Robert Riddles

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 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 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&Y. From that, Riddles gained some backing and had significant influence in the re-organisation of Crewe, which took place between 1925 and 1927.

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.