Thanks unclesyd... the query was posted in railroad engineering and the chemical content was posted. I ran it through a CE test and it appears the material was non-weldable. If you can go to the thread that I posted.
There is so much heat input in a thermite weld that PWHT is not required. We SMAW repair these rails (weld build up)all the time without PWHT using 800 F to 1000 F preheat. Automated, continuous arc welding methods have been developed for these rails without PWHT as well. Again the preheat and high heat inputs preclude the neccesity for PWHT.
Can you comeback with exactly what are you are trying to do with a welding process for rail?
You posted that the CE is too high for welding, this is not necessarily true for rails as about 99% of rails can be welded. As mentioned above by stanweld the preheat is the secret.
If joining is your plan here is bit more information.
The first two URLs are for general information, procedures, and consumables for joining rails. The is a bit of information on electric welding on the GoldSchmidt site.
These two companies listed are joined at the hip.
