A long life railroad track and tie arrangement and method of making same. A wooden railroad tie is impregnated and covered with a thin layer of polypropylene which serves to protect the tie both from the weather and from mechanical abuse. The tie is apertured to receive rail mounting hardware. A bottom plate is secured to the underside of the tie and carries threaded fastening means mating the tie apertures. A top plate overlies the tie, carries a channel for receiving the rail, and is apertured to mate the tie apertures. A pair of apertured clips have extended arms overlying the prepositioned rail. Bolts are passed through the clips, the top plate, the tie and into the fasteners in the bottom plate to reliably secure the rail to the tie. In addition to its application in conventional track laying or track repairing situations, the invention allows manufacture of track in transportable prefabricated track and tie sections, which may be positioned and joined on site by simply welding adjacent rails.