train track sleepers nightmare

[ollie06]

We have recently bought a new house and the garden was all done out to a very high standard and we love it. We only now have one big problem - the sleepers are original and now the weather has improved on hot days there is oil seeping out of the sleepers and we dont really know how to treat them with or what will keep the oil from coming out. Any suggestions would be much appreciated :-)

[WendyS]

Afraid I don't know what to suggest but if you call up the Cuprinol website they have a Technical Department you can contact via the site and they may know of some sealant you can use to paint on to prevent the seepage. The big difficulty is that there are very limited options for treating wood which has been treated with an oil based product. We had a similar dilemma recently wanting to coat a new fence which had been treated with a creosote type oil-based product on the other side. In the end we used a green Cuprinol Trade product but the end result was not very satisfactory and ended up a green & brown streaky mess. Apparently creosoted items need to weather for 8 - 10 years before they can be satisfactorily coated so I don't know whether any kind of wood sealant would work on your sleepers. I wonder whether you could try treating a small area with yacht varnish and see if that works.

[Thunderbird+]

I guess the previous owner bought the sleepers before they had been baned for garden use due to the tar and creosote content.
I have a few old short bits of old railway sleepers used steps leading up to my shed door, one in particular weaps a lot even on cold days if the sun is strong.
I dont think there is much you can do to stop them weaping apart from replacing them with the new alternative non toxic ones the sell these days.
I usually sprincle a hand full of saw dust on it to soak it up but there again, I only have one thats a problem.
Hope you find a sollution. Tbird+

[tezestwing]

Hi ollie Would it be possible to steam clean them ( just a thought ) hth Tez

[meltoadhall]

it's not oil, it's bitchumen and the sleepers are soaked in it to prolong their life - you cant get rid of it I'm afraid, you either live with it or replace them with new ones that havent had the treatment.
We have over 40 of them (oh works for the railway) and most of them leak every time it gets warm. We have learnt not to touch them and so have the children! Eventually!!
But after all they were free :)

[ollie06]

Thank you all for your advice & comments, very much appreciated, just a shame there is not a cure but we will continue trying various options;-)