Thomas the Tank Engine: The Railway Series: Thomas the Tank Engine (Classic Thomas the Tank Engine)

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Daisy is a green diesel railcar based on the British Rail Class 101 in a unique single car configuration. She was built in 1960 and arrived on Sodor specially for use on the Ffarquhar Branch Line after Thomas crashed into the Ffarquhar stationmaster's house. Daisy was highly opinionated about her functions at first, but after her humiliation from a stray bull, she made more effort to settle in. She first appeared in the book Branch Line Engines. [7] BoCo (NWR D2/D5702) [ edit ] Sir Topham Hatt, better known as The Fat Controller, is the owner of the North Western Railway on Sodor. His son Charles Topham Hatt II succeeded him in 1954, and his grandson Stephen Topham Hatt III became the Fat Controller in 1984. His son Richard will be the next Fat Controller. W. Awdry used the books to promote steam railways in the United Kingdom. The Skarloey Railway was based on the Talyllyn Railway in Wales, where Awdry volunteered. The Skarloey books often included a promotion for the Talyllyn Railway, either in the stories themselves, or in a footnote or the foreword. Many illustrations in the books depict recognisable locations on the Talyllyn Railway, and incidents and mishaps recorded by Tom Rolt in his book Railway Adventure were adapted for Skarloey stories.

The Skarloey Railway ( SR) is a narrow gauge railway which runs from the North Western Railway's station at Crovan's Gate to Skarloey. The railway is owned by Sir Handel Brown, who serves as its chairman and is run by Mr. Roger Sam, son of the previous controller, Mr. Peter Sam. After Thomas the Tank Engine, Awdry was finished with writing any more books. However, due to popular demand, Awdry pressed onward. By the time Awdry stopped writing in 1972, The Railway Series numbered twenty-six books.

Godred was the original engine on the railway, and is named after one of Sodor's historical rulers.

James the Red Engine was notable as the first book to be illustrated by C. Reginald Dalby, perhaps the most famous of the Railway Series artists, and certainly the most controversial due to the criticism later aimed at him by Awdry. [ citation needed] Dalby illustrated every volume up to Percy the Small Engine (1956), and also produced new illustrations for The Three Railway Engines and made changes to those of Thomas the Tank Engine. With The Eight Famous Engines (1957), John T. Kenney took over the illustration of the series. His style was less colourful but more realistic than Dalby's. Kenney made use of Awdry's model engines as a reference. As a result of his commitment to realism and technical accuracy, he enjoyed a far more comfortable working relationship with Awdry, which lasted until Gallant Old Engine (1962), when Kenney's eyesight began to deteriorate.

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Jinty, an LMS Fowler Class 3F, and Pug, an LMS Kitson 0-4-0ST, came to Sodor on loan to relieve Thomas and Percy on the North Western Railway in the book The Eight Famous Engines. They were best friends of Percy as well.Dalby illustrated the entire Awdry family – Wilbert, Margaret, Christopher, Veronica and Hilary – watching Percy pass through a station ("Percy runs away" in Troublesome Engines (p53)). [10] This was Christopher Awdry's only appearance in an illustration, but he often described meetings with the engines in the book forewords, usually with some degree of humour. Awdry continued working on The Railway Series until 1972, when Tramway Engines (book 26 in the series) was published. However, he had been finding it increasingly difficult to come up with ideas for new stories, and after this he felt that "the well had run dry" and so decided that the time had come to retire. He wrote no further Railway Series volumes, but later wrote a spin-off story ( Thomas's Christmas Party) for the television series, and expanded versions of some of his earlier stories, as well as writing The Island of Sodor: Its People, History and Railways. In addition, he wrote a number of short stories and articles for Thomas the Tank Engine Annuals. [5] Cultural context [ edit ] Rex is a green 2-8-2 tender engine who is based on Ravenglass & Eskdale's River Esk and was built in 1923. He enjoys nothing more than teasing Mike. Rex is a hard worker, but can sometimes has problems with traction. Nearly all of The Railway Series stories were based upon real-life events. As a life-long railway enthusiast, Wilbert Awdry was keen that his stories should be as realistic as possible. The engine characters were almost all based upon real classes of locomotives, and some of the railways themselves were directly based upon real lines in the British Isles.

Audio adaptations of The Railway Series have been recorded at various times under the title The Railway Stories. Thomas is sent to collect a Christmas tree, but when he ends up getting lost along the way home, Donald and Douglas set off to rescue him in time for the Christmas celebrations.Awdry, Wilbert (1982). Mountain Engines. The Railway Series No. 19. Kaye & Ward Ltd. p. 28. ISBN 0718200187. Sir Handel Brown is the former owner of the Skarloey Railway. He often had other business to attend to, and was never seen in the books. Prior to Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends being produced by Britt Allcroft in 1984, there were two attempts to adapt the Railway Series books to the television, both of which were cancelled.