and are screwed together with timberlock screws. Both lots sit on a bed of pea shingle which comes up an inch or so of the bottom one.

[Podie]

Welshbeef said:

Re second hand railway sleepers we have them but they seep black goo I think it's oil of some kind.


Love sleepers personally old railway stock or the new tested stuff.


OP original pic looks good hope you achieve it too

Oil, diesel, tar, human waste...