Cow tracks...again

[Dead Rabbits]

are we the only ones that dig some sh!t out of the hillside and hope for the best?

Really though if you have good material available, compact correctly with the right camber and top with some lime you can get by pretty well. Wet winters aren’t so great I admit but you can get away with a lot with 70 cows

 

[MrA.G.]

Is this grant available in northern ireland

No

 

[vantage]

are we the only ones that dig some sh!t out of the hillside and hope for the best?

Really though if you have good material available, compact correctly with the right camber and top with some lime you can get by pretty well. Wet winters aren’t so great I admit but you can get away with a lot with 70 cows

Yes, all our tracks done with home stone, no grant. Slate base topped with a soft sandstone, which we periodically have to top up as it wears away.

 

[easy farming]

Whats the benefit of sleepers compared to just laying concrete

You can move them if the situation changes.

 

[easy farming]

You can move them if the situation changes.

I should have added. We bought most of ours for £4.50-£5 about 15 years ago. The early users were paying £1. Reading what people are paying now. Ask your self what is the value of second hand concrete compared to sleepers.

 

[daveydiesel1]

I should have added. We bought most of ours for £4.50-£5 about 15 years ago. The early users were paying £1. Reading what people are paying now. Ask your self what is the value of second hand concrete compared to sleepers.

But surely a concrete lane is the best of all laneways

 

[pappuller]

But surely a concrete lane is the best of all laneways

Concrete sleepers are very unforgiving on cows feet over long distances as they are layed bottom side up which is the rough side that doesn't sit in the mould during the production process

 

[crashbox]

But surely a concrete lane is the best of all laneways

Mmmm

If you do concrete, do it well (i.e. reinforcement and suitable joints).

Otherwise it turns into a cracked mess.

 

[lazy farmer]

Mmmm

If you do concrete, do it well (i.e. reinforcement and suitable joints).

Otherwise it turns into a cracked mess.

We used concrete with structural fibres.

 

[crashbox]

We used concrete with structural fibres.

I've always wondered whether fibres negate the need for steel.

We mix most of our own concrete, would be nice to add a pack of fibres to a pan mix rather than put down steel mesh, be cheaper and quicker...

What do others think?

 

[MrA.G.]

I've always wondered whether fibres negate the need for steel.

We mix most of our own concrete, would be nice to add a pack of fibres to a pan mix rather than put down steel mesh, be cheaper and quicker...

What do others think?

Like any yard or lane, the quality of the sub base, the position of saw cuts etc are important, get those right and structural fibres are a good replacement for mesh reinforcement. We concreted our main farm lane this year with structural fibres.

Anti crack non structural fibres serve a purpose but are not a replacement for mesh reinforcement

 

[TheRanger]

I think we have around 14k sleepers and they're the best tracks we have by a country mile.

Unfortunately I had a quote last week and the sleepers themselves are £15 each ex Westbury at the moment so £20 delivered to South Devon.

On the plus side you've got £200k+ worth of sleepers to sell if you ever retire

 

[som farmer]

as said we have our own stone, and have a big network of tracks, some of which have been down 40+ years, and some are used by tractors and cattle.

and in places, we have found the stone will sink down, reckon in places, after 'topping' up, must be 6ft or more stone. The worst 'hole', is in a gateway, we tipped a 12ton grain trailer load of concrete block rubble in there, and topped it up several times since.

We never really know what is under ground, call them sink holes or whatever, it is the down side of all stone tracks. Having our own stone, we didn't worry about cost, so 12 ins stone.

sleepers or concrete, puts a solid base down, and holes will not occur. But you pay. Got fed up with 1 hole, filled it several times, so laid 18in concrete blocks flat, and topped up, still sinks there !

 

[jimmer]

@Dairy Nerd come see our tracks , some sleepers, some stone , the sleepers are streets better than the stone , but at a much higher initial cost

 

[RichardWheelwright]

The Price for the concrete Railway sleepers has increased a lot over the years. Its now cheaper to lay Ready Mix Concrete. This video shows what we did back in 2013

 

[Sparkymark]

Another section of cow track getting upgraded to concrete this week.