Hugh C Hughes was a teacher by profession and a prominent statistician and railway historian of domestic and overseas railway with a focus on Indian railways. Hughes wrote and co-wrote various books on the subject which provide an abundance of details, statistics and rare images of the Indian Railway. His interest in Indian railways originiated when he came across a metre-gauge Indian locomotive whilst serving in the armed forces in Baghdad in 1943. He also produced several papers, articles for railway magazines and books relating to Indian Railways, railways in the Middle East and the Southern Railway in the United Kingdom.

He resided in Britain and moved to to New Zealand on his retirement from teaching. Hugh Hughes passed away on 13 August 1998.