Pick up know-how for tackling diseases, pests and weeds.
Farm bill, farm marketing, agribusiness webinars, & farm policy.
Find tactics for healthy livestock and sound forages.
Scheduling and methods of irrigation.
Explore our Extension locations around the state.
Commercial row crop production in Arkansas.
Agriculture weed management resources.
Use virtual and real tools to improve critical calculations for farms and ranches.
Learn to ID forages and more.
Explore our research locations around the state.
Get the latest research results from our county agents.
Our programs include aquaculture, diagnostics, and energy conservation.
Keep our food, fiber and fuel supplies safe from disaster.
Private, Commercial & Non-commercial training and education.
Specialty crops including turfgrass, vegetables, fruits, and ornamentals.
Find educational resources and get youth engaged in agriculture.
Gaining garden smarts and sharing skills.
Timely tips for the Arkansas home gardener.
Creating beauty in and around the home.
Maintenance calendar, and best practices.
Coaxing the best produce from asparagus to zucchini.
What’s wrong with my plants? The clinic can help.
Featured trees, vines, shrubs and flowers.
Ask our experts plant, animal, or insect questions.
Enjoying the sweet fruits of your labor.
Herbs, native plants, & reference desk QA.
Growing together from youth to maturity.
Crapemyrtles, hydrangeas, hort glossary, and weed ID databases.
Get beekeeping, honey production, and class information.
Grow a pollinator-friendly garden.
Schedule these timely events on your gardening calendar.
Equipping individuals to lead organizations, communities, and regions.
Guiding communities and regions toward vibrant and sustainable futures.
Guiding entrepreneurs from concept to profit.
Position your business to compete for government contracts.
Find trends, opportunities and impacts.
Providing unbiased information to enable educated votes on critical issues.
Increase your knowledge of public issues & get involved.
Research-based connection to government and policy issues.
Support Arkansas local food initiatives.
Read about our efforts.
Preparing for and recovering from disasters.
Licensing for forestry and wildlife professionals.
Preserving water quality and quantity.
Cleaner air for healthier living.
Firewood & bioenergy resources.
Managing a complex forest ecosystem.
Read about nature across Arkansas and the U.S.
Learn to manage wildlife on your land.
Soil quality and its use here in Arkansas.
Learn to ID unwanted plant and animal visitors.
Timely updates from our specialists.
Eating right and staying healthy.
Ensuring safe meals.
Take charge of your well-being.
Cooking with Arkansas foods.
Making the most of your money.
Making sound choices for families and ourselves.
Nurturing our future.
Get tips for food, fitness, finance, and more!
Understanding aging and its effects.
Giving back to the community.
Managing safely when disaster strikes.
Listen to our latest episode!
Railroad Ties
Railroad ties are still a major endpoint for oaks cut from the National Forest, but the forests are now managed for a sustainable yield. Oak ties are air dried for up to a year before being treated with creosote.
Last summer on my grand western tour I stopped by Promontory Point, Utah, to visit the site where the golden spike was driven on May 10, 1869, when the Central Pacific and the Union Pacific lines finally met, completing the first transcontinental railroad line. Because the trains were gone, I was left to only ponder the track. In a bid to be authentic, the track was laid with hand-hewn ties that can only be described as scrawny by modern standards. My, how railroad ties have changed.
Much of the timberland of the Ozarks was cut over for lumber, including crossties, during the end of the 19th and early 20th century. Stripped bare of its cover, the forest recovered to what we see today, even though it is not nearly so grand as it once was. Railroad ties are still being harvested from Arkansas forest land but at a sustainable rate.
Driving through the Ozarks you are likely to happen upon the occasional sawmill, turning hardwoods into boards or crossties, depending on the kind of tree, quality of the wood and market demand. Clear white oak logs often end up as barrel staves for Kentucky distilleries or flooring. Other major uses for oak lumber are for cabinetry and framing for furniture manufacturers. Another major use of oak lumber turns out to be for flooring in all of those semi-trailers we see running up and down the local interstate.
But for sheer volume, crossties (railroad ties, or in Europe, sleepers) are one of the major endpoints for hardwoods cut from the state’s forests. These sawmills, mostly independent operations, acquire their timber from private landowners and by bidding for parcels of National Forest land rangers have determined are ready for harvest. The U.S. Forest Service develops a multi-year plan for areas to be harvested that considers the impact of forest management plans on the watershed, wildlife, recreational use and the timber industry.
The block size of these parcels is relatively small, usually in the range of a few hundred acres. Notice is given for the letting of bids and, following the well-established bidding procedures, a final bid is selected. Because most of the loggers are small operators, the time to harvest the marked timber extends for three or four years. When the logs are cut and removed, pulp trucks move in and take away tree tops and wood too small for the mills, for use in paper manufacturing.
Crossties cut in Arkansas will probably end up in Russellville, at Stella-Jones Corporation, a Canadian firm that produces 12 million ties a year across its many plants. The Russellville facility handles both oak, about 75 percent, and mixed hardwoods – primarily sweetgum, about 25 percent. The largest percentage of green ties actually comes from south of the Arkansas River, but they also bring in ties cut from as far away as southern Missouri. The corporation owns no sawmills, instead buys its timber products from a network of some 1,200 independent sawmill operators across the country.
At the plant the logs are graded, end-plated to reduce splitting, and then air dried, a process that can take up to a year for oaks. After drying the ties are pressure treated with creosote before being bundled and made ready for sale. There are a number of tie grades and main-line railroad lines are understandably picky about what they buy. Oak ties designated “boxed heart” are in the top grade and can be expected to be in service for 30-plus years. But environmental conditions — moisture especially — average usage and tonnage all influence the useful life of a railroad tie. Depending on the grade, a crosstie currently sells in the $35 to $65 dollar range.
Like all industries, railroads are always looking for new and improved ways of doing things, but wooden railroad ties have remained little changed over the last century and still account for over 90 percent of the track support systems used in the United States. With 3,250 ties per mile of track, the demand for railroad ties will be with us well into the future, so managing our forest resources for sustainable yields of trees is vitally important.
Gerald Klingaman is a retired Arkansas Extension Horticulturist and retired Operations Director for the Botanical Garden of the Ozarks. After more than two decades of penning the popular Plant of the Week column, he’s taking a new direction, offering views on nature as he pokes about the state and nation. Views and opinions reflect those of the author and are not those of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. If you have questions or comments for Dr. Klingaman about these articles contact him at musingsonnature@gmail.com.