fall inside a hole
The Railway Series
The Railway Series is made up of 26 books written by the Reverend Wilbert Awdry between 1945 and 1972 and 16 written by his son Christopher Awdry between 1983 and 2011. The books introduce and follow the goings-on and interactions between trains on the Island of Sodor's railways, including the primary North Western Railroad and the narrow-gauge Skarloey Railroad. The books feature many colorful full-page illustrations depicting the different trains who all have names, personalities, and expressive faces. The trains in the books are based on a mix of real and modified classes of locomotives, with some real-world trains appearing in the books either as characters on Sodor or as faceless engines off the island, and some of the railways on Sodor are based on real-world railways. Each book is a collection of a few stories connected either by common characters or themes.
The books are written as if they are works of fiction from a world where the Island of Sodor is a real place (located between the Isle of Man and Great Britain) and the series references and parallels real-world events including the nationalization and dieselization of British railroads. Many of the stories are based on things that the Reverend would hear and experience riding and volunteering at railways in Britain or other real-world railway incidents or the operations of his own model railroads, and the engine's personalities in the stories are really an exaggeration of stories that the crew of Sodor's engines might tell about incidents they have gotten into or times that trains act up. In this reading, the trains on Sodor in the world the books are written from do not really have faces and they are an aspect of the in-universe author's adaptation of Sudrian railway stories.
The series was first published in the U.K. and were a very good seller there, with many editions, compilations, and slight cover variations released over the decades as well as companion maps, activity books, popup books, records, and even a few early Thomas toys. Earlier editions were hardback with nice colorful slipcases and handsome covers with later paperback copies after the Reverend had retired selling for affordable prices.
A Japanese translation began being published in the 1970s and early 1980s and stayed in print for over two decades. After the success of the Thomas television series in the United States American editions were also published in the early 1990s, with a reformatted "Thomas & Friends Club" series in the early 2000s. Story collections of both the Reverend and Christopher's books have been published, although some of the companion works are somewhat sought after by Thomas collectors.
Below is a bit about the first twelve original Reverend Awdry books, which introduce the "Eight Famous Engines" and follow their early time on the Island of Sodor. In total Wilbert Awdry wrote the first 26 books in the series, which I would say I like the most, and find them as well as the early series of the Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends television show to be the best and most enjoyable parts of the Thomas media empire.
The Three Railway Engines (1945)
The first Railway Series book The Three Railway Engines was published in 1945 and based off a series of stories that the Reverend Wilbert Awdry told his son. The first character in these stories is Edward, with Gordon and Henry joining him as named engines in this first volume. In universe, this book takes place across 1922 and 1923. Thomas the Tank Engine does not appear until the second book, although a few other engines that do not appear elsewhere are pictured in some illustrations - in universe, these are engines that were loaned to the North Western Railway in its early operating years that likely returned to the Mainland.
Edward lives in a shed with several other larger engines and is upset that they get to pull trains while he is left in the shed. Seeing that he is upset, the drivers decide to take Edward out for the day and he pulls a nice passenger train and is promised to get to go out again tomorrow.
Gordon, one of the big engines in Edward's shed, boasts to Edward about how he will see him speed through with the express train later, but when Edward is shunting in the yard he instead sees Gordon pulling dirty freight cars. Gordon ends up getting stuck going up the hill and doesn't believe he will make it up but Edward pushes the rear of the train and Gordon steams away, forgetting all about Edward.
Henry, another big engine, refuses to run in the rain believing it will spoil his green paint with red stripes. He stops in a tunnel and the passengers of his train attempt to pull and push him out while the director looks on. Another train (a red engine, who is not James - the early illustrations have him match the larger red engine in the shed at the start of Edward's Day Out) comes and tries to push Henry out of the tunnel but he refuses to budge, so they take the train away and decide to brick Henry up inside the tunnel and, although the illustrations do not accurately reflect the state of the tunnels themselves, a new tunnel is bored.
Henry sees Edward and Gordon pass with their trains, and laments being stuck in the tunnel, having long run out of steam and with the rails torn up regardless - the tunnel has spoiled his green paint anyways. One day, while running hard with the express, Gordon bursts his safety valve and comes to a stop near Henry bricked up in the tunnel. Edward is called to try and pull the train, but it is too heavy for him. Gordon suggests letting Henry try, and they lay down rails and take down the wall and Edward and Henry take the express away. Henry is given a new coat of blue paint, although he later returns to his green with red stripes.
Thomas the Tank Engine (1946)
Based on a wooden train toy carved from a broom handle for Christopher Awdry, Thomas the Tank Engine debuted in the second book in the series alongside James' first appearance. Thomas' popularity eventually, of course, led to the television series boom and the wave of toys and merchandise that followed in the 1990s and 2000s... The rear advertises the punch-out paper model books and the Johnny Morris records.
