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Reid RailtonBritish automotive engineer and creator of high-speed vehicles for land and water
Country:
 Great Britain |
Content:
- Early Life and Education
- Career in Automotive Engineering
- Design of Record-Breaking Vehicles
- Other Automotive Work
- Boat Design and Later Life
Early Life and Education
Reed Anthony Railton was born on August 13, 1895, in Alderley Edge, Cheshire, England. His parents were Charles Whittington Railton, a Manchester stockbroker, and Charlotte Elizabeth Sharman. Railton was baptized at the local parish church on August 13, 1895. He was educated at Rugby School and the University of Manchester.
Career in Automotive Engineering
Railton began his career in the automotive industry in 1917 at Leyland Motors, where he worked on John Parry-Thomas's luxury car project, the Leyland Eight. He left Leyland in 1922 to establish the Arab Motor Company, where he served as chief designer. The company produced around 12 cars, two of which, the low-chassis models, survive today.
In 1927, after Parry-Thomas's death, Railton closed the Arab factory and moved to Brooklands, where he worked for Thomson & Taylor as technical director. He oversaw the development of the Napier Railton, an air-engined racing car, which set a new track speed record in 1933.
Design of Record-Breaking Vehicles
From 1931 to 1935, racing driver Malcolm Campbell set several land speed records in the Blue Bird cars designed by Railton (Campbell-Napier-Railton Blue Bird and Campbell-Railton Blue Bird). Railton's greatest achievement was arguably the Railton Mobil Special, a piston-engined car that set the land speed record of 394.7 mph (635.2 km/h) in 1947 with John Cobb behind the wheel.
Other Automotive Work
Railton also designed racing cars for the English Racing Automobiles (ERA) company in 1933-1934. He was also a chassis tuner for the Hudson Motor Car Company, and his expertise was utilized in the car named the Railton, named after him.
Boat Design and Later Life
In addition to his automotive work, Railton designed high-speed boats, including the Crusader, a "bulbous bow" jet-propelled craft. John Cobb crashed the Crusader in 1952 while attempting to break the water speed record at 200 mph (322 km/h).
In 1939, Railton moved to California, where he worked for the Hall-Scott Motor Company. He died at the age of 83 in Berkeley, California, in 1977.
