Patent ID: 7942342

Claim:
A railroad tie comprising: a core comprising wood, wood-product, engineered wood product, or engineered plastic; a first sleeve encapsulating the core, wherein the first sleeve comprises at least polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and one or more additives; 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; wherein an outer surface of the first sleeve comprises first fingers protruding therefrom and having gaps between the first fingers, and wherein the second sleeve comprises second fingers filling the gaps between the first fingers; and wherein each of the first and second sleeves is molded as a solid layer with a plurality of the fingers protruding from the solid layer to a length substantially greater than a general thickness of the respective solid layer from which the fingers protrude.