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

Biography

LNWR and LMS

Riddles was born in 1892 and 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 L&NWR was the largest joint stock company in the United Kingdom. In 1923, it became a constituent of the Lo ...

as a

premium apprentice Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a ...

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 he served with the

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

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 this 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 this, 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 LNER, GWR and SR. The London, Midland and Scottish Railway's corporate image used LMS, and this is what is generally u ...

, thus, on completion of the work at Crewe, Riddles was sent to the ex- Midland Railway works at Derby, by now part of the LMS, to initiate a similar arrangement. In this task, he had the active support of the then Derby works manager,

H. G. Ivatt Henry George Ivatt (4 May 1886 – 4 October 1972), known as George Ivatt, was the post-war Chief Mechanical Engineer of the London Midland and Scottish Railway. He was the son of the Great Northern Railway locomotive engineer Henry Ivatt. ...

. During the nine-day

General Strike A general strike refers to 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 co ...

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; Riddles maintained that the practical knowledge of driving a locomotive that he gained, 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 Charles Edward Fairburn (5 September 1887 – 12 October 1945) was an English electrical engineer whose work mainly concerned rail transport. Born in Bradford in 1887, and educated at Brasenose College, Oxford, his career included railway e ...

was at this time appointed as Stanier's Deputy.

Ministry of Supply

In 1939, with the Second World War having just started, he moved to the

Ministry of Supply The Ministry of Supply (MoS) was a department of the UK government formed in 1939 to co-ordinate the supply of equipment to all three British armed forces, headed by the Minister of Supply. A separate ministry, however, was responsible for aircr ...

, 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, 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 these three effectively covered the old post of Chief Mechanical Engineer; 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 of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four British rai ...

(BR) standard classes.

Retirement

Riddles retired in 1953, on the abolition of the Railway Executive, and became a director of

Stothert & Pitt Stothert & Pitt was a British engineering company founded in 1855 in Bath, England. It was the builder of various engineering products ranging from Dock cranes to construction plant and household cast iron items. It went out of business in 1989 ...

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