sealant maybe

Don't think so -

Guess I had better get rid of them.......

Are you assuming that they will smell and be dirty, or have you found out by trying them? I'm surprised that old railway sleepers will still smell sufficiently to be a problem, and likewise the dirt factor.

Rob Graham

My BIL has them in his garden & you can't touch them in hot weather without getting mucky - he asked me for advice which is how come I knew paving expert covered it.

They have a mild creosote smell, but should you brush against them, then you will certainly be covered in it. Probably not worth using them in my case with youngsters visiting now and again.

My grandfather was a railway signalman and always had a few old sleepers which he sawed up and split for firewood, they burned very well and gave off a lovely aroma of pine & creosote.

I've used shellac-based knotting to seal creosoted timber with great success.(And this was fresh creosote, only applied a month previously)

Problem is that the creosote on railway sleepers is not just painted on, it's forced in under pressure or under a vacumn.

My only experience of this is that last year I creosoted the most vulnerable parts of my shed then a few days later I sprayed it all over with B & Q's own brand of dark brown sprayable shed and fence preservative, and the preservative covered the creosote and dried fine, no different to the areas that I hadn't creosoted. The creosote was some old genuine stuff, not the substitute that is on sale now.

The "weeping" sleepers in my garden I covered in sand to soak up the tar and on the "kid" accesable parts covered with decking. Works well apart from decking is rotting in places (continuous immersion), maybe I should croesote the decking !!!