Creosote Council

At the start of the 19th century, Texas was a dry and rugged patchwork of native American and Mexican-held lands. After two rounds of war with Mexico and a period of independence, Texas became a U.S. state in 1845. This was fortuitous timing, for the most critical innovation in wood preservation technology, the Bethell pressure treatment method, had just been invented in 1836, and was poised to help develop the wild countryside. How did Creosote-treated Crossties replace Cowboys? It went like this: ✅ 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 “𝐂𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐃𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞” 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 The only means of transportation across the Texan landscape was on horseback or in horse-drawn carriages, following the meandering paths carved out by the Spanish and Native Americans, and by crossing small rivers on local ferries. Cattle ranchers knew the land best, since they led treks known as “cattle drives” to other territories hundreds of miles to the north and west to sell their livestock. ✅ 𝐑𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐝𝐬 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐰𝐛𝐨𝐲𝐬 When railroads made their debut in Texas in the 1850s as a way to transport goods inland from the Gulf of Mexico, it marked the beginning of the end of cowboy culture. The Cowboy era started, according to historians, in 1866 when 260,000 head of cattle first crossed the Red River in North Texas. At that time, approximately 500 miles of track were clustered around Houston. However, by 1873, the Houston and Texas Central Railway extended to Dallas and crossed the Red River—an American version of “crossing the Rubicon”. From then on, more railroads crossed into Texas, connecting it to national rail lines from other states. Want to learn more? Check out our full article: https://lnkd.in/erwhX9rK

At the turn of the 20th century, innovations in railroad technology spurred the development of new kinds of railroad networks centered around urban areas. These 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭-𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐝𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐨𝐬𝐨𝐭𝐞. And while many of these early 20th-century rail lines fell into disuse, their short-line successors continue to serve an important role in transportation and economic prosperity, with the support of the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association. This article discusses the history of these railway systems, including the following topics. ✅ The 20th Century: A Wider Variety of Trains on Creosote-Treated Tracks ✅ Competition and Economic Disruptions Challenge Passenger Rail ✅ The Exception: Cities’ Elevated Railroads Stay In Place ✅ Creosote-Treated Crossties Laid the Foundation for Freight and City Trains This article was originally published in the Railway Tie Association's Crossties Magazine, a dependable source of information for producers and users of treated wood crossties and related products. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/e7WbCGAK

Thank you to the Railway Tie Association for all they do!

How did the 𝐅𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐡 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐍𝐚𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐜 𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧’𝐬 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 bring about the need for creosote-treated wood for modern infrastructure? England viewed its conflict with a revolutionary France as an existential “threat to European civilization,” and relied heavily on the British Royal Navy for survival. However, “decay [and attack from ship-worms] in the timbers of their ships was taking a heavier toll of both her fighting and her cargo vessels than all of her enemies combined.” The director general of the British Navy’s medical department himself got involved in wood preservation science, 𝐨𝐛𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐰𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐝 𝐢𝐧 1838. The use of 𝐜𝐨𝐚𝐥-𝐭𝐚𝐫 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐨𝐬𝐨𝐭𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 was patented in 1836 by Franz Moll, and two years later John Bethell created a “pressure impregnation process” which enabled creosote to be much more effectively applied to timber. Known as the Bethell Process, or “full-cell” process, John Bethell’s 1838 innovation quickly became the 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐲. In the latter half of the 19th century, American industrialists adopted the technologies that had been pioneered in England. Rather than wartime and naval battles, in America demand for wood preservation was driven by the emerging railroad industry. Want to learn more? Check out our article about the role the Bethell Process played in industrial development from Europe to the Americas. Link in the comments ... 👇 👇

At the start of the 19th century, there was no Texas as we know it today. Rather, west of Louisiana—the French colony-turned-state at the conclusion of the War of 1812—was a dry and rugged patchwork of native American and Mexican-held lands. After two rounds of war with Mexico and a period of independence, Texas became a U.S. state in 1845. This was fortuitous timing, for 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐰𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐝, 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 1836, and was poised to help develop the wild countryside. In 1875, the United States’ first commercial wood-treatment facility was constructed by the Louisville & Nashville Railroad company in West Pascagoula, Mississippi, to creosote-treat timbers that had been attacked by a shipworm that destroys underwater pilings called teredo. But when the L&N bought the New Orleans, Mobile & Texas Railroad in 1881, it pivoted to pressure-treating crossties due to rising demand for wooden crossties that could last in all types of environments, including the extremely hot and arid land of Texas. No wonder the 1880s marked the end of the cowboy lifestyle—by then cowboys no longer needed to “drive” their 2,000+ head of cattle across uncharted territories. In this article, we review: 🛤 Transporting Cattle: The “Cattle Drive” Solution 🛤 Railroads Replace Cowboys 🛤 Meeting Demand for Pressure-Treated Crossties Across Texas To read the full story, visit: https://lnkd.in/erwhX9rK

