1935 Railton Eight Special Saloon
Coachwork by Carbodies
Registration no. ADF 268
Chassis no. 543254
Engine no. 543554
•One of only some 1400 Railtons of all types produced
•One of the fastest British cars of its day
• Known ownership history
•Present ownership since 2004
•Extensively restored

Footnotes:
Conceived by business partners Reid Railton and Noel Macklin, Railton cars were based on Hudson mechanicals and assembled at the old Invicta works on Macklin's Fairmile estate in Cobham, Surrey. Introduced in 1933, the first Railton used a modified Terraplane Eight chassis on which was mounted British-style coachwork. The Railton weighed less than the Terraplane and with 94bhp available from the 4,010cc sidevalve straight-eight, the result was a stylish car with outstanding performance for its day.

The car offered here is an example of the Terraplane Railton's successor, which was based on the more powerful (113bhp) 4,168cc Hudson Special Eight. 'ADF 268' (number '268' in the sales records) was sold new to Steel's Garage in Cheltenham and first registered on 3rd June 1935. The first owner was possibly a Mr Perrins. A letter from Railton Cars states that the car left the works on 30th May and is a 1935 Series II model with a Special Saloon body by Carbodies of Coventry.

In December 1937 the Railton was purchased by H S Peacock of Cheltenham, but then a telegram dated 25th January 1938 shows the car going to Hanton's Garage (James Hanton) in Laurencekirk with a mileage of approximately 19,000. The accompanying invoice gives the sale price as £140 5s. The car then went to Robert Kerr in Fordoun in November 1949 before coming back to David Hanton in May 1965. There is an old-style logbook of file issued in June 1945 together with the current V5C.

After Mr Hanton died the car was purchased by R A A Lewis of Morecambe, and there is correspondence on file with the well known Railton enthusiast Barry Mackenzie. 'ADF 268' appears to have been purchased by John Ingham of Clitheroe in September 1986. The current vendor purchased the car from dealer Jeremy Wade in August 2004. Since acquisition the following works have been carried out:

•Chassis stripped and painted
•Body stripped to bare metal; body above waistline replaced (including sliding roof); and whole car given top quality repaint
•New chrome/rubber strips fitted
•All interior leather replaced and seats completely rebuilt
•Carpet and under-felt replaced
•New headlining installed
•All woodwork re-varnished
•Engine stripped and rebuilt with new piston rings and replacement carburettor
•Headlamps and radiator re-chromed
•Flashing indicators fitted

There is a large quantity of invoices covering all of the above. The car is now in excellent condition, and it has been suggested that it should not be driven but put in a museum!

https://we.tl/t-J6HaP24HLE




If you have any further questions about this lot or would like to discuss the vehicle in more detail, please contact the consigning Specialist for this lot at the details below.




Louis Frankel
+44 7867 901583
louis.frankel@bonhams.com