Railpage

 

 
    • simont141 posted
    Posted in South Australia » Centenary of the Opening of the Trans Australian Railway - Port Augusta


    Fact 36 / 100 – Durability of Sleepers


    The total number of sleepers used for the Trans-Australian Railway were as follows:

    Jarrah (Western Australia)                         1,985,000

    Powellised Karri (Western Australia)            454,000

    Stringy Bark (Tasmania)                              100,000

    The numbers vary widely from the original contract which stated the main source of sleepers would be Karri. However the Karri sleepers were proving to be the most durable with only small numbers being replaced whereas the Jarrah and especially the Stringy Bark seemed less efficient.  


    Train1959

    Termites love Karri so makes sense it was powellised - probably also used as crossing timbers given size of Karri trees and timber. Unsure why they would have used Stringy Bark though, let alone from Tasmania! Quite a low durability rating for in ground applications. Even Jarrah isn't a top tier choice but obviously the availability of it in WA made it suitable.

    Edit history

    Edited 16 Jun 2017 12:42, 4 years ago, edited by simont141


    Fact 36 / 100 – Durability of Sleepers


    The total number of sleepers used for the Trans-Australian Railway were as follows:

    Jarrah (Western Australia)                         1,985,000

    Powellised Karri (Western Australia)            454,000

    Stringy Bark (Tasmania)                              100,000

    The numbers vary widely from the original contract which stated the main source of sleepers would be Karri. However the Karri sleepers were proving to be the most durable with only small numbers being replaced whereas the Jarrah and especially the Stringy Bark seemed less efficient.  


    Train1959

    Termites love Karri so makes sense it was powellised - probably crossing timbers given size of Karri trees and timber. Unsure why they would have used Stringy Bark though, let alone from Tasmania! Quite a low durability rating for in ground applications. Even Jarrah isn't a top tier choice but obviously the availability of it in WA made it suitable.