Seen here is a slightly older ex-school library copy from when the series was still being written. I like how the title page says Thomas, The Tank Engine. This book was the first to feature a forward, this one from the Reverend to Christopher. Thomas has his signature 1 in this book but the other engines have not yet gained theirs - they remain unnumbered until book 6, which takes place ten years later.
Thomas and Gordon
Thomas is introduced as a fussy little engine that lives at the Big Station and works as a station pilot shunting coaches into place for the big engines to pull. One day while resting after puling the express Thomas whistles at Gordon and remarks that he should do some hard work for a change. Gordon decides to get back at Thomas, and one morning when Thomas is slow to start Gordon pulls out of the Big Station before Thomas has been uncoupled, dragging him along the main line at high speed.
Thomas's Train
One morning when Henry won't start Thomas hopes to pull his passenger train and, when no other engines are available, he gets ready to take the train - but leaves without being coupled to it! After being stopped at a signal, he returns for the passengers.
Thomas and the Trucks
Thomas complains that he is tired of pushing coaches around the station and that he wants to see the world, and Edward offers to let Thomas take his trucks the next day. Thomas is not used to pulling the rough trucks and they push him down the big hill and into the station where the fat director is waiting. After Thomas confesses it is his first time pulling trucks, the director says Thomas should shunt trucks in the yard for a few weeks to get used to working with them.
Thomas and the Breakdown Train
Thomas is working in the yard shunting freight trains and learns about the breakdown train with cranes to lift a derailed train back onto the track. One day James, a new engine, is pushed by freight cars so hard that his wooden brake blocks catch on fire and comes off the line. Thomas takes the breakdown train and crew to James and clears away the trucks, then James is put back on the rails and promised proper brakes and Thomas a branch line of his own.
James the Red Engine (1948)
In September 1948 the third book in the Railway Series was released, focusing on James the Red Engine. The forward to this book is addressed to friends of Edward, Gordon, Henry, and Thomas and notes that the Region has been nationalized (British railways were nationalized at the start of 1948) but the same engines still work on the island and that the Fat Director is still in charge, now known as the Fat Controller.
This is the only book I have a 1990s American copy of - it is based pretty closely on the post-TV series 1980s U.K. hardcover reprints, which my two other U.K. copies are both examples of.
I also have a late 1990s Japanese printing of this volume, which has an orange cover and is larger than the almost pocket-sized English editions.
James and the Top-Hat
James, a mixed-traffic engine, has recovered from his incident with the trucks and received new brakes and a red coat of paint. He and Edward prepare to pull a passenger train but James lets off steam and soaks the Fat Controller's new hat, so he quickly rushes off, overrunning the next station. Edward and James make it up the big hill together and finish their run together.
James and the Boot-lace
The next day the Controller tells James to behave or he will be repainted blue, and James grumbles about having to fetch his own coaches. James wants to show he can pull passenger cars as well as the other big engines and ends up bumping and pulling the cars so hard that a hole forms in the brake pipe and James slows to a stop. His drivers decide to fix it with newspaper and a leather boot lace. One passenger is wearing some but refuses to give them up and the passengers complain about the service and then that the man is not giving up his laces and he relents, letting James finish the trip, sadder and wiser.
Troublesome Trucks
James has been left in the shed for several days when the controller tells him to take some trucks, which complain that they want a nice engine and not a Red Monster, with people, other engines, and cars having all heard about his bootlace incident. James pulls the trucks, despite them trying to stop him, with their brakes slipping on and running hot. James gets to Gordon's hill and steams his way up past Edward, finding that it becomes easier near the top but that the rear of the train has broken away from a failed coupling. They return for the trucks and pull them up the hill, and the Fat Controller who was on Edward's train and saw everything commends him for handling the trucks well.
James and the Express
Gordon and Henry tease James about his bootlace incident, and no amount of bringing up trains stuck on hills or in tunnels stops them. Gordon brags about knowing the express route "by instinct" and the next day James fetches the coaches for his express only for an incorrectly set switch to return Gordon with the express not long after. James teases Gordon about his "instincts" and gets to pull the express train on occasion, with him and Gordon becoming friends.
Tank Engine Thomas Again (1949)
The fourth book in the series, focusing on Thomas and his new branch line, was released on December 31, 1949. I don't currently have a copy of this one in my collection, but for the sake of covering the early stories of Thomas and his friends I will cover the Reverend's original stories even if I don't currently have a copy of them.
Thomas and the Guard
Henry is late with his train one morning and Thomas is so impatient to leave that the guard is left behind on the platform. Eventually he has to stop at a signal and there is no guard to come and tell him what is wrong until the guard runs up a few minutes later and rejoins the train.
