Hinges for railroad ties

[gimpyrobb]

So I lined up 10ish railroad ties to separate lawn from gravel drive/park way. I'd like to stab a wheel on one side of a tie and hinge on the adjacent tie so I can allow the tractor or a vehicle to drive through. I'd like everyone's thoughts.

[gimpyrobb]

Btw we are getting 8ton of 411 to cover that grass Tuesday.

[Randyjaco]

I would link them together with short lengths of chain. Lag bolt the chain to the ends of the ties. You could use a padlock or snap link to make a gate to get your mower in/out. A hinge sounds like a pain to deal with and make. Guaranteed to get bent/ broken in that environment.

[digr]

Why fight it just leave one out. No matter what you come up with its gonna be a pain IMHO

[Whitetrash]

Originally Posted by digr

Why fight it just leave one out. No matter what you come up with its gonna be a pain IMHO

+1 agree 1000%

[dubby]

Yep, I'd leave a space for the tractor/mower to go through if you're dead set on having them that tall above the ground.

The longer you leave them there, the more dug into the soil they're going to become. Even though they don't rot as fast as regular wood, they'll begin to split apart and fail no matter what you do. The more you move them around the quicker they'll break down. They'll also warp and twist over time unless firmly held in place, only making your gate idea more futile.

I go through a pallet of ties a year, sometimes more. To hold them in place on the ground, we take a piece of rebar and weld a flat washer close to or on the end. Drill an appropriate hole in the tie, and then drive the rebar stake through. They WILL float away if the area floods. Use a long enough piece of rebar to get a good grip in the dirt, and put one on each end.

I have found that using them like you are, it's best to bury them about half to three-quarters deep--or just a bit taller than your planned depth of gravel. This shouldn't be too tall for the tractor/mower to overcome but will still hold the rock in place and serve as enough of a bumpstop to keep folks from parking on the grass.

[Lew Hartswick]

I think a pair of "Ramps" would be a lot easier. :-)
...lew...