EWI completed research and testing of an automated weld repair process for austenitic manganese steel railroad frogs. This report covers the second of two projects sponsored by the Federal Railroad Administration and EWI executed this research between March 2016 and June 2022. In this phase of work, EWI developed a metal-cored filler material and a pulsed gas metal arc welding process to repair two worn frogs, one for CSX and the other for NS. Revenue service testing of both frogs exceeded expectations for wear rates and longevity as compared to both new frogs and frogs repaired with traditional field techniques. This report documents EWI’s weld repair process and field testing results; it also presents a conceptual view of a fully automated frog repair process. This research has demonstrated that an automated weld repair of frogs is feasible and can extend the service life of railroad frogs.
When special trackwork contact surfaces (such as manganese-steel turnout frogs) become worn and damaged, they can be repaired to extend their lifetime...
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United States Department of Transportation
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