Ok, I am the one who started this conversation on the use of local lumber for ties. There are several accounts in the 1880 and 1890 local newspapers (Buena Vista and Salida, Colo.) about the railroad offering contracts to locals for cutting trees and their use as ties. There were several sawmills in the valley here, making lumber and also kilns for charcoal. Here is a local article I found about ties on the Colorado Midland RR, however, walking the old railroad grade, most of the ties appear to be just local lumber and most are barely any wood left. It is probably because they were NOT treated in any way back then. From the Buena Vista Democrat newspaper, Thursday, March 17, 1887, page 1, column 3. “The oak ties that are used by the Colorado Midland on its sharp curves are procured at a cost of $1.50 each, 25,000 being now at Colorado Springs.” There is really no evidence that they really used oak ties in this area despite this article. It just seems like in the 1880 and 1890, the people were enterprizing, work oriented and looking for ways to make money off of the land. We have thousands of trees here that are dead and dying and nothing is really being done to take advantage of this resource. I have cut pine beetle killed ponderosa pine and used it for firewood. I have not seen the kind of deteoriation that people have mentioned here, but I would imagine if it was a feeled tree that it would probably start to rot quickly. Ken in Buena Vista