Cost of 1 mile of Rail

Where could I find what the approx. cost is of 1 mile of abandoned shortline, minus the land?

$200 per ton of steel, plus cost of disposing and removing of ties plus labor.

Is there not a market for used ties over there ? Here , they are sought after as landscaping edging , to the extent that used sleepers(ties) are imported from australia . They retail for around $ 30 USD .

David Benton wrote:Is there not a market for used ties over there ? Here , they are sought after as landscaping edging , to the extent that used sleepers(ties) are imported from australia . They retail for around $ 30 USD .

There is a market for used ties in the the States as well as Canada. The railroad might reuse some ties else where on sideings and yards if they chose to pull them thats if there not in to bad of shape. Some ties will be grouped up into lots of 16 to a boundle sold and to a lumber yard where they will be resold. The rail will be eather sold for scrap or used by the railroad in outher places. The land will be eather keeped by the railroad should it become needed again or it will be sold to eather a utlity or back to the ajoining land owners boardeing the ROW.

thanks for that . I've read there's a power plant that burns used ties too .

Ties no longer good for anything are usually schredded and injected in high temp operations like power plants or garbage incinerators.
The question of original poster was about a abandoned railroad in most cases on those the ties are not good for anything.
Why as homeowner anyone would want poisoned creasote soaked hazmat as landscapping material is beyong my thinking,

I thought the same thing on Sunday Dutch as I passed by some ties at Home Depot selling for $17 a tie. I thought my gosh, all I have to do is swing by the MOW office and pick one up and then thought about the fact that the tie was once a part of a super fund site, the entire RR.

DutchRailnut wrote:Why as homeowner anyone would want poisoned creasote soaked hazmat as landscapping material is beyong my thinking,

We have a few old rail ties at my house to hold the dirt back along the walkway. In the summer it smells like standing on the platform waiting for the train on a hot day -from the creosote in the ties.

DutchRailnut, I, too, had always heard steel being $200/ton. But within the past 18 months or so it is up to anywhere from $575 - 800 depending upon the grade and region of the world. This has caused a sudden increase in scrapping of metals of all kinds of late.

So, just guessing, I'd say the price had more than doubled since late 2005.

Sounds more like he wants a mile of railroad, to run around his property, or to be a real "short line" owner himself.......

well golden arm , thats my plan . not a mile but 50 metres for starters . (bout 150 feet ).Ive had the ballast put down , and starting buying sleepers(ties) as they come avaliable on the local ebay . rails will be the expensive part , but ive heard of a local farmer with some lying around .
eventually will be a small station building , a signal box , water tower , and a few carriages . all full size . all it needs is some spare tiem .

I think Mr. Benton is serious.

I want to see pictures!!

Back to the original poster- was he asking what it would cost to purchase one mile of an existing railroad, or what it would cost to build one mile of new railroad?

-otto-

Otto , you can call me David , i have some pictures of the roadbed so far , but not on a website . one day ill fiqure out how to break into my company website , and have a private photo section on it .
when we were putting the gravel down for the roadbed , we had a pair of aussie spur winged plovers decide the site was their terrioty (i couldnt find any sign of a nest ), and try to warn us off , so ive already struck nimby opposition !