|
|
|
|
Railtons
were built by the Fairmile Engineering Company in Cobham, Surrey. This company
was the enterprise of Noel Macklin who up until the 1931 Depression had been
building Invicta cars at the same premises. Railtons were in production from
1933 to 1939 with a handful constructed post WWII. Most had Terraplane / Hudson
straight eight 4.2 litre engines but some were offered with 6 cylinder units for
‘ HP Tax’ reasons; possibly some 50 Baby Railtons were built with 10HP 4
cylinder engines. A number of coachbuilders were used for the bodies, providing
a wide variety of designs.
Brough Superiors were the brain-child of George Brough of motorcycle fame. Possibly
recognising the successful sales of Railton cars, he followed a similar formula. A few cars were built using the Terraplane /
Hudson eight cylinder engine but the majority used the 6 cylinder, 3.5 litre
engine and chassis. A supercharger was offered but it doubtful if many of these
were supplied. In 1938/39 George developed a prototype V12 Saloon, using a
Lincoln Zephyr engine and his own chassis design. This project was not to be
continued due to the outbreak of war. Apart from the V12 and a one-off sports,
bodied by NEWNS, all of the other Brough Superiors received coachwork by W.C.
Atcherley. Hudson, Essex and Terraplane. Hudson Motors of the U.S.A., produced cars and commercial vehicles
using the model names of Essex. Essex Terraplane, Terraplane and Hudson. During
the 1930’s they were one of the largest exporters of cars to all parts of the
world. In Britain they had a Sales and Service operation based in The Great West
Road, London. It was still operational as late as the 1960’s. Cars were
available with standard American bodies and British coachwork. Many large
‘Dealer Groups’ had a Hudson Franchise in the 1930’s |
|
Send mail to webmaster@railton.org with
questions or comments about this web site.
|
![[Company Logo Image]](images/3radiators.jpg)
