Robert Arthur "Robin" Riddles, CBE, MIMechE, MinstLE (23 May 1892 – 18 June 1983) was a British locomotive design engineer.

Biography

LNWR and LMS

Riddles was born in 1892 in East Preston in Worthing, Sussex. His father was a contractors' manager. He attended St Andrew's High School, Worthing. Riddles entered the Crewe Works of the

London and North Western Railway The London and North Western Railway (LNWR, L&NWR) was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. In the late 19th century, the LNWR was the largest joint stock company in the world. Dubbed the "Premier Line", the LNWR's main line connec ...

as a premium apprentice in 1909, completing his apprenticeship in 1913. While attending the Mechanics Institute classes he took a course in electrical engineering, feeling there would be a future for electric traction. During the 1914–18

Great War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

he served with the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...

mainly in France, during which time he was badly wounded. He returned to the LNWR at Crewe and, in 1920, became the "bricks and mortar assistant", with responsibility for the new erecting shop. When work on that was stopped, Riddles was placed in charge of a small production progress department and was sent to Horwich to study the methods used by the L&Y. From that, Riddles gained some backing and had significant influence in the re-organisation of Crewe, which took place between 1925 and 1927. In 1923, the LNWR became part of the

London, Midland and Scottish Railway The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMSIt has been argued that the initials LMSR should be used to be consistent with London and North Eastern Railway, LNER, Great Western Railway, GWR and Southern Railway (UK), SR. The London, Midland an ...

so, on completion of the work at Crewe, Riddles was sent to the ex-

Midland Railway The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 in rail transport, 1844. The Midland was one of the largest railway companies in Britain in the early 20th century, and the largest employer in Derby, where it had ...

works at Derby, by then part of the LMS, to initiate a similar arrangement. In that task, he had the active support of the then Derby works manager, H. G. Ivatt. During the nine-day

General Strike A general strike is a strike action in which participants cease all economic activity, such as working, to strengthen the bargaining position of a trade union or achieve a common social or political goal. They are organised by large coalitions ...

in May 1926, Riddles volunteered as a driver, taking trains from Crewe to Manchester and Carlisle. The experience gained made him almost unique among CMEs, and he maintained that the practical knowledge he gained from driving a locomotive was an invaluable aid to his design work. In 1933, Riddles moved to Euston to become Locomotive Assistant to the new Chief Mechanical Engineer, Sir William Stanier and, in 1935, became Stanier's Principal Assistant. In 1937, Riddles moved to Glasgow as Mechanical & Electrical Engineer - Scotland, the first to combine both engineering disciplines in a single title. However, Riddles was disappointed that C. E. Fairburn was appointed as Stanier's Deputy.

Ministry of Supply

In 1939, with the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

having just started, he moved to the Ministry of Supply, becoming ''Director of Transportation Equipment'', and later designed the WD Austerity 2-8-0 and WD Austerity 2-10-0 locomotives.

Return to LMS

In 1943, he moved to the post of Chief Stores Superintendent at the LMS - it has been said that he was anxious to get back into the railway business. On the death of Charles Fairburn in 1944, he applied for the position of

Chief Mechanical Engineer Chief mechanical engineer and locomotive superintendent are titles applied by British, Australian, and New Zealand railway companies to the person ultimately responsible to the board of the company for the building and maintaining of the locomotive ...

, but the job went to George Ivatt, with Riddles being promoted to vice-president of the LMS.

British Railways

Upon the creation of the Railway Executive in 1947, in preparation for the nationalisation of the railways in 1948, he was appointed Member of the Railway Executive for Mechanical and Electrical Engineering. He had two principal assistants, both of whom were also former LMS men: Roland C. Bond, Chief Officer (Locomotive Construction and Maintenance), and E. S. Cox, Executive Officer (Design). The duties of the three effectively covered the old post of

and they subsequently oversaw the design of the

British Railways British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. Originally a trading brand of the Railway Executive of the British Transport Commis ...

(BR) standard classes.

Locomotive Designs

Locomotive designs introduced by Riddles include: * BR Standard Class 9F, 2-10-0 * BR Standard Class 8, 4-6-2 * BR Standard Class 7 Britannia Class, 4-6-2 * BR Standard Class 6 Clan Class, 4-6-2 * BR Standard Class 5, 4-6-0 * BR Standard Class 4, 4-6-0 * BR Standard Class 4 2-6-0 * BR Standard Class 4 2-6-4T * BR Standard Class 3 2-6-0 * BR Standard Class 3 2-6-2T * BR Standard Class 2 2-6-0 * BR Standard Class 2 2-6-2T * WD Austerity 2-8-0 * WD Austerity 2-10-0

Retirement

Riddles retired in 1953, on the abolition of the Railway Executive, and became a director of Stothert & Pitt of Bath, Cranemakers. Riddles was succeeded as Chief Mechanical Engineer of BR by Roland Bond.

References

External links

LNER encyclopedia

R.A. Riddles at WorldCat
{{DEFAULTSORT:Riddles, Robert English railway mechanical engineers British Rail people Locomotive builders and designers British Army personnel of World War I 1892 births 1983 deaths Commanders_of_the_Order_of_the_British_Empire