Editing Robert Riddles

{{short description|British locomotive engineer}}
{{Use British English|date=June 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}}
{{Infobox engineer
|image                = 
|image_size           = (if image is smaller than 250px)
|caption              = 
|name                 = Robin Riddles
|nationality          = British
|birth_date           = {{birth date|df=yes|1892|5|23}}
|birth_place          = 
|death_date           = {{death date and age|df=yes|1983|6|18|1892|5|23}}
|death_place          = 
|education            = 
|spouse               = 
|parents              = 
|children             = 
|discipline           = Locomotive Engineering
|institutions         = [[Institution of Mechanical Engineers]] (member), [[Institution of Locomotive Engineers]]
|practice_name        = 
|significant_projects = 
|significant_design   = 
|significant_advance  = 
|significant_awards   = 
}}
'''Robert Arthur "Robin" Riddles''', CBE, MIMechE, MinstLE (23 May 1892 – 18 June 1983) was a British locomotive design engineer.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.lner.info/eng/riddles.shtml |title=Robert A. Riddles |encyclopedia=The London & North Eastern Railway (LNER) Encyclopedia |accessdate=26 October 2007 }}</ref>

==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]] 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.<ref name="SteamIndex">{{cite web |title = Robert (Robin) Arthur Riddles |work = SteamIndex |date = 28 June 2007 |url=https://steamindex.com/people/riddles.htm |accessdate =30 June 2009}}</ref> During the 1914–18 [[Great War]] he served with the [[Royal Engineers]] 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&YR|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.<ref name="SteamIndex" />
In 1923, the LNWR became part of the [[London, Midland and Scottish Railway]] so, on completion of the work at Crewe, Riddles was sent to the ex-[[Midland Railway]] 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 [[1926 United Kingdom general strike|General Strike]] in May 1926, Riddles volunteered as a driver, taking trains from Crewe to Manchester and Carlisle.<ref name="SteamIndex" /> The experience gained made him almost unique among [[Chief Mechanical Engineer|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]] 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]], 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 Bond|Roland C. Bond]], Chief Officer (Locomotive Construction and Maintenance), and [[Earnest Stewart Cox|E. S. Cox]], Executive Officer (Design). The duties of the three effectively covered the old post of [[Chief Mechanical Engineer]] and they subsequently oversaw the design of the [[British Railways]] (BR) [[BR standard classes|standard classes]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Gilbert |first1=P.T. |last2=Chancellor |first2=P.J. |editor-last=Taylor |editor-first=R.K. |title=Volume One: Background to Standardisation and the Pacific Classes |series=A Detailed History of British Railways Standard Steam Locomotives |year=1994 |publisher=[[Railway Correspondence and Travel Society|RCTS]] |location=Lincoln |isbn=0-901115-81-9 |page=15 }}</ref>

===Locomotive Designs===

Locomotive designs introduced by Riddles include:
*[[BR Standard Class 9F|BR Standard Class 9F, 2-10-0]] 
*[[BR Standard Class 8|BR Standard Class 8, 4-6-2]] 
*[[BR Standard Class 7|BR Standard Class 7  Britannia Class, 4-6-2]]
*[[BR Standard Class 6|BR Standard Class 6  Clan Class, 4-6-2]]
*[[BR Standard Class 5|BR Standard Class 5, 4-6-0]]
*[[BR Standard Class 4 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]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.heritagerailway.co.uk/5015/steam-engineers-robert-riddles-britains-last-steam-chief-mechanical-engineer/ |title=FEATURE: Robert Riddles, Britain's Last Steam Chief Mechanical Engineer |work=Heritage Railway|date=10 August 2018 |accessdate=17 May 2019 }}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite book |last=Rogers |first=Colonel H.C.B. |title=The Last Steam Locomotive Engineer: R.A.Riddles |publisher=George Allen & Unwin |location=London |year=1970 |isbn=0-04-385053-7}}

==External links==
* [http://www.lner.info/eng/riddles.shtml LNER encyclopedia]
* [http://worldcat.org/identities/lccn-n82-232959 R.A. Riddles at WorldCat]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Riddles, Robert}}
[[Category:English railway mechanical engineers]]
[[Category:British Rail people]]
[[Category:Locomotive builders and designers]]
[[Category:British Army personnel of World War I]]
[[Category:1892 births]]
[[Category:1983 deaths]]