Chaps
There are publications on this very subject, eg
Sci Total Environ. 2008 Aug 25;402(1):106-12. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2008.04.035.
The creosote content of used railway crossties as compared with European stipulations for hazardous waste.
Thierfelder T, Sandström E.
This paper suggests that destroying the crossties via, for example, combustion, is what produces toxic waste. So, re-use is preferable!
The amount of creosote and related materials leaching out of old railway sleepers will be minimal in normal "domestic" usage, such as around a vegetable bed. The primary routes of human exposure to creosote in use are dermal and inhalation. I know that Morgan owners are a breed apart, but probably none of us rub ourselves repeatedly on old railway sleepers, or indeed sniff them. Thus re-use ticks all the boxes for me.
And yes, since you ask, work is rather slow today.....
I always sis like the smell of creosote.
