1937 Railton Eight

The Railton Company built high-end sports and touring cars in limited quantities during the 1930s. It was established by Sir Noel Macklin after he sold his Invicta Cars Ltd., in 1933. Macklin had been one of the main engineers at Invicta. The company was named after Reid Railton, the famed engineer behind Malcolm Campbell's 300-mph 'Bluebird' land speed record car of the 1930s.

The Railton Company used a hybrid of British handling and styling married with powerful and durable American engines. An agreement was reached with Hudson to couple a Terraplane 8 chassis and drivetrain with a light custom British Body. When introduced in 1933, the Railton was the first British-American hybrid car. Hudson acquired the company in 1939, and production ceased with the onset of war.

Since Railton had no body building capability, all were fitted with coachbuilt bodies. The early Railton used an eight-cylinder Terraplane chassis with bodywork supplied by the Ranalah coachworks of London. By 1935, Railtons were being built with the Hudson Eight chassis in an expanded range of body styles from several coachbuilders.

It is believed that approximately 1,379 Railton 8s were produced. Other smaller models were built on the six-cylinder Hudson chassis and Standard Flying Nine chassis.

by Daniel Vaughan | Feb 2019