Railway Sleeper SIZES and WEIGHTS

The most common LENGTH for railway sleepers is 2.6 metres or 8ft 6" long.
We also stock other railway sleeper sizes such as 2.4m and 3.0m, or 8ft and 10ft.

The most common WIDTH for a railway sleeper is 250mm or 10".
We have other railway sleeper sizes as well such as 200mm or 300mm, or 8" / 12".

The most common THICKNESS of railway sleepers is 125mm & 150mm. (5" / 6").
UK railway sleepers tend to be 125mm (5") & Europe 150mm {6").

Our selection of railway sleepers is now so varied that you will certainly find something that suits your plans and pocket. Light or dark coloured, square edged or rounded, new or weathered, modern or 'olde worlde'... it all depends on the visual effect you want, and the type of garden or house you live in. Don't expect reclaimed railway sleepers to be all the same. They all vary in their own unique way!

How heavy are railway sleepers?

The weight of full size original railway sleepers varies enormously, according to the density, type, and age of the tree the wood came from, not to mention the particular length and profile of the sleeper. Pine is generally lightest (50-60 kilos) Oak is heavier (80-90 kilos) followed by Australian Jarrah (85-95 kilos) and African Azobe (90 - 100 kilos), which are both heavy tropical hardwoods. More recently there have been created shorter and lighter options to help with landscape projects, such as new British pine railway sleepers, and new oak railway sleepers, which come in a variety of profiles and lengths. On the other end of the lifting spectrum there are the super-heavyweight railway sleepers that are 2.6m x 300mm x 175mm, and about 120 - 140kg each.

Be careful about lifting! Please be sensible and always bend your knees etc.. Normally the worst accidents with railway sleepers are trapped fingers (when one person lifts and the other doesn't) or bruised legs or feet when railway sleepers are dropped on thighs or toes. I speak from experience ! Thick gloves and boots are recommended. Not sandals ! Likewise it is unwise to move railway sleepers after (or during) a pub crawl. 
IMPORTANT- The 2.6m x 300mm x 175mm size of hardwood railway sleepers CANNOT be offloaded by mere mortals. They are too heavy. (120kg - 140kg each). You'll need at least a forklift machine or furloughed Olympic weightlifter. The most successful 2019 World Championship medal winners (in order) were from China, North Korea, Armenia, United States and Belarus. Try searching in your local Ad-Mag or on Google. 

PLEASE take special care of fingers, feet and back when lifting railway sleepers.

People find different ways of moving railway sleepers... 

More about rail guages....

There have been many rail gauges over the years. 4 feet 8.5 inches is widely used and is usually called standard, but there are many others still in widespread use. 1 Metre gauge can be found in many countries. 3feet 6inches for southern Africa and most of the Japanese network (Shinkanzen lines are standard). Russia and its old empire are 5 feet. Ireland is 5 feet 3 inches. Spain and Portugal mostly 5feet 5inches. India and Argentina are mostly 5feet 6inches as is the B.A.R.T. system in San Francisco. And let's not forget dear IKB's 7feet and a quarter inch.
Thanks for information from B.Holland

Railways, Romans & horses bottoms...

Did you know that the US shuttle design was determined by the width of a Roman horse's bottom ?
- The US standard railroad gauge (distance between the rails) is 4 feet 8.5 inches.
- That's an exceedingly odd number. Why was that gauge used?
- Because that's the way they built them in England, and English expatriates built the US Railroads.
- Why did the English build them like that?
- Why did "they" use that gauge then?
- Okay! Why did the wagons have that particular odd wheel spacing ?
- So who built those old rutted roads?
- And the ruts in the roads?
- Roman war chariots formed the initial ruts, which everyone else had to match for fear of destroying their wagon wheels. Since the chariots were made for Imperial Rome, they were all alike in the matter of wheel spacing. The United States standard railroad gauge of 4 feet, 8.5 inches is derived from the original specifications for an Imperial Roman war chariot. And bureaucracies live forever. The Imperial Roman war chariots were made just wide enough to accommodate the back ends of two war horses.



I just checked your website about railway sleepers and you provide fake knowledge about the origins of British roads. You claim that the Romans built the roads but this is a lie and disinformation. The celts and the etruscans built the roads and the Greeks and Romans came after.
I thought I would notify you because we live in a world where facts are ignored and replaced with fairytale stories of the Victor.
Many thanks, 
Mike Jarratt.


The information provided about railway sleepers is great and informative.
But although Mile Jarratt's claims are somewhat true, they are in part (about 80%) incorrect!.
Although Celts and Etruscans did build many of the first roads, their roads had no major structure about them, and followed more closely the contours of land and landscapes.
Romans tended to build much more structured roads in a more engineered way and more straighter, and systematic road systems. The Celts and Etruscans roads were not much more than dirt tracks when compared to the Romans!.
Many Thanks
Andrew Robertson


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