Railway rails are welded in situ by induction welding with an insert (3) between the ends of the rails (1) being welded. The insert (3) compensates, at least in part, for the loss of rail length that occurs in the welding process. Preferably the ends of the rails are pushed apart (e.g. by the length of rail consumed in the welding process) before the insert (3) is placed in position, thereby allowing a longer insert to be used. Induction heating may be performed with a split head (5) that can be opened so as to be placed around a rail in situ and then closed to carry out induction heating.

A welding unit for welding rails of a track has a unit lower edge forming a lower boundary of the welding unit, with regard to a vertical, and a shearing device provided for removing a weld bead. A rail base section of the shearing device is designed to be lowered, relative to the welding unit, by way of a drive from a rest position situated above the unit lower edge into a shearing position situated below the unit lower edge. Thus, the welding operation can be carried out without lifting the rails from the sleepers.

A welding apparatus for welding rails of a track comprises two welding units which are movable relative to one another and which are each equipped with clamping jaws at a lower end. The clamping jaws are configured for resting on a web of the rail. Each welding unit is connected to a supporting device which can move relative to the welding unit and which is provided for resting on the track during operation.

A welding apparatus for welding rails of a track comprises two welding units which are movable relative to one another and which are each equipped with clamping jaws at a lower end. The clamping jaws are configured for resting on a web of the rail. Each welding unit is connected to a supporting device which can move relative to the welding unit and which is provided for resting on the track during operation.

A welding unit for welding rails of a track has a unit lower edge forming a lower boundary of the welding unit, with regard to a vertical, and a shearing device provided for removing a weld bead. A rail base section of the shearing device is designed to be lowered, relative to the welding unit, by way of a drive from a rest position situated above the unit lower edge into a shearing position situated below the unit lower edge. Thus, the welding operation can be carried out without lifting the rails from the sleepers.

A device for welding a rail joint of a track, comprising two rail clamping devices spaced from one another in a rail longitudinal direction which are connected to one another via push rods to press rail ends apart prior to welding. In this, it is provided that at least one rail clamping device is coupled to a transverse displacement device for flush-aligning the rail ends after being pressed apart.

A device for welding a rail joint of a track, comprising two rail clamping devices spaced from one another in a rail longitudinal direction which are connected to one another via push rods to press rail ends apart prior to welding. In this, it is provided that at least one rail clamping device is coupled to a transverse displacement device for flush-aligning the rail ends after being pressed apart.

A procedure for laying railway tracks on a trackbed on which sleepers (20) are located, that comprises at least the following steps: a) approach of a track laying train (30) with the stretches of rail (1) to be laid in the laying area; b) joining of the pairs of rails (1) to the consecutive rails (1) by means of tractor plates (200); c) unloading the pairs of rails (1) from the track laying train (30) onto the bed; d) squaring of the sleepers (20) by means of a squaring device; e) joining of the consecutive pairs of rails (1) by means of a joint plate (100); f) unloading of ballast in hoppers onto the bed; g) tamping of the rails (1); h) profiling of the ballast by means of a profiling device (400); i) welding of the rails (1).

A procedure for laying railway tracks on a trackbed on which sleepers (20) are located, that comprises at least the following steps: a) approach of a track laying train (30) with the stretches of rail (1) to be laid in the laying area; b) joining of the pairs of rails (1) to the consecutive rails (1) by means of tractor plates (200); c) unloading the pairs of rails (1) from the track laying train (30) onto the bed; d) squaring of the sleepers (20) by means of a squaring device; e) joining of the consecutive pairs of rails (1) by means of a joint plate (100); f) unloading of ballast in hoppers onto the bed; g) tamping of the rails (1); h) profiling of the ballast by means of a profiling device (400); i) welding of the rails (1).

The invention relates to base part of a mold for aluminothermic welding of metal rails, which base part generally has a rectangular parallelepiped and has an upper face for receiving the foot of said rails, this upper face having a hollow cavity comprising a base, two opposing longitudinal side walls, and two opposing transverse side walls. The invention is characterized in that each of said longitudinal side walls has an intermediate region surrounded by two end regions, and these end regions are located in the same plane, whereas the intermediate region has a curved profile, the well of which is directed towards the opposite side wall.