"tina" wrote in message
...
Hi all,

Raised beds are looking like a possibility as I have just acquired 15
old used railway sleepers, no creasote but they look old & deffo look
to have been used on a real railway.

They are very very heavy and about 8ft 6 long. Took 2 men to lift them
1 at a time!!

You wanna try moving 200 or so for landscaping a golf course ;-)

Is there anyway I can clean them up before using them to make my
raised beds?

Please can anyone advise me ?

If you want to retain their appearance but improve the finish have them
lightly sandblasted. Although it's probably better to leave them "as is".


Would you line the beds with some sort of material so as to protect
the soil coming into contact with the wooden sleepers or is that
overkill?

I have a couple of raised sleeper beds and suffer no ill effects or plant
issues from the sleepers, which have plenty of creosote, oil, railway
remnants and "stuff" very ingrained into them.
If you are planning a veg plot you might cover the sides with regular
builders waterproof floor membrane thickness polythene, but it might be
overkill.