The two bonded over a shared interest in railways, and in 1931, they founded The Four Os[2] to publish a newsletter called Locomotion.
Meanwhile, after a year at the London School of Economics[4] Kidner was working as an editor of travel guides for Benn Brothers.
[1] In 1938, Oakwood published the first train spotter's guide, called How to Recognise Southern Railway Locomotives written by Kidner.
[3] The Oakwood Press suspended publication during the Second World War, and Kidner served in the Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment where he rose to the rank of Major.
He broadened the range of subjects covered, to include biographies of railwaymen and books about trams, traction engines, buses and canals.