The “Ghost Tracks” of New Jersey’s Cape May shoreline may be aptly nick-named … The 1900-era short line train tracks, which carried sand to a glass fabrication factory, might be the only track to make regular appearances to beach-goers, but it is far from the only railroad track in New Jersey that lives a partial existence, hanging around its old haunts like a ghost. These and many other abandoned—yet still intact—train tracks are a testament to the 𝐩𝐢𝐯𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐜 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬. New Jersey was ground-zero for the early-stage “boom and bust” of the American railroad industry in the 1800s. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐲’𝐬—𝐢𝐧 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐧𝐭’𝐬—𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐝 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐉𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐲; the 1815 charter for the Camden & Amboy Rail Road was the first of its kind. And yet, by the early 20th century, the state had also accumulated the most abandoned railroads in the country. In the early 1800s, the C&A was championed by the 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐖𝐚𝐫 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐛𝐨𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐉𝐨𝐡𝐧 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐬, who operated steam boat routes on the Raritan Canal between Philadelphia and New York. He worried that up-and-coming railroad technology would threaten his shipping business, so he got ahead of it. To learn more about New Jersey’s “ghost tracks,” visit: https://lnkd.in/eMmbZ8CG 𝘗𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘰: 𝘑𝘰𝘩𝘯 𝘚𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘣𝘺 𝘢𝘯 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘵, 𝘤.1830, 𝘰𝘪𝘭 𝘰𝘯 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘷𝘢𝘴. 𝘗𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘤 𝘥𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯.

Believe it or not, there is an internet meme about utility poles. It “went viral” in 2018 because it was both funny and thought-provoking. It was just a thought posted in a Reddit forum, lacking any visuals: “𝐓𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐮𝐩 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐚 𝐣𝐨𝐛.” It has received over 40 thousand up-votes, the Reddit equivalent of “likes”. And what a job they do! To think that people found a way to capitalize on all the time and energy trees have already spent becoming large structures, and then strapped them with man-made energy sources to boot—it’s quite the efficient design. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐚𝐥-𝐭𝐚𝐫 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐨𝐬𝐨𝐭𝐞, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐝-𝐮𝐩 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐬𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐫𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐢𝐥 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝-𝐭𝐡𝐞-𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐤 𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐬. Read our article to learn about five ways creosote has been keeping trees—which the post’s ‘Top Commenter’ humorously describes as “sell outs”—working for people for well over a century … https://lnkd.in/evXD2WCp

What is Coal-Tar Creosote used in wooden infrastructure such as railroad crossties and utility poles? The word “creosote” is actually an adopted word, a slightly Americanized version of a German word - “Kreosot” - that itself is derived from two Greek words. Sometimes the type of creosote used in wood preservation is called “coal-tar creosote” to indicate that it’s formed by burning coal. Another common description, “coal-tar distillate,” is slightly more specific and explains that creosote is distilled out of coal tar. Without preservatives like this, we would be using up trees at a much faster rate. Wood preservatives help us manage renewable resources. If you’d like to know more, check our article on what is - and isn’t - coal tar creosote. https://lnkd.in/ewA2NpzX

For more than a century, coal-tar creosote has fortified wooden railroad ties so they can carry heavy rail cars across any environment for decades at a time. Whether transporting passengers or freight, railroads – and the wooden ties that undergird them – remain a crucial part of the continent’s transportation network. On this page you can learn more about creosote-treated railroad crossties, including: - creosote treatment processes - the origins and development of the railroad system, and - how this infrastructure benefits the economy and society Learn More: https://lnkd.in/e4pscK-8

Untreated wood is vulnerable to climate, moisture, and other factors, which can lead to rot and decay from harmful microbial growth. Materials preservatives such as coal-tar distillate creosote 𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐨𝐨𝐝. This results in products and materials that require replacement far less often. Creosote-treated wood is used for: ✅ Railroad crossties ✅ Utility poles ✅ Marine use such as piers, docks, and marina structures