Extending Wood Rail Tie Life

Extending the service life of wood ties is a critical goal for railroads facing high replacement costs and operational challenges. One logical approach is to shield ties from the elements—essentially putting a “roof” on them to reduce weathering. This report examines the performance of Tietan™, an asphalt-based coating engineered to protect wood ties and mitigate deterioration caused by moisture and ultraviolet exposure. 

A team from Heritage Research Group conducted an experiment, starting with new, identically matched, incised red oak wood ties. To encourage rapid weathering, the seasoned ties were not preserved with a typical chemical treatment such as Creosote or CuNap, but borate-treated and dry-stacked. Half were coated with Tietan™, an engineered asphalt coating, and the others were not. The ties were left side-by-side on an outdoor pallet. After 20 months of exposure to precipitation and ultraviolet (UV) rays, the uncoated ties warped, with an increase in surface opening size as well as check and split presence. In contrast, the Tietan-coated ties maintained a straight form with minimal weathering. Any pending cracks on the top surface were sealed by the asphalt.  No further checks or splits were visible.