Buying railway tracks for buildings

dungfly

Where can I source railway tracks for a high shed What kind of money etc?

renandstimpy

I looked into that a while back and found the price they were asking for them i was as cheap to get new girders the size i wanted .

jomoloney

Try looking up Noel Barrett Newmarket on Fergus co clare

I'm already on a yellow card for posting phone number (eventhough it was a business listing)

reilig

jomoloney wrote: »

I'm already on a yellow card for posting phone number (eventhough it was a business listing)

You are welcome to post a phone number of a business just as long as your post is not promoting a business.

zetecescort

They must have been cheap years ago. Everything from sheds to gate posts to lintels here made of train track.

Wouldn't mind finding out where they're available myself. Have a small lean-to made from sleepers, would like to replace them with steel of some kind,

iverjohnston

Its not so much that they were cheap years ago, its that there was nothing else available. And the railways were been taken up and sold.
We have forgotten how much is available to us nowadays. My Dad bought a welder in the very early 1960's, and welding rods were only available in Dublin, likewise sockets and ring spanners. Mackie burns yard was the holy grail for people interested in engineering and steel work back then.

Massey10

dungfly wrote: »

Where can I source railway tracks for a high shed What kind of money etc?

Cork metal in little island if they are still open .About 8 a foot .

renandstimpy

friend of mine build slatted shed lately with the square crash barrier (17ft) for uprights and main roof and regular crashbarrier ( m or w style)for purlines . Not very conventional looking but done the job and all the steel was dipped coming and super strong .

Manoffeeling

zetecescort wrote: »

They must have been cheap years ago. Everything from sheds to gate posts to lintels here made of train track.

Wouldn't mind finding out where they're available myself. Have a small lean-to made from sleepers, would like to replace them with steel of some kind,

The reason you see so many is because the gov pulled up a lot of lines in the country over the years.

td5man

Massey10 wrote: »

Cork metal in little island if they are still open .About 8 a foot .

6x3 H is €6 afaik

st1979

td5man wrote: »

6x3 H is €6 afaik

The only thing is rail track will last for ever. But is a pig to work with

iverjohnston

And if you should hit it with a tractor or something, you can snap it. Quite brittle, from time to time you would come across a trailer with a rail line for a drawbar, usually broke across!

adne

renandstimpy wrote: »

friend of mine build slatted shed lately with the square crash barrier (17ft) for uprights and main roof and regular crashbarrier ( m or w style)for purlines . Not very conventional looking but done the job and all the steel was dipped coming and super strong .

How much for the crash barriers?

dungfly

renandstimpy wrote: »

friend of mine build slatted shed lately with the square crash barrier (17ft) for uprights and main roof and regular crashbarrier ( m or w style)for purlines . Not very conventional looking but done the job and all the steel was dipped coming and super strong .

What does a square crash barrier look like. I have tried googling it but still confused?

renandstimpy

adne wrote: »

How much for the crash barriers?

I paid €23 for 11ft w type and €50 for the 18ft square type off a guy 10 miles away he had done a job in athlone and had loads before the xmass the last he had was bought by a guy in Longford / Roscommon and he is selling them on a website for €32 for the w type .

renandstimpy

dungfly wrote: »

What does a square crash barrier look like. I have tried googling it but still confused?

I will take a picture of the ones i bought and post them tomorrow.

adne

renandstimpy wrote: »

I paid €23 for 11ft w type and €50 for the 18ft square type off a guy 10 miles away he had done a job in athlone and had loads before the xmass the last he had was bought by a guy in Longford / Roscommon and he is selling them on a website for €32 for the w type .

Whats the website

nashmach

Just be aware those railway tracks are difficult to weld to properly but as said before will last a lifetime.;)

Busted Flat.

You would be a clown to try and buy tracks, (no offence) considering the price of scrap. Check out the price of lighter steel. You will be surprised with the results.

renandstimpy

adne wrote: »

Whats the website

Buy and sell.

renandstimpy

dungfly wrote: »

What does a square crash barrier look like. I have tried googling it but still confused?

