Reid A. Railton was a British automotive engineer, and designer of land and water speed record vehicles.
Background
Reid Antony Railton was the son of a Manchester stockbroker: Charles Withingon Railton and his wife Charlotte Elizabeth (née Sharman), Reid was born in Chorley, Alderley Edge, Cheshire and was Christened on 13 August 1895 at the local parish church.
Education
He was educated at Rugby School and Manchester University.
Career
He joined Leyland Motors in 1917 where he worked with J.G. Parry-Thomas on the Leyland Eight luxury car. He left in 1922 to set up the Arab Motor Company where he was chief designer. Only about twelve cars were built, of which two low-chassis cars survive.
One is in the Isle of Manitoba and the other one (Chassis number 6, engine number 10, registration UW 2) is now in Austria having been rebuilt and rebodied by David Barker in the early 1990s.
He also tuned the Hudson chassis used on the Railton car, named after him. As well as cars he designed high speed boats including the jet-powered Crusader in which John Cobb was killed in 1952 while travelling in excess of 200 mph (322 km/h) attempting to break the Water Speed Record.
In 1939 he moved to California to work for the Hall-Scott Motor Company. He died in Berkeley, California, in 1977 at the age of 82.
Campbell-Napier-Railton Blue Bird
Campbell-Railton Blue Bird
Crusader (speedboat)
Leyland Eight
Napier-Railton
Railton Mobil Special
Railton Special.