Access Recycling has been contracted to remove approximately 1,255,000 sleepers throughout rail corridors in NSW and Victoria.

These are the result of a major upgrade to the rail network including the replacement of timber sleepers with concrete sleepers. Many of the sleepers will be packed and shipped for re-use on railway branch lines and sidings, but the majority will be recycled for landscape purposes, furniture, building and construction materials, and those that don't make the grade will cut up for firewood or mulched.

One of the first and most important sections was from Wodonga to Seymour. 500,000 timber sleepers had to be removed from thick vegetation adjacent to the railway line. This section of the vital Sydney - Melbourne route consisted of one standard gauge and one broad gauge track. The broad gauge was decommissioned and all timber sleepers were replaced with standard gauge concrete sleepers, thus giving two standard gauge lines. Access Recycling crews were given a small window to collect the 500,000 timber sleepers that had been made redundant. In just four months over 35,000 tonnes of timber was recovered and freighted to private storage areas away from the line. This allowed the commissioning of the new standard gauge line. There were many logistical difficulties to overcome in moving a vast quantity of material from any area surrounded by sensitive environmental areas and intensive traffic flows of passenger and freight trains on the adjacent line.

The project was completed on time in December 2009. More than 40 Access Recycling staff and contractors were involved in the project. Thousands of tonnes of sleepers and scrap metal had to be recovered from virtually inaccessible areas. This required the coordination of more than 20 trucks, 8 excavators, 6 all-terrain forklifts, 6 log forwarders and dump trucks and numerous cleanup crews.

In 2010 we look forward to continuing to provide vital recycling services to the rail industry.

Watch this space for updates on: Serviceton to Maroona, Geelong, Tottenham to Somerton, Towrang to Galong and Albury to Junee

Access Recycling have recently developed a completely unique mobile sleeper saw milling plant to produce quality firewood.

After winning several large contracts with Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) for the disposal of timber sleepers we began the process of developing a mobile sawmill to cut the sleepers for firewood.

While many of the sleepers will be recycled for use in gardens, furniture and other landscape purposes, a large proportion remains unsuitable. With more than one million timber sleepers secured, bulk firewood processing became a priority. The multi saw docking system and feed deck was designed and built by sawmilling specialists Acora Reneco of Eden. It consists of 8 skip tooth blades that simultaneously drop through a cutting chamber, docking each sleeper into nine pieces, each 300mm in length.

The saw is able to process approximately 400 sleepers per hour. A series of optical sensors and computer automation ensure smooth operation which requires no manual control or supervision. At our Barmedman workshop the saw system was fitted to a semi trailer. Imbedded in the trailer is a bi-fold conveyor and 420 horsepower generator. A rigorous program of sampling and testing was undertaken to ensure that the firewood produced is suitable for domestic use. Timber samples were tested in a NATA approved laboratory for the presence of any residual hydrocarbons, pesticides and herbicides.

The sleepers have proven to be very clean and safe. The result is that we now have large volumes of low cost redgum and ironbark firewood of uniform size. The timber is extremely clean and well seasoned.

For further enquires please contact Access Recycling's Sales Manager, Andrew Frater on (02) 6976 2000 or andrew@accessrecycling.com.au

Access Recycling have recently completed a unique mobile sleeper grinding machine.

The concept of an all-terrain sleeper grinder was developed to address the problem of large quantities of waste timber sleepers cluttering railway corridors. Often the sleepers are in poor condition and not worthy of recycling.
The shear bulk of the timber and difficult access in the corridor often means they cannot be economically recovered for firewood.

Built in our Barmedman workshop, the mobile sleeper grinder is cable of mulching 3 timber sleepers per minute.The machine is towed by an excavator through the rail corridor to gain access to all areas. Attached to the excavator is a plate puller, also made by Access Recycling. The plate pullers have proven successful in rapidly removing steel sleeper plates without the need to secure the sleeper.

Once removed, the sleeper plates are stored in the bin at the front of the grinder for stockpiling. The plate pullers are also able to stack reusable timber and steel sleepers as well as load the grinder. The grinders, conveyer ejects the mulch as the machine moves along the rail corridor. All necessary safety equipment has been fitted including a parking brake, fire extinguishers, isolator and emergency stops.

Access Recycling completes scrap rail recovery project for ARTC.

Located in the rail corridor between Cootamundra and Galong was almost 1,000 tonnes of worn railway line.
The railway line was in one hundred metre lengths that had to be processed before moving.
The area was overgrown with long dry grass and during what was one of the hottest periods on record the fire danger was extreme.

We were able to purchase a unique rail breaker attachment from Embrey Manufacturing. The breaker was fitted to an 18 tonne excavator and the rail was cut to one metre lengths before being transported to Sims Metal.

This enabled the project to be completed on time and without bushfire risk.

Access Recycling dismantles and scraps 800 tonne Marion Shovel for Xstratas Ulan Coal Mines.

Over a three month period the shovel was dismantled and lowered to the ground before being cut into heavy melting steel (1100mm x 300mm pieces).

This was done using a range of equipment including Access Recycling excavators fitted with shears and magnets. All loads were then transported to Sims Metal Newcastle. It was a complicated and difficult project with many hazards including flammable liquids.

The project was completed on time without a single incident or injury.