Your advice, please?

[PureCountry]

I'm drawing up plans to build a calving shed in my pasture where I already have some corrals, and I decided to make it a little bigger than originally planned, to cover the working chute and tub. Almost the entire structure will be built from salvaged materials. The support timbers I got from a railroad crew -
12" X 12" X 16' road-crossing timbers - they said I could have them if I also hauled away their trash pile of broken ties. I ended up with 110 of these timbers, and boy are they ever heavy, but they're covered in creosote. I'm not sure if I should concrete them in, tamp them, or tamp them with crushed rock. I saw on GOODON Industries website that they like to use the rock for stability.
So, any suggestions or advice? Has anybody used these types of timbers before? We've got some very old ones on our place for gate posts, and they're still very solid. Another question...I was going to use old shiplap boards for closing in the walls, since tin can be expensive, and the shiplap was free.(A neighbour let me have any lumber I wanted from an abandoned farm site, so I've got lots) My question is though, what was shiplap usually made from? It's certainly not fir, and I'm not sure if it's pine or spruce. Would it hold up? Or should I wait until I could afford tin and pressure-treated timbers?

[countryguy]

PureCountry

The one thing I can help you with here is the poles.Do NOT cement them in.The water has to be able to drain away from the poles and cement doesn't let it.Crushed rock is the best way.

[frustrated1]

Not sure how elaborate you want this but we've got a shed away from the barn we can use for calving. Mostly the older cows so it isn't used much. It's simply made from old telephone poles and enclosed with slabs as you'd use for a windbreak. There are a few of these around, even one fairly large new one. I'm not a big fan of enclosed areas such as calf shelters as they're just a breeding ground for disease. If you're calving in cold you can't get around it though. Something like this lets some air move and still keeps out the wind and snow. And it's cheap too.