A titan of 20th-century high-speed automotive engineering, Reid Railton is best remembered for his close association with British speed kings Sir Malcolm Campbell and John Cobb. Born in Chorley, Alderly Edge, Cheshire in 1895, he received his education at the Rugby School and Manchester University. After working for Leyland Motors and establishing the Arab Motor Company in 1927, he became technical director for Thompson & Taylor of Brooklands fame. He designed several cars, including the Riley, the E.R.A., and the eponymous Railton, which was based on a collaboration with the Hudson Motor Car Company in the U.S. and utilized its Terraplane design. His high-speed designs included Sir Malcolm Campbell’s Bluebird land-speed record cars (1931–1935, 300+mph), John Cobb’s Napier Railton, and, most notably, Cobb’s Railton Mobil Special (1938–1947, 400+mph). Railton also designed high-speed watercraft, the most famous of which was Crusader (1952, 200+mph), a jet-powered boat in which Cobb, Railton’s best friend, met his death while seeking to establish a new water-speed record at Loch Ness.

During World War II, Railton worked on the design of mass-produced British patrol and anti-submarine vessels of Fairmile Marine Company. Railton identified the Hall-Scott Defender marine engine, designed and built in Berkeley, as being ideal for use in the Fairmile boats. Early in the war demand for the Hall-Scott Invader 6 engine became so great that Hall-Scott entered into an agreement with Hudson for increased production, freeing design and fabrication capacity for the V-12 Defender. Railton’s history with Hudson led him to Hall-Scott, eventually precipitating his move to Berkeley and his position as consulting engineer at Hall-Scott, where he assisted in the development of crucial WWII marine power units. The Hall-Scott factory was located near the intersection of Seventh and Heinz streets in West Berkeley.  Railton and his family first moved to Berkeley in 1939, spending a year as residents of the Claremont Hotel before moving to other residences. Reid Railton died in Berkeley at age 82.