Railway sleepers

The railway sleepers we sell are all made from hardwoods (oak or beech) as standard. In the past, these wooden reclaimed railway sleepers were used as sleepers beneath the tracks. We purchase the sleepers that are removed from the tracks.

We also sell new oak railway sleepers. This new timber is simply untreated oak. As this timber has not been treated, its lifespan will, on average, be shorter than that of the sleepers salvaged from the tracks. Furthermore, it is freshly sawn timber. To use it indoors, for example, the timber must first be dried.

Reclaimed railway sleepers

The most commonly sold sleepers are the traditional oak railway sleepers salvaged from railway lines and replaced by concrete sleepers. As mentioned, we purchase only the very best sleepers salvaged from the railway (Grade A). However, it is important to realise that this is reclaimed material, meaning that no two sleepers are the same and there may also be slight variations in quality between them.

New sleepers

As well as reclaimed sleepers, we also stock new oak beams cut to sleeper dimensions. We refer to these as ‘new sleepers’. These are simply untreated oak, freshly sawn and not yet dried. The disadvantage of these sleepers is that their lifespan is considerably shorter than that of reclaimed railway sleepers. An advantage is that they do not give off an unpleasant odour in summer, nor do they leave grubby stains on, for example, your clothes when you sit on them.