Wooden railway sleeper ID please

[nxf]

I have built a wooden walk way in my garden from railway sleepers that were left by previous owner. The house is situated next to a disused railway line (1960s) in North Wales so possible they were scavenged many years ago or sourced elsewhere?

I needed to plane the top edges which were quite hard and noticed a distinct dark and light colour.
Does anyone have a clue of what wood this is?

 

[Freddyjersey2016]

If they are genuine old railway sleepers they are pressure treated to preserve them, e.g. with creosote, this may enhance the contrast of the grain; they can be hardwood or softwood, impossible to tell from the picture. I would not plane them personally, as the surface is gets impregnated with grit from the track ballast.

 

[nxf]

Thank you, that explains why I was sharpening every 1/2 hour, so will not be as quick to plane them again. They were all used on a railway as had metal numbers, fixing holes and recessed bits with horsehair? matting, I guess used as a shock absorber?

I finished it a few years ago, so access to the cabin is a lot easier now. I used s/s screws, treated 44mm decking so hope it will last a few years.

 

[gregmcateer]

Very nice!

 

[heimlaga]

Creosote s very cancerogenic so I would dispose of them in a proper way.

 

[u38cg]

There are loads of woods that have been used for railways sleepers - basically, if it met the spec and was the cheapest timber available at the time, in it went....

 

[The_Yellow_Ardvark]

Looks like Scandinavian Pine sleeper. Used as a secondary line or siding sleeper. not a main line one.

If it is covered in pitch it will be a pain, with correct PPE warm it up and scrape it off. That way the impeded grit will come off.

If it is just think with bitumen, do the same.

Then with a sand clean up. You will burn through a lot of sand paper.

Petrol can be used to thin out the creosote, but it is up to you.

 

[nxf]

Many thanks, I followed up your Scandinavian Pine suggestion and after a lot of research found out that was indeed one of the timbers used in the past.