	US 7,520,415 B2
	Method of repairing a rail
Richard F. Kral, N. Riverside, Ill. (US); Shane A. Mayhill, Crete, Ill. (US); Matthew Q. Johnson, Santa Fe, N. Mex. (US); Mark E. Rovnyak, Mokena, Ill. (US); and Daniel J Coomer, Park Forest, Ill. (US)
Assigned to Holland LP,
Appl. No. 10/569,711 PCT Filed Apr. 22, 2005, PCT No. PCT/US2005/014036 § 371(c)(1), (2), (4) Date Feb. 24, 2006, PCT Pub. No. WO2005/102581, PCT Pub. Date Nov. 03, 2005.
Claims priority of provisional application 60/564763, filed on Apr. 23, 2004.
Prior Publication US 2007/0007251 A1, Jan. 11, 2007
Int. Cl. B23K 9/12 (2006.01)

U.S. Cl. 228—119 [219/54; 219/146.22]

17 Claims

17. A method of repairing a rail, which rail includes head, upright web and base sections, said method comprising the steps of:

a) identifying and locating a defect in the rail;

b) removing the defect from the rail by mechanically removing the defect and material surrounding the defect, form a void and a rail-void interface, while maintaining continuity of the base and at least a portion of the web of the rail;

c) filling the void with molten metal; and

d) causing the molten metal and the rail at the rail-void interface to bond;

wherein the void is filled with molten metal by one of arc welding, gas shielded arc welding or inert gas arc welding, which filling steps each cause said molten metal to fuse with the rail;

said molten metal is formed from a material resulting in a weld deposit having a carbon concentration of about 0.2% to 1.0% by weight, wherein the high carbon welding electrode produces a weld deposit from, by weight, about 0.2% to about 1.0% carbon, from about 1.8% to about 2.0% manganese, from about 0.5% to about 0.6% nickel and from about 0.5% to about 0.95% silicon.