Four Little Engines

Four Little Engines is the tenth book of the Railway Series.

Foreword
Dear Friends, Sir Handel Brown is the owner of a little Railway which goes to Skarloey and Rheneas. Skarloey means "Lake in the Woods", and Rheneas means "Divided Waterfall". They are beautiful places, and lots of people visit them.

The Owner is very busy, so Mr. Peter Sam, the Thin Controller, manages the Railway.

The two Engines, who are called Skarloey and Rheneas, grew old and tired, so the owner bought two others.

The stories tell you what happened. The Author

Skarloey Remembers
Edward meets his old friend Skarloey, a narrow gauge engine. Skarloey talks to him