Railway Wooden Sleepers

Color/Appearance: Typically a dark reddish or purplish brown; commonly with white resin streaks present.

Grain/Texture: Grain can be straight or interlocked. With a coarse texture and low natural luster. 

Endgrain: Diffuse-porous; large to very large pores in no specific arrangement, few to very few; solitary and radial multiples of 2-3; tyloses occasionally present; parenchyma vasicentric, winged, and banded with embedded resin canals; narrow to medium rays, spacing normal.

Rot Resistance: Reported as moderately-durable to non-durable in regard to decay resistance, but is susceptible to insect attack.

Workability: Typically easy to work, though any interlocked grain can present problems during planing, and Dark Red Meranti is reported to have very poor steam-bending properties. Some species may have a slight blunting effect on tools due to small levels of silica present in the wood. Glues, stains, and finishes well.

Odor: No characteristic odor.