1934 Railton Eight

The British automobile marque, Railton, was founded by Noel Macklin and Reid Railton and built using Hudson mechanical components. They were assembled at the old Invicta works on Macklin's Fairmile estate in Cobham, Surrey. The Railton automobile was introduced in 1933 and produced through 1940; an attempt was made to revive the Railton name as a new company between 1989 and 1994 in Alcester, Warwickshire.

Reid Railton had established the Arab Motor Company in 1922 where he served as chief designer. About twelve vehicles were produced before the Arab factory closed in 1927 following the death of his friend Parry-Thomas. He moved to Brookland and got a job as Technical Director for Thomson & Taylor where he worked on John Cobb's 1933 Napier Railton car which achieved the Outer Circuit record in 1933 and designed the E.R.A. racing cars of 1933 and 1934. He also worked on Sir Malcolm Campbell's Blue Bird Land Speed Record cars from 1931 to 1935. John Cobb's 'Railton Special car' set a Land Speed Record of 394.7 mph in 1947. His talents and expertise were later applied to high-speed boat designs, including the jet-powered Crusader which attempted to break the Water Speed Record.

Noel Macklin co-founded Eric-Campbell in 1919, Silver Hawk in 1920, Invicta in 1925, and Railton in 1933. Production of the Invicta automobiles took place in Macklin's garage at his home at Fairmile Cottage on the main London to Portsmouth road in Cobham, Surrey. His mechanic was William Watson who he knew from before World War I. The early Invicta models were powered by Meadows straight-six, overhead-valve engines displacing 2½ liter and backed by a four-speed gearbox. Engine displacement size grew to 3 liters in 1926 and 4½ liters in late 1928. Hoping to appeal to a wider audience, a 1½ liter straight-six overhead-cam Blackburne engined 12/45 L-type was announced in 1932. However, the engine proved inadequate to motivate the nearly 10-foot long-wheelbase chassis. A supercharged 12/90 model arrived in 1933, boosting output from 45 to 90 bhp.

The Invicta vehicles were attractive and sporty, offering versatility through the various wheelbase sizes and engine choices. Noel Macklin's sister-in-law, Violette Cordery, was responsible for much of Invicta's sporting success, including earning the Dewar Trophy on two occasions. Between February and July 1927 she drove an Invicta around the world, accompanied by a nurse, a mechanic, and an RAC observer. She broke four world and 33 Italian records at Monza.

The Great Depression of the early 1930s resulted in economic hardship throughout the world, and like Bentley, Invicta struggled against rising costs and falling sales. Their final car left the factory on Friday the 13th of October 1933, though a handful of cars was assembled at the company's service depot in Flood Street, Chelsea between 1934 and 1936.

The Railton Automobile

The company was named after Reid Railton to capitalize upon the popularity of the name 'Railton', the man who had engineered Malcolm Campbell's 300-mph 'Bluebird' land speed record car of the 1930s. It signified the company's goal of building high-end sports and touring cars. The earliest models were based on an eight-cylinder Terraplane chassis with bodywork by the Ranalah coachworks located in London. By 1935, the company was using the Hudson Eight chassis and offering a wider range of bodies supplied by many top British coachworks.

Approximately 1,379 examples of the Railton 8s were produced, with its American-made Hudson Eight chassis and powertrain making it one of the most reliable, powerful, and durable vehicles of its era. Along with the potent 8, Railton offered smaller models built on the six-cylinder Hudson chassis and Standard Flying Nine chassis.

Prior to the outbreak of hostilities in Europe, Mr. Macklin sold the company in 1939 to Hudson Motor Car Company, turning his attention to powerboats. Railton vehicle production came to a close with the onset of wartime in Europe. When peacetime resumed, a new model was introduced at the 1949 London Motor Show, but it was too expensive and never entered production. Railton was out of business.

The Railton 8

The Railton 8 used the Hudson Terraplane chassis until 1935 when it was replaced by the one from the Hudson Eight. The Essex Terraplane (which became just 'Terraplane' by 1934) was a 'junior' marque to Hudson before being repositioned by company executives into the Hudson fold in an effort beginning in 1937. The Essex-Terraplane was introduced in 1932 and quickly gained notoriety for its lightweight construction, combining the body and frame into a single unit. Many components throughout the vehicle served as part of the body/chassis structure. Coupled with the 193.1 cubic-inch six-cylinder engine, Hudson described the Essex-Terraplane as 'having a higher propulsion effort per pound of car weight than any production car now on the market in this country or abroad.'

The Essex-Terraplane eight-cylinder engine displaced 243.9 cubic inches and had five main bearings, mechanical valve lifters, 5.8:1 compression, and a one-barrel downdraft carburetor. It had a 2.94-inch bore and 4.50-inch stroke and developed 94 horsepower at 3,600 RPM. The six-cylinder chassis sizes measured 106 and 113 inches, with the longer of those being shared with the eight-cylinder model. Both engines were backed by a three-speed sliding gear transmission with a single plate clutch and floor shift controls. Bendix mechanical brakes at all four corners provided the stopping power.

During 1932 and 1933, stock Terraplanes set 72 hill climb and speed records, with a Terraplane 8 achieving a top speed of 85 mph at Daytona Beach and a zero-to-sixty mph time of under 15 seconds.

In 1935, the Terraplane chassis was replaced by one from the Hudson Eight, and engine displacement size grew to 254 cubic inches with horsepower reaching 113 bhp at 3,800 RPM. The L-head engine had a chrome alloy block, five main bearings, and a 6.0:1 compression ratio. Hudson offered an optional, higher output version of the engine which brought horsepower to 124 bhp.

