# Reid Railton
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{{Short description|British automotive engineer (1895–1977)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2024}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2013}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Reid Anthony Railton
| image = Thinktank Birmingham - Railton R.jpg
| caption =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = 25 June 1895[{{cite news |title=Mr. Reid Railton |url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CS237601059/TTDA?u=wikipedia&sid=bookmark-TTDA&xid=9e7f7592|work=[The Times](/source/The_Times) |issue=60099 |date=3 September 1977 |page=14 |id={{Gale|CS237601059}}}}]
| birth_place =
| death_date = 1 September 1977 (aged 82)
| death_place = [Berkeley, California](/source/Berkeley%2C_California)
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| education = [Rugby School](/source/Rugby_School), [Manchester University](/source/Manchester_University)
| employer = [Thomson & Taylor](/source/Thomson_%26_Taylor)
| occupation = Designer of land and water speed record vehicles
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'''Reid Anthony Railton''' (25 June 1895 – 1 September 1977) was a British automotive engineer, and designer of [land](/source/Land_Speed_Record) and [water speed record](/source/water_speed_record) vehicles.
==Biography==
Reid Anthony Railton was the son of a [Manchester](/source/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. He was educated at [Rugby School](/source/Rugby_School) and [Manchester University](/source/Manchester_University). He joined [Leyland Motors](/source/Leyland_Motors) in 1917 where he worked with [J.G. Parry-Thomas](/source/J.G._Parry-Thomas) on the [Leyland Eight](/source/Leyland_Eight) luxury car. He left in 1922 to set up the [Arab Motor Company](/source/Arab_(automobile)) where he was chief designer. Only about twelve cars were built, of which two low-chassis cars survive. One is in the [Isle of Man](/source/Isle_of_Man) and the other one (chassis number 6, engine number 10, registration UW 2) is now in [Austria](/source/Austria) having been rebuilt and rebodied by David Barker in the early 1990s.
In 1927, on the death of his friend Parry-Thomas, Railton closed the Arab factory and moved to [Brooklands](/source/Brooklands) working for [Thomson & Taylor](/source/Thomson_%26_Taylor) becoming their Technical Director with responsibility for [John Cobb](/source/John_Cobb_(motorist))'s 1933 [Napier Railton](/source/Napier_Railton) car which took the Outer Circuit record in 1933 and [Sir Malcolm Campbell](/source/Sir_Malcolm_Campbell)'s [Blue Bird Land Speed Record cars](/source/%3ACategory%3ABluebird_record-breaking_vehicles) of 1931 to 1935. His greatest achievements were probably in designing the [Railton Special](/source/Railton_Special) car[[http://www.birminghamstories.co.uk/story_page.php?id=4&type=fo&page=5&now=0 Birmingham Stories: "Britain makes the speed record its own"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101213093314/http://birminghamstories.co.uk/story_page.php?id=4&type=fo&page=5&now=0 |date=13 December 2010 }}] with which John Cobb set the Land Speed Record at {{convert|394.7|mph|km/h|1|abbr=on}} in 1947 and designing the [E.R.A.](/source/English_Racing_Automobiles) racing cars built in 1933–34 at Thompson & Taylors at [Brooklands](/source/Brooklands). He also tuned the [Hudson](/source/Hudson_Motor_Car_Company) chassis used on the [Railton](/source/Railton_(car)) car, named after him.
As well as cars he designed high-speed boats, including the jet-powered ''[Crusader](/source/Crusader_(speedboat))'' in which [John Cobb](/source/John_Cobb_(motorist)) was killed in 1952 while travelling in excess of {{convert|200|mph|km/h|0|abbr=on}} attempting to break the Water Speed Record.
In 1939 he moved to [California](/source/California) to work for the [Hall-Scott Motor Company](/source/Hall-Scott). He died in [Berkeley, California](/source/Berkeley%2C_California), on 1 September 1977 at the age of 82.[{{cite news |title=Designer of record beating cars dies |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/south-wales-argus-railton/156269768/ |work=South Wales Argus |date=1 September 1977 |page=1}}]
==Vehicles designed by Reid Railton==
thumb|Sir Malcolm Campbell at the wheel of the "Bluebird", with crowd, 1926 - 1936
* [Campbell-Napier-Railton Blue Bird](/source/Campbell-Napier-Railton_Blue_Bird)
* [Campbell-Railton Blue Bird](/source/Campbell-Railton_Blue_Bird)
* [Crusader (speedboat)](/source/Crusader_(speedboat))
* [Leyland Eight](/source/Leyland_Eight)
* [Napier-Railton](/source/Napier-Railton)
* [Railton Mobil Special](/source/Railton_Mobil_Special)
* [Railton Special](/source/Railton_Special)
==See also==
{{commons category|Reid Railton}}
* [Railton (car)](/source/Railton_(car))
* [Vehicles designed by Reid Railton](/source/%3ACategory%3AVehicles_designed_by_Reid_Railton)
== References ==
{{reflist}}
== Further reading ==
* {{cite book
|title=The Motor Men
|last=King
|first=Peter
|publisher=Quiller Press
|location=London
|year=1989
|isbn=1-870948-23-8}}
* {{cite book
|title=The Last Crusader
|last=Stobart-Hook
|first=Barry
|agency=
|year=2008
|publisher=Temple Press, April Cottage Publications
|ref=Stobart-Hook, Crusader
|isbn=978-0-9559147-0-6}}
* {{Cite book
|title=Reid Railton: Man of Speed.
|last=Ludvigsen |first=Karl
|authorlink=Karl Ludvigsen
|year=2018
|publisher=Evro Publishing
|isbn=978-1910505250
}}
== External links ==
* [http://www.theautochannel.com/vehicles/coll/sci/112bastard.html The Auto Channel]
* {{cite web
|publisher = Brooklands photo archive
|title = Reid Railton (right) lowering the cockpit cover of the Railton Special over John Cobb's head, outside the workshops of Thomson & Taylor.
|url = http://www.brooklandsarchives.com/Gallery_C6/target47.html
|archive-url = https://archive.today/20120720170856/http://www.brooklandsarchives.com/Gallery_C6/target47.html
|url-status = dead
|archive-date = 20 July 2012
}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Railton, Reid}}
Category:British automobile designers
Category:Brooklands people
Category:People educated at Rugby School
Category:1895 births
Category:1977 deaths
Category:Land speed record people
Category:British expatriates in the United States
Category:People from Alderley Edge
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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Reid Railton](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reid_Railton) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reid_Railton?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.