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 Dan Vaughan

Sedan by Rippon Brothers
Chassis number: 76-171

The Railton was named for land speed record holder Reid Railton; a collaboration between himself and Noel Macklin, who produced the Invicta. It was built in England from 1933 until the onset of World War II with fewer than 1,500 being produced. The Railton is an early example of an Anglo-American hybrid - it was built in England but with American powertrain components. Hudson, well-established in Europe, supplied the chassis as well as the motivation; first with Essex and later with Terraplane engines.

Detroit-based department store magnates, J.L. Hudson, and Roy D. Chapin formed the Hudson Motor Car Company in 1909. During their early years of existence, they enjoyed much success with their low-priced car that sold for less than $1,000.

As the 1930s came into sight and the Great Depression began taking its hold on the automotive company, the fortunes began to change. This was even true for British-based manufacturers. The founder of the Invicta Company soon found his factory empty as demand declined drastically. He decided to satisfy the interest in American cars by 'Anglicizing' them with British coachwork. He recruited well-known land speed record car designer Reed Railton as a consultant and to lend his credence to the Hudson chassis conversion project. By 1937, Railtons were fitted with a 4.2-liter Terraplane 8-cylinder offering 113 horsepower.

This 1937 Hudson Railton 4-door sedan was built by Col. Reginald Rippon, of the well-known Yorkshire Rippon Bros. coachbuilders, for his personal use. No expense was spared on the aluminum coachwork. The car has a wheelbase that measures 139 inches and a length of 214 inches. There are two sliding roof panels, fitted 3-piece luggage, a hidden waterproof compartment for sporting guns, tools painted to match the car's exterior color, a reinforced trunk lid to seat six people, and an inlaid walnut cabinet in the rear compartment that forms a table and contains a silver plated cognac flask, corkscrew, chocolate box, matchbox, and cigarette and cigar boxes.

The restoration was done by Lavine Restorations, Inc. of Nappanee, Indiana. The current caretakers acquired it in 2011.

Sportsman Drophead Coupe by Ranalah
Chassis number: 64-4474
Engine number: 15218

This Railton Sportsman Drophead Coupe wears aluminum coachwork by Ranalah. When new, it was given U.K. registration FPH 437. It is unrestored and as of 2002, it was believed to be one of just four remaining. The car was ordered new by its original owner, Bruno Benkert, who emigrated from Germany to England in the aftermath of World War I. The car was completed in mid-1937, but its serial number denotes its chassis as a 1936 model. This was consistent with Col. Macklin's practice of buying 'leftover' chassis from Hudson's London distributor.

This vehicle has a radiator by Serck's with a unique chrome grille shell. It also was fitted with the Andre Telecontrol shock absorber system, with dash-mounted controls. Mr. Benkert ordered the car was optional equipment including a cigarette lighter and ashtray, optional bumpers, dual glove boxes with doors, stem-wound in-dash clock, and Lucas steering damper. Other features included electric/manual windscreen wipers, trafficators, a side-mounted spare, a reserve fuel lever, front and rear built-in jacks, and a rumble seat with an inside latch.

In preparation for an extended European tour in 1949, this car was fitted with the addition of two facing seats for his young children and retrimming of the interior in Naugahyde.

This Railton would pass through several more UK owners until 1968 when an Englishman brought the car to the United States, where it was acquired by Elwyn Muzzey of Ohio. He later sold it to Ray Pschirer of Pennsylvania, who in turn sold it to Pete Booz, who sold it in September 2003 to the Hostetlers.

This car is powered by a 254 cubic-inch L-head inline eight-cylinder engine fitted with a single downdraft carburetor. It has a three-speed manual transmission and four-wheel mechanical drum brakes.

by Dan Vaughan

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