In April 1990 a conference was held at the Cracow Institute of Technology, Cracow, Poland. The title of that conference was "Residual Stresses in Rails - Effects on Rail Integrity and Railroad Economics" and its themes were the measurement and prediction of residual stresses in rails, but, as the sub-title suggests, the intention was also to provide a link between research and its application to the practical railway world. At the Cracow conference there were 40 participants with 5 railways and 5 rail makers being represented and 25 papers were given. The Cracow conference was a success, and by March 1991 its off-spring, "The International Conference on Rail Quality and Maintenance for Modern Railway Operations", was conceived and birth was ultimately given in June 1992 at the Technical University, Delft. It turned out to be some baby, with 112 delegates from 24 countries taking part! As with its predecessor, the conference was to provide a forum for the exchange of ideas between research investigators, rail makers and railway engineers. A cursory examination of the list of participants suggests that about 57% were from the railway industry, 34% from universities and other research institutions and 9% from the steel industry. Bearing in mind that some of the railway industry participants were from their respective research and development organisations the balance of interests was about right.

In April 1990 a conference was held at the Cracow Institute of Technology, Cracow, Poland. The title of that conference was "Residual Stresses in Rails - Effects on Rail Integrity and Railroad Economics" and its themes were the measurement and prediction of residual stresses in rails, but, as the sub-title suggests, the intention was also to provide a link between research and its application to the practical railway world. At the Cracow conference there were 40 participants with 5 railways and 5 rail makers being represented and 25 papers were given. The Cracow conference was a success, and by March 1991 its off-spring, "The International Conference on Rail Quality and Maintenance for Modern Railway Operations", was conceived and birth was ultimately given in June 1992 at the Technical University, Delft. It turned out to be some baby, with 112 delegates from 24 countries taking part! As with its predecessor, the conference was to provide a forum for the exchange of ideas between research investigators, rail makers and railway engineers. A cursory examination of the list of participants suggests that about 57% were from the railway industry, 34% from universities and other research institutions and 9% from the steel industry. Bearing in mind that some of the railway industry participants were from their respective research and development organisations the balance of interests was about right.

This book is intended for mechanicians, engineering mathematicians, and, generally for theoretically inclined mechanical engineers. It has its origin in my Master's Thesis (J 957), which I wrote under the supervision of Professor Dr. R. Timman of the Delft TH and Dr. Ir. A. D. de Pater of Netherlands Railways. I did not think that the surface of the problem had even been scratched, so I joined de Pater, who had by then become Professor in the Engineering Mechanics Lab. of the Delft TH, to write my Ph. D. Thesis on it. This thesis (1967) was weil received in railway circles, which is due more to de Pater's untiring promotion than to its merits. Still not satisfied, I feit that I needed more mathe matics, and I joined Professor Timman's group as an Associate Professor. This led to the present work. Many thanks are due to G. M. L. Gladwell, who thoroughly polished style and contents of the manuscript. Thanks are also due to my wife, herself an engineering mathematician, who read the manuscript through critically, and made many helpful comments, to G. F. M. Braat, who also read an criticised, and, in addition, drew the figures together with J. Schonewille, to Ms. A. V. M. de Wit, Ms. M. den Boef, and Ms. P. c. Wilting, who typed the manuscript, and to the Publishers, who waited patiently. Delft-Rotterdam, 17 July 1990. J. J."

This book is intended for mechanicians, engineering mathematicians, and, generally for theoretically inclined mechanical engineers. It has its origin in my Master's Thesis (J 957), which I wrote under the supervision of Professor Dr. R. Timman of the Delft TH and Dr. Ir. A. D. de Pater of Netherlands Railways. I did not think that the surface of the problem had even been scratched, so I joined de Pater, who had by then become Professor in the Engineering Mechanics Lab. of the Delft TH, to write my Ph. D. Thesis on it. This thesis (1967) was weil received in railway circles, which is due more to de Pater's untiring promotion than to its merits. Still not satisfied, I feit that I needed more mathe matics, and I joined Professor Timman's group as an Associate Professor. This led to the present work. Many thanks are due to G. M. L. Gladwell, who thoroughly polished style and contents of the manuscript. Thanks are also due to my wife, herself an engineering mathematician, who read the manuscript through critically, and made many helpful comments, to G. F. M. Braat, who also read an criticised, and, in addition, drew the figures together with J. Schonewille, to Ms. A. V. M. de Wit, Ms. M. den Boef, and Ms. P. c. Wilting, who typed the manuscript, and to the Publishers, who waited patiently. Delft-Rotterdam, 17 July 1990. J. J."