If you ask an old railway worker, what is the strongest, most popular and most unknown thing in the world? He would probably pat the dark, heavy rectangular piece of wood under his butt and say, 'Just it, the sleeper.'
The train rolled over from above with a loud rumble, enduring wind and rain for over a decade. If it were ordinary wood, it would have rotted into mud long ago. Oil immersed sleepers are capable of carrying steel rails on their shoulders and swallowing time into their stomachs.
To tell where this hardness comes from, we have to start from when it took a bath.
The selection of materials is not ambiguous, with a focus on pine wood covered in tendon flesh. This guy is naturally rich in oil and has a smooth texture. He is born to be hardworking and resilient. However, relying solely on talent is not enough. We need to send it back to the processing tank for're production '. That scene is very similar to getting a fitness card for wood - first, vacuum is applied, and then hot anti-corrosion oil is poured in forcefully, penetrating through the gaps of the pine wood under high pressure. Other wood is the wet layer skin of a rainy beach. When the oil immersed sleepers are placed upside down and photographed with a magnifying glass, the oil immersion depth can easily exceed 13 millimeters. What is this called? This is called soaking, it's marinated inside and out.
At the moment it was pulled out, the pine wood seemed to be wearing a layer of black armor, with a heavier weight and a more stable temperament. From then on, the insects walked around, and the mold did not dare to stay. Even if it was buried in the wet ballast and soaked in the rainstorm in summer, it did not move.
Railways are naturally its old profession. But if you think this big black guy will only be lying under the tracks as a 'stepping stone', then you underestimate him too much.
I have seen what it looks like in the mining area. Can that place be called 'environment'? It's like a mentor level training camp that tortures Sleepwood. Coal ash covers the sky and the sun, heavy trucks roll over and over, and the acidity and alkalinity of the water seeping out from underground are difficult to distinguish. Oil immersed sleepers can be laid in the alleyway, allowing water to drip from the top of the head and mud to accumulate beneath the feet, yet they remain motionless. The old master at the mine shone a flashlight and looked at the shiny black surface of the sleepers, smiling meaningfully: "This thing has a longer tenure than our mine manager
And those old players who like to do courtyard renovations, I don't know when they also set their sights on it. Lay a wooden walkway in the backyard, where rainwater won't soak and sun won't crack. Walking on it is more solid than any anti-corrosion wood.
You see, an oil immersed sleeper can thrive in mining areas, bridges, and even private gardens without having to "join" the railway. In this lifetime, it is either carrying weight or on the road to carrying weight. Sometimes it's interesting to think about it. Wood is originally an organic material that can decay and decay, but after that high-temperature and high-pressure "baptism", the time scale has been pushed back several decades.
The so-called durability does not mean that it will not get old, but that it can still be used when it gets old. The so-called anti-corrosion is not about not being exposed to water, but about being able to straighten one's waist even when immersed in water.
Next time you see that dark rectangular wooden block by the railway, don't just think about it carrying the train. That guy is a tough character who can withstand the heavy pressure of life, endure harsh environments, and never complain.
——To all silently bearing beings, pay tribute to an oil immersed sleeper.
