Cecil John Allen"Allen, Cecil J., 1886-1973" at Library of Congress Linked Data Service. (1886 – 5 February 1973Obituary in The Times 7 February 1973) was a British railway engineer and technical journalist and writer.
Work Allen qualified as a civil engineer and joined the Great Eastern Railway in 1903, later working for the London & North Eastern Railway retiring in 1946.Mr Cecil J Allen The Railway Magazine issue 566 November 1946 page 389 He inspected new rails for quality.
Allen also was the second contributor to the long-running British locomotive practice and performance article series in The Railway Magazine from 1909 to 1958, He was concurrently editor of Trains Illustrated in the 1940s, and was succeeded in that position by his son, Geoffrey Freeman Allen, in 1950.
Allen was a committed Christian and an accomplished organist, writing a chorus "The Lord has need of me". He was offered a place on the train when Mallard broke the world speed record in 1938, but declined the offer as the run was scheduled for a Sunday morning and clashed with his regular church (Christian Brethren) attendance. He died on 5 February 1973.Cecil J Allen The Railway Magazine issue 872 March 1973 page 189
Bibliography He wrote numerous books on locomotives, and railway company histories, as well as an autobiography "Two Million Miles of Train Travel": Locomotives
Railway company histories
General railways
Railways of To-day: Their Evolution, Equipment and Operation. Frederick Warne & Company. 1929.
Other
See also Geoffrey Freeman Allen, his son, also a writer on railway topics, and first editor of Modern Railways
References