Charles Rous-Marten

Charles Rous-Marten (1842–1908) was a New Zealand journalist and British railway writer and recorder.

[2] He took a close interest in railways over many years and in 1884 and 1885 he did a thorough study of the British rail network, involving around 40,000 miles of travel.

In 1887 the results were embodied in a report to the New Zealand Minister of Public Works entitled Notes on the Railways of Great Britain, which received favourable reviews.

[3] He is chiefly known for recording a speed of 102.3 mph on the 'Ocean Mail' special from Plymouth to London hauled by GWR locomotive 3440 City of Truro on 9 May 1904,[4] the first time that a steam locomotive was recorded to have achieved 100 mph.

Between the years of 1902 and 1908 he wrote a series of articles for The Railway Magazine on British locomotive practice and performance.