John Sutton
Hudson Motors Ltd., Chiswick, London. UK 1940 – 1950
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Above: Baby Railton |
The driving force behind the Railton car was Noel Macklin who having sold his interest in Invicta Cars saw the possibility of using an American chassis with more traditional British style coachwork on a relatively low cost performance car.
Reid Railton, after whom the cars were named, had made his reputation designing chassis for World Land Speed Record cars and sports cars at Thomson & Taylor in Cobham and so would have been the natural choice for Macklin to consult on a suitable basis for the proposed new car.
The final choice was the Hudson Essex Terraplane, which in 6 cylinder form had already received a favourable press in the previous September, but it was the straight-8 cylinder engined chassis of 1933 that became the basis for the new Railton.
The engine was a simple side valve design without pressure lubrication, the big ends being oiled from scoops which dipped into troughs in the sump. The chassis was a well engineered design with beam axles at both ends to which Andre Hartford Telecontrol dampers were added. The whole car, with a light 4 seat touring body, only weighed 2,260 lbs, so that with nearly 100 bhp from the 4,010 cc engine it had a very lively performance.
The Railton-Terraplane, as the early cars were called, had an imposing radiator designed by Gordon Crosby, the famous motor sports artist, and was unsurprisingly similar to the Invicta. The first cars were fitted with open 4 seat touring bodies and at a cost of £499 which was exceptionally good value. A few were purchased by Police departments for traffic duties.
Above: 1935 Fairmile Drophed Coupe
by Coachcraft Above: Bare bones Railton at Rob Roy
Hillclimb, Australia Above: Railton Carbodies Tourer
By 1934 the car was called, simply, Railton and used the Hudson 8 chassis as the Terraplane had been discontinued. The engine was still the 8-cylinder Hudson side valve, but the capacity had increased to 4,168 cc and the power to 113 bhp. The chassis was 3 inches longer at 116 inches and the front axle was articulated inboard of the springs with an upper and lower beam. Bodies were now available from a range of coachbuilders including Carbodies, Coachcraft, Motor Bodies, John Charles Ranalah, Berkeley, REAL Abbey and NEWNS. There were sports, drophead coupés and saloon versions and in 1935 the Light Sports Tourer which was famous for becoming airborne at the top of the Test Hill at Brooklands whilst being road tested by the press. The latter had a very simple two seat aluminium body without doors and a chassis in which the engine had been repositioned further back to improve the handling. In this guise the Railton was even faster and could achieve a zero to 60 mph time of under 10 seconds in road trim or 8.8 seconds stripped. Very few factory built Light Sports Tourers were made but a number of poor replicas have subsequently been built on Hudson chassis but without the repositioned engine. 1935 was the peak year of Railton production with 377 cars sold.
For 1936 the Hudson range was available in two chassis lengths and so Railtons were either 120 or 127 inches wheelbase depending on the style of coachwork. Other changes were a late move to 12 volt electrics, duo-hydraulic brakes and a remote gearchange lever. The range of body styles was also more varied and there were at least two limousine versions one from Coachcraft the other from Rippon Bros. The latter winning the Concours D’Elegance at the Welsh Rally and featuring at the ’37 Motor Show.
Above" Hudson Engine 8 cylinder
Above: Brough Superior
Above: Light Sports Tourer
In 1937 the Hudson chassis were again lengthened to 122 and 129 inches and the Railton radiator was restyled with vertical bars instead of the previous wire mesh. By now the extra weight was having an effect on performance and although they were faster than the equivalent Hudson they had lost their main selling point.
1938 saw the introduction of a 6-cylinder Railton, based on the short 116 inch Hudson chassis and with an engine of 2.723 cc capacity to bring it below the 17 hp RAC rating tax bracket. In addition there was a “baby” Railton built on the Standard 10 chassis. Rumour has it that these little cars were originally intended for Noel Macklin’s daughters who had just started driving and he was not keen for them to be seen in Fiat Topolinos which were the choice of most young ladies of the time. They were not very successful as a production car being very slow and expensive at nearly £300. Only 37 of the drophead coupés and 14 saloons were sold in spite of having attractively styled bodies by Coachcraft.
The only new model for 1939 was a 3.5 litre 6-cylinder car based, as before, on the Hudson chassis. By this time Noel Macklin was concentrating on his boat building business and so eventually Railton Cars was sold to Hudson Motors Ltd., who continued to assemble a handful of cars at their factory in Chiswick. The enterprise had produced about 1,500 cars and always been profitable, unlike most of the similar Anglo-American cars.
After the war a few pre-war chassis were bodied as Railtons by Carbodies, Martin Walter and Whittingham & Mitchel. A new drophead bodied Railton was shown at the London Motor Show by University Motors, who had taken over Coachcraft, with independent front suspension and a price tag of £4,750. In 1950 there was another expensive drophead, this time by Airflow Streamline. The problem was that Hudson no longer made a separate chassis onto which coachbuilt bodies could be fitted and also the cost of such hand made bodies was uneconomic when a Jaguar could be had for under half the price. The ultimate constraint was imposed by the British Government which forbade the regular import of chassis even had they been available.
In 1991 William Towns attempted to revive the Railton marque with an idiomatic re-bodied Jaguar XJ-S, priced at £105,000. The demise of the project was assured by Town’s untimely death shortly afterwards.
RAILTON OWNERS CLUB
There is an active Railton Owner’s Club which was founded in 1956 and is one of the oldest established one-make clubs. In addition to Railtons the club caters for the owners of Brough Superior (they have the same Hudson chassis). Also for all Hudson, Essex and Terraplane cars from 1909 to 1954.
The club issues a regular award winning Bulletin with a full range of services for members. There is a Spares Directory and a Register of Cars.
For further information contact John Gould on 01227 262364 or Email
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“It’s Quickest by Railton” by Michael Sedgwick. Automobile Quarterly, Vol. 7, No. 4.
“He Shall Have Chariots Easier than Air” by J O Dyson, Old Motor Vol. 7 No. 1.
“The Eight Cylinder Railtons” by F G Moore, MotorSport April 1983.
“Railtons The Fast Halfbreeds” by W Boddy, Mayfair Vol. 18 No. 12.
“Railton Revived” by Darren Styles World Sports Car, July/August, 1991
“Railton & Brough Superior Gold Portfolio” Brooklands Books.
“Landflying – The Terraplane” by James Fack, Railton Owners Club.