Single-pass, single-radial layer, circumferential-progression fill-welding system, apparatus and method for refurbishing railway and other transit rails

A system for refurbishing worn rail transit rails to a desired refurbished rail surface profile substantially similar to the surface profile of a newly-manufactured rail, for a rail in need of refurbishment between a lower-inside section thereof to be refurbished and an upper-outside section thereof to be refurbished, comprising:

• a fill-welding system for depositing a first line of fill material along said lower-inside section to be refurbished;
• an array of N fill-welding systems for expanding a surface profile of said rail in need of refurbishment to a filled rail surface profile beyond a surface profile of the desired refurbished rail, configured to progress circumferentially in N−1 successive iterations thereafter, from said lower-inside section to refurbished to said upper-outside section to be refurbished, said array comprising:
• said first fill-welding system;
• an n+1th fill-welding system for depositing an n+1th line of first material adjacent an nth line of fill material wherein said fill material substantially provides a flow barrier against said n+1th line of fill material flowing past said nth line of fill material;
• wherein:
• said n+1th fill-welding system configured relative to said nth fill-welding system for depositing said n+1th line of fill material at a time when said nth line of fill material has cooled sufficiently to substantially provided said flow barrier, but when said nth line of fill material also remains sufficiently hot wherein said nth line of fill material becomes sufficiently reheated by depositing said n+1th line of fill material proximate its juncture with said n+1th line of fill material to substantially seamlessly join said juncture between said nth and said n+1th line of fill material,
• the system is further configured to omit any apparatus for subsequent post-heating of said N lines of fill material, by virtue of said configuration for reheating said nth lines of fill material by depositing said n+1th lines of fill material, and
• said N≥2 is an integer designating a total number of said fill-welding systems and a total number of lines of fill material deposited and a total number of iterations, and said n=1, 2, 3 . . . N is an integer designating an iteration number and number said N fill-welding systems.