Our sleepers are no turkeys!

Here at Natural Stone and Timber we care about the quality of the railway sleepers we sell to our customers. Our aim is to exceed your expectations. With this in mind we select our new oak sleepers from Canada where they are made from Northern Red Oak (Quercus Rubra). The northern red oak is one of the most important oaks for timber production in North America due to its high quality and suitability for a large range of applications. These include flooring, veneer, interior trim, and furniture. It is also used for railway sleepers and fence posts throughout North America and Europe.

A lot of sleeper suppliers in the UK are selling Turkey Oak (Quercus Cerris) instead of higher quality oak such as the Northern Red Oak mentioned above. Turkey oak is planted throughout Europe and the British Isles partly due to its rapid growth and ornamental properties. Due to the faster growth of Turkey Oak it produces a much poorer quality product that has a tendency to split, twist and rot out very quickly. We would strongly recommend using Northern Red Oak Sleepers for you landscaping project as they will keep their attractive appearance for longer and you won’t be replacing them after ten years.