Abstract: A tamping blade is comprised of a blade shoe of steel that is adapted for mounting on the end of a support arm and has a cut-out at the leading edges to support at least one wear-resistant insert. Preferably a plurality of wear-resistant inserts, typically of tungsten carbide, are positioned end to end in the cut-out. Each insert has first and second opposed sides and first and second opposed major surfaces, with the major surfaces being angular to each other to provide a substantially uniform thickness for the body at each of the sides. The first side of each insert has a thickness of at least about 3/8 inch and is adapted to provide a leading edge for the tamping blade extending across the thickness of the blade shoe beyond the leading edge thereof.