Solved - MJW #879 - Railton Berkeley Saloon by Motor Bodies (London) 1934

[woodinsight]

A bit of an ugly old beast in need of some TLC....

Make, model, year and coachbuilder required to earn one point.

[Manuel]

Invicta

[woodinsight]

Not Invicta but it is from the UK...

[woodinsight]

Movin' on up

[bentleybob]

Railton Straight Eight?

[woodinsight]

Railton Straight Eight?

It is a Railton but I have a different model name....

[bentleybob]

Railton Fairmile?

[woodinsight]

Railton Fairmile?

Not a Fairmile but you are in the right half of the alphabet....

[fyreline]

Railton Cobham perhaps? Exact year is a little tough, coachbuilder (and the coachwork is, ah, rather unfortunate) a bit more so. I'll keep looking, but in the meantime I'll hazard a guess . . . many (most?) Railtons were eventually bodied by Coachcraft, but that doesn't seem right for this big saloon so I'll say it's a 1934, body by Ranalah?

[woodinsight]

Railton Cobham perhaps? Exact year is a little tough, coachbuilder (and the coachwork is, ah, rather unfortunate) a bit more so. I'll keep looking, but in the meantime I'll hazard a guess . . . many (most?) Railtons were eventually bodied by Coachcraft, but that doesn't seem right for this big saloon so I'll say it's a 1934, body by Ranalah?

1934 is correct.
It's not a Cobham but you're close to the letter the model starts with.
Coachwork is not by Ranalah or Coachcraft but by a company (British) that existed up until 1935.
I'll lock it for you until your next reply only.

[fyreline]

Hmmm.  There are a few Railton Berkelys on the web, but they are all open tourers and Berkely is listed as the coachbuilder, not the model name. The Railton Carrington is shown in their catalog only as a drophead coupe. A lot of early Railtons were listed as "Railton 8", but of course that's more properly a number, not the word "Eight". I also found a reference to some bodies built by R.E.A.L., but I can't seem to find anything more out about them at all.

So we've established only that it's a 1934 Railton, and you're still looking for a model designation and coachbuilder. Please unlock it and let the rest have at it. Thanks.

[woodinsight]

Hmmm.  There are a few Railton Berkelys on the web, but they are all open tourers and Berkely is listed as the coachbuilder, not the model name. A lot of early Railtons were listed as "Railton 8" but that's more properly a number, not the word "Eight". I also found a reference to some bodies built by R.E.A.L., but I can't seem to find anything more out about them.

So we've established only that it's a 1934 Railton, and you're still looking for a model designation and coachbuilder. Please unlock it and let the rest have at it. Thanks.

Berkeley is the model!........but not the coachbuilder.
R.E.A.L. was not the coachbuilder either.
Open again.......

[woodinsight]

Would a Pro like to finish this one off?

[fyreline]

It seems a shame to let this one slip into the Black Hole when we are so close . . .

1934 Railton Berkeley with coachwork by ________________?

A British body builder, perhaps? I'll take another guess . . . . Abbott?

[woodinsight]

It seems a shame to let this one slip into the Black Hole when we are so close . . .

1934 Railton Berkeley with coachwork by ________________?

A British body builder, perhaps? I'll take another guess . . . . Abbott?

Yes I agree, it's not a BH candidate even though the coachbuilder is relatively obscure.
It is British.

As a clue, they built bodies on numerous chassis including Chrysler, Daimler, Essex, etc.

[RayTheRat]

1934 Railton Berkeley with coachwork by Motor Bodies.

[woodinsight]

1934 Railton Berkeley with coachwork by Motor Bodies.

That's the car!
Well found and it earns you another point.
Just to clarify - there were two coachbuilders named Motor Bodies.
This one was Motor Bodies & Engineering Ltd. of Holloway, London - in business 1923-1935.
The other was Motor Bodies (Newcastle) Ltd. of Newcastle-upon-Tyne - in business 1929-1931.

[RayTheRat]

Thanks for the clarification on the 2 firms.  At least I think it's a clarification.    2 coachbuilders with the same name, operating in the same country at the time...wow!  That's gotta create some confusion.  I double-checked my source and it tells me that this car (the prototype, at least) was, indeed, built by Motor Bodies of London.  Apparently what production there was of that model was done elsewhere.  Even more confusing.

RtR

[fyreline]

Well done Ray, and glad to see this one solved.

[RayTheRat]

Thank you, fyreline.  It's kind of you to say that.  I did a lot of searching and then came across the photo almost by accident while looking for a similar, but different car.

RtR

[pnegyesi]

1934 Railton Berkeley with coachwork by Motor Bodies.

That's the car!
Well found and it earns you another point.
Just to clarify - there were two coachbuilders named Motor Bodies.
This one was Motor Bodies & Engineering Ltd. of Holloway, London - in business 1923-1935.
The other was Motor Bodies (Newcastle) Ltd. of Newcastle-upon-Tyne - in business 1929-1931.

The London company was was around in 1922