Cecil J. Allen
Cecil J. Allen 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. 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, and then went on to write for Trains Illustrated, which at the time was edited by his son, Geoffrey Freeman Allen.
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 attendance. He died on 5 February 1973.
