Patent ID: 8430334

Claim:
A railroad tie comprising: a core comprising wood, wood-product, engineered wood product, or engineered plastic product; a first sleeve encapsulating the core, wherein the first sleeve comprises at least one of the group consisting of plastic, plastic-composite, or non-plastic polymers; a second sleeve encapsulating the first sleeve, wherein the second sleeve comprises at least one of the group consisting of plastic, plastic-composite, or non-plastic polymers; the core having a longitudinal axis running parallel to its longest dimension; wherein the first sleeve includes a top surface comprising top fingers protruding therefrom and having gaps between the top fingers that run parallel to the longitudinal axis of the core, and includes side surfaces with each side surface comprising side fingers protruding from the respective side surface and having gaps between the side fingers that run perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the core; wherein the second sleeve includes respective top fingers that fill the gaps between the top fingers of the first sleeve and that run parallel to the longitudinal axis of the core, and respective side fingers that fill the gaps between the side fingers of the first sleeve and that run perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the core.