This is what i call the square ones , im sure there is a proper name

keep going

Busted Flat. wrote: »

You would be a clown to try and buy tracks, (no offence) considering the price of scrap. Check out the price of lighter steel. You will be surprised with the results.

living near the sea wouldnt dream of putting up a shed with any thing only rails and timber as rsj,s rot in no time even if they are galvanized

iverjohnston

The W shaped crash barriers are great for making sheep feed barriers. Nice rounded profile against which the sheep lean while eating, and should be very long lasting.

reilig

nashmach wrote: »

Just be aware those railway tracks are difficult to weld to properly but as said before will last a lifetime.;)

Thermite welding is the only way to safely weld a rail and nobody could justify this for a shed. Most of the rails that you can buy these days come from what is known as panels. They are rails that are jointed every 15 to 25 meters. They were sold off by Irish rail a few years ago when the old tracks were relaid with continuous rail. If you need to join a rail for a shed, the only safe option open to a farmer is to join it with splash plates and bolts - rail seller should have plenty of them available.

dungfly

renandstimpy wrote: »

This is what i call the square ones , im sure there is a proper name

This crash barrier idea seems like a good alternative but how strong is it for building purposes? Any studies or comparisons done? How does the costs compare.

Busted Flat.

Busted Flat. wrote: »

You would be a clown to try and buy tracks, (no offence) considering the price of scrap. Check out the price of lighter steel. You will be surprised with the results.

What about all the farms around the coast, with hay sheds, cattle sheds, and garages with tin roofs. Try and not be a drama queen and over exaggerate the life of steel.

cjpm

reilig wrote: »

Thermite welding is the only way to safely weld a rail and nobody could justify this for a shed. Most of the rails that you can buy these days come from what is known as panels. They are rails that are jointed every 15 to 25 meters. They were sold off by Irish rail a few years ago when the old tracks were relaid with continuous rail. If you need to join a rail for a shed, the only safe option open to a farmer is to join it with splash plates and bolts - rail seller should have plenty of them available.

I would NOT join a rail for a shed. Too dangerous. The connection might look grand but you have no idea how's it going to perform under load from the roof and truss above and any wind loading that might occur from time to time.

If you have a short piece of rail lying around, use it for hanging a gate or something similar.

dungfly

dungfly wrote: »

This crash barrier idea seems like a good alternative but how strong is it for building purposes? Any studies or comparisons done? How does the costs compare.

What about filling the crash barrier with reinforced concrete with steel bars for extra strength?

Busted Flat.

dungfly wrote: »

What about filling the crash barrier with reinforced concrete with steel bars for extra strength?

Looking at some of the responses, for health and safety reasons call in a contractor, or when you are building it, video it and send it to disaster movies.

Figerty

dungfly wrote: »

What about filling the crash barrier with reinforced concrete with steel bars for extra strength?

That was done years ago with Cast iron. problem was Concrete expands when setting... cast iron not good in tension,,,but good in compression.

Barriers are made of steel so not a problem.

Massey10

td5man wrote: »

6x3 H is €6 afaik

It will be alot more than 6 by the time you finished .They are hard work and builders dont like using them but will last forever

adne

Looking at putting up a basic yard for loading cattle on an out farm.

Have railway girdrs the could use for uprights and then get 4" tubing to use as dividers.

Also looking at buiding walls with either 6inch blocks on flat or with 9" cavity blocks.

What would ye think is best option considering price and longevity?

adne

adne wrote: »

Looking at putting up a basic yard for loading cattle on an out farm.

Have railway girdrs the could use for uprights and then get 4" tubing to use as dividers.

Also looking at buiding walls with either 6inch blocks on flat or with 9" cavity blocks.

What would ye think is best option considering price and longevity?

Any opinions?

renandstimpy

adne wrote: »

Any opinions?

this is a low cost pen i put up for loading cattle on an 8 acre outfarm . The uprights is the crash barrier cut in 2 , they are a bit twisty in themselves until welded but are not flexible and once welded(or bolted) are rigid




there is a base to go into it when weather improves

moy83

Tidy job

renandstimpy

thanks moy . it does the job .

lakill Farm

when you were cutting the crash barrier for the uprights, did u use a grinder or plasma cutter? what price was each barrier?

renandstimpy

lakill Farm wrote: »

when you were cutting the crash barrier for the uprights, did u use a grinder or plasma cutter? what price was each barrier?

Used a grinder doesnt take that long .... they are17ft ones so split them both ways and got 4 uprights per lenght ... got them in shannon side galvanising they had a load of them at the time ... not sure if they have any now they were €33 a lenght I bought them about a year ago . It was them that told me about cutting them for uprights