Process for producing a railroad crossing means

A process for forming a molded member for a railroad track crossing, comprising:

• providing a mold for forming the molded member, the mold having a bottom part and a top part, both of which are substantially impermeable to the materials from which the molded member is to be formed, the bottom part having a cavity with a top opening and the top part being receivable into the cavity through the top opening,
• preparing a heated mixture comprising granular vulcanized scrap rubber and a binder comprising crude rubber and a vulcanizing agent;
• preparing a molded-member precursor in the cavity of the bottom part of the mold, the molded-member precursor comprising as one part thereof the heated mixture and as a further part thereof at least one cohesive layer adjoining the heated mixture and interposed between the heated mixture and a surface of one of the mold parts, the cohesive layer comprising crude rubber and a vulcanizing agent and having a putty-like consistency;
• inserting the top part of the mold into the cavity of the bottom part of the mold through the top opening and applying a force to the top part to apply pressure to the molded member precursor while maintaining the molded-member precursor at an elevated temperature to vulcanize the crude rubber, to bond the heated mixture, and to form a bond between the heated mixture and the cohesive layer, thereby forming the molded member from the molded-member precursor;
• and
• allowing the molded member to cool.