Restoring and Recycling Railroad Ties

摘要

A method for restoring and reusing railroad ties and the resulting product are disclosed. According to the method, otherwise spent wooden ties are sorted as to their apparent suitability for providing a core for reuse. Those found unsuitable are discarded, while those found to be suitable are milled or trimmed about their dimensions to define a suitable core. That core is banded about a transverse perimeter and then submitted to a reaction injection molding process by which urethane or other suitable polymers impregnate the various voids, holes and cracks in the core, bond with the bands, and define a finish unit having the overall size and configuration of previously known railroad ties. The encapsulated product is then capped or plugged at the ends to ensure that the resulting product is impervious to penetration by the environment.

主权项

1. A composite railroad tie, comprising:
a wood core formed from a spent wood tie, said wood core being banded in selected areas about lateral perimeters; and a polymeric shell encasing said wood core, said polymeric shell being compatible with bands establishing said banded selected areas.