Thomas Goes Fishing
Thomas' branch line travels over a river and wants to fish like the people he sometimes sees and gets his chance when the water tower is empty one day and his crew fills Thomas with river water. When Thomas finds it hard to go his crew stops and finds that there are fish in his water tank, which they fish out and eat for supper.
Thomas, Terence and the Snow
Thomas meets Terence, a tractor that works a field near his line. He teases him for having caterpillar tracks instead of wheels, but when winter comes and Thomas' snowplow is out of commission he gets caught in the snow and Terence had to pull him out. Appreciative of the caterpillar treads, Thomas apologizes to Terence.
Thomas and Bertie
Bertie, who took Thomas' passengers away when he got stuck in the snow, teases Thomas and they decide to have a race. The two trade positions back and forth, stopping at signals and stations and lights. Thomas wins the race, Bertie congratulates him, and the two become friends.
Troublesome Engines (1950)
The fifth book in the series cover's the bigger engine's strike and Percy coming to Sodor, taking place during 1925 and reflecting labor disputes happening on British railways in the early 1950s.
Henry and the Elephant
With Thomas away on his branch line, the big engines have to shunt their own coaches, which they complain about. A circus comes to town, lifting their spirits, but when the circus leaves town Henry, recently repainted green, is called to unblock a tunnel the workmen find that the blockage is alive. Backing out of the tunnel, an escaped elephant emerges and sprays Henry with water.
Tenders and Turntables
The big stations at either end of the line have turntables to turn the big engines around at, and one windy day Gordon is grumbly and can not balance on it properly, meaning he has to pull his next train backwards. Thomas and James tease him, but fearing getting stuck too James balances too well and the turntable continues to spin. The three big engines air their grievances with their treatment on the railway in the shed.
Trouble in the Shed
One morning the stationmaster finds the Fat Controller in his office and informs him that Henry is not showing for his train. The controller finds all three big engines sulking in the shed, refusing to shunt their own trains, and he goes and fetches Edward from the yard, who collects coaches for the other engine's trains. They berate Edward for being a tender engine who shunts, however, and the controller buys Percy from a locomotive workshop to work with Edward to learn how to shunt and pilot. With the big engines shut up in the shed, Percy runs the branch line while Thomas and Edward pull main line trains.
Percy Runs Away
After several days the big engines are willing to come out and Edward, Thomas, and Percy work the branch line, with Thomas pulling passengers and Edward and Percy in the yard. Percy ends up working near the mainline and is caught out when Gordon comes rushing in - Gordon stops just in time, but Percy's crew jumps and he has already started running away backwards, running up Gordon's hill backwards and finally running out of steam and being diverted into a bunker of earth.
Henry the Green Engine (1951)
Henry the Green Engine follows Henry's trouble with coal and rebuilding into a new shape which takes place ten years after the previous book by which time the main engines had all been formally named and numbered. The Fat Controller is also introduced by name for the first time in the forward. This book features five stories instead of the usual four.
Coal
Henry has been having trouble making a good enough fire to pull trains, and the fireman recommends they buy Welsh coal, which lets Henry build up a nice fire and plenty of steam. Henry has to be held back, and arrives at the station before Thomas had arrived to pick up his passengers.
The Flying Kipper
Big ships, passenger and freight and fishing boats, use the habour by the big station, with some of the fish being taken by train through the night known as the Flying Kipper. One winter night Henry is pulling the train beautifully when they encounter a caution signal, returning to speed when they pass a down signal, not knowing that snow had forced it down from the danger position and the point had been frozen switched to a siding. Henry ends up switched down the siding and collides with the back of a parked freight train and is sent off to Crewe Works to be rebuild with a new larger firebox.
Gordon's Whistle
Gordon is cross that Henry got a new shape and not him, and complains that Henry whistles too much, reminding him to whistle less in the morning when he leaves as well. When Henry reaches Edward's station the next day, the two trains hear an engine's whistle in the distance, and it sounds like Gordon. Soon enough, he comes rushing down the hill and through the station with his whistle stuck on. He whistles all across the island, drawing people out of their houses and upsetting horses and old ladies, and at the station he is taken away to have his whistle knocked back into place.
Percy and the Trousers
One cold morning Percy laments wanting a scarf like some of the workmen which Henry says is rubbish. Percy quietly comes into the station and startles two porters with a trolley of luggage, which Percy crashes into, upsetting jam and clothing all over himself - which turn out to include Sir Topham Hatt's hat and trousers, the latter of which end up coiled around his funnel like a scarf.
Henry's Sneeze
One morning Henry is pulling a passenger train when some boys on a bridge throw down stones on his boiler, crew, and through the coach windows, breaking them. Henry's crew plan to make Henry sneeze at them the next time they pass by blocking his smokebox so that ash and steam flow out his funnel. Henry blasts the boys and they run away black as soot.