A REVIEW OF WOOD CROSSTIE PERFORMANCE

Studies indicate that wood has been and will continue to be the materi al of choice for railroad crossties in the United States. The primary reasons for using wood crossties are the: 1) availability of timber re sources; 2) knowledge track engineers and maintenance crews have with wood ties; and 3) ease of manufacturing and handling. The performance of wood ties has been reasonably acceptable and they are a cost-effect ive alternative over concrete and steel ties. It is estimated that by the year 2000 about 90 percent of the Class-1 tracks in the United Sta tes will not meet usage levels that determine when it is cost effectiv e to replace wood ties with concrete or steel ties. Therefore, wood ti es will continue to be used in the future. However, approximately 12 m illion creosote-treated wood ties are replaced annually at a cost of $ 500 million and the disposal of these ties presents environmental and economic concerns.