(The following appeared at SteelGuru.com on April 18, 2009.)
Dynamic Composites LLC has shipped its first production order of its green composite railroad ties to the BNSF Railway Company. After testing evaluation quantities of these ties, BNSF Railway placed an order for 4,000 ties. Nine railcar loads of ties are being shipped in March and April for delivery to Texas. The ties are made from a variety of recycled materials, including steel, rubber and plastics.
Mr. Chuck Cadwell GM of Dynamics Composites said that “We’re very pleased with this breakthrough order that will provide the opportunity for our product to prove itself in actual railway use. It is a unique product that offers numerous advantages.”
The composite railroad tie employs a core made of flat rolled steel filled with concrete, which in turn is encapsulated by a tough skin consisting of a blend of shredded tires and recycled plastics. Steel provides strength, concrete provides mass, and the black covering—applied using an extrusion process provides protection from moisture and the elements. Where spikes are driven into the tie, a special compound of recycled materials is used, rather than concrete.
In addition to being environmentally friendly, the tie’s design and construction offer numerous advantages over conventional creosote-treated wood ties. The composite tie is heavier, more solid and stronger, offering better vibration-dampening qualities, better load-bearing capability, smoother ride, and less wear on railroad rolling stock. Another advantage is a longer life, an estimated 60 years, which could be 4 or more times the average life of a wood tie, depending on its application and environmental conditions.
Dynamic Composites, a majority owned subsidiary of Steel Dynamics, Inc, manufactures composite railroad ties at its plant near SDI’s Structural and Rail mill at Columbia City.