Since Railton did not have coachbuilding capability, all Railton 8 models wore coach-built bodies. Among them were Carbodies, Coachcraft Ltd., R.E.A.L., and Ranalah.

by Dan Vaughan

Sports Roadster
Chassis number: S21

This car was imported from England in 1964 by its former owner. It is a 1934 Railton 'one-off' short-wheelbase trials car. It was used in England during the 1930s for trials or 'off-road' type competition events. The eight-cylinder engine and entire chassis/drivetrain are 1934 Hudson. The chassis was shortened from 116 inches to 105 inches for racing. The car has two sets of shocks per wheel, with one set being adjustable from the driver's seat. It also has two fuel tanks. It's strictly a two-passenger vehicle!

The 254 cubic-inch engine features a Vertex magneto, racing camshaft, two-barrel carburetor, and a larger exhaust manifold. The intake-exhaust modification is intended to simulate what could have been on the car in 1938 when driven in trials by Donald Maclean, a notorious Russian spy.

The Railton is significant in automotive history. Noel Macklin, who produced the Invicta, became associated with Reid Railton of land speed record fame when Invicta's production was declining. Together they produced the Railton, starting in 1933 until WWII. Fewer than 1,500 Railtons were manufactured. The Railton grille was designed by famed 'Autocar' magazine artist F. Gordon Crosby, who also designed the original Bentley radiator shell for W.O. Bentley. Hudson's very smooth wet clutch and high torque engine enabled a driver to start effortlessly and smoothly from a dead stop in third (top) gear. The slogan 'Quickest by Railton' reflected zero-to-sixty road test times of less than ten seconds, phenomenal acceleration that wouldn't be matched by many other sports cars until well after the war.

In addition to being eligible for vintage racing with the Vintage Sports Car Club of America, this car is recognized as a Full Classic by the Classic Car Club of America and has participated in numerous CCCA regional and national meets.

by The Owner of the Car

4-Place Tourer by Berkeley

The Railton rose from the ashes of Invicta Cars Ltd., which had to close its main plant in 1932. Sir Noel Macklin, one of the main engineering talents at Invicta, was 'made redundant' as a result. He came up with the idea of marrying the best of American and British cars - British handling and styling coupled with powerful, durable American engines. Hudson had just introduced the high-performing Essex-Terraplane. Macklin joined with Reid Railton, designer of Malcolm Campbell's famous Bluebird land speed record car, to work out an agreement with Hudson to mate a Terraplane 8 chassis and drivetrain with a light custom British body. The Railton was introduced in 1933 as the first British-American hybrid car. Hudson acquired the company in 1939, but production stopped with the onset of war.

The Railton was introduced in 1933 and in 1939 the company was acquired by Hudson. Production was soon stopped with the onset of the war. The early cars were powered by a 4.0-liter 8-cylinder engine and given light-weight British bodies. All were equipped with coach-built bodies since Railton had no body building capability.

This example is one of two Railton factory entries in the 1934 Alpine Trails, where it scored a perfect 1,000 points and was awarded the winner's cup. The body was built by Berkeley, one of several to supply bodies to Railton.

The Railton automobile was produced between 1933 and 1940 and built by Fairmile Engineering Company in Cobham, Surrey. The place where the Railtons were produced was the same location where the Invicta cars had been built. The Invicta Company had been started by Noel Macklin (Sir Albert Noel Campbell Macklin). Mr. Macklin had a history of building cars and as a boat designer. His companies included the Eric-Campbell (1919), the Silver Hawk (1920), Invicta (1925), and Railton (1933). As the 1930s came to a close, they founded the Fairmile Marine and supplied boats to the Royal Navy during World War II.

The 'Railton' name came from the British automotive engineer named Reid A. Railton. His resume included designing land and water speed record vehicles. Mr. Railton had little involvement in the company, although he did receive a royalty for each vehicle built. One of Reid Railton's principal clients was an individual by the name of Mr. Cobb. John Rhodes Cobb was an individual who had the necessary means and finances to participate competitively in racing during the 1920s. His list of impressive cars included a 10-liter Fiat, a 27-liter Parry Thomas Special named the 'Babs' Special, and even a 10.5-liter Delage V12. His Delage was even driven to a lap record at the Brooklands circuit with an average speed of nearly 130 mph.

Mr. Railton, who worked as Technical Director for Thomas & Taylor, was responsible for designing John Cobb's 1933 Napier Railton car and the Railton Mobil Special car, along with Sir Malcolm Campbell's Bluebird Land Speed Record cars during the early 1930s. The Railton Mobil Special car set the Land Speed Record in 1938 with a speed of 353.30 mph. It was also the first car to break the 350 mph barrier. It was powered by two supercharged Napier Lion VIID W-12 aircraft engines. With further development, it reset the land speed record in 1947 at 394.7 mph.

In 1932, Hudson Motors introduced the Terraplane model which would remain in production until 1938. The Terraplane automobile was inexpensive yet powerful. With the help of Hudson's other models, the company would win 72 official performance records by 1934.

After the evaluation of the Hudson product, an agreement was made with the Railton Company to import the straight eight-cylinder chassis. The chassis and suspension were modified and fitted with custom coachwork by independent coachbuilders. The first Railton received two-door tourer coachwork by British coachbuilder John Charles Ranalah. This was followed by other body styles including Saloons, Drop Head Coupes, and Touring Cars.

These British-American hybrid cars benefitted from the durability of the American engines and the styling and handling of British engineering. The early cars were powered by a 4-liter 8-cylinder engine. In 1935, the engine grew in size and offered 13 more horsepower, now rated at 113 BHP. A smaller six-cylinder car was added to the lineup in 1937. An even smaller Railton was introduced in 1938 and built on a Standard Flying Nine chassis.

In 1939, Noel Macklin sold the Railton Company to the Hudson Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan. Production soon ended due to the outbreak of World War II.

by Dan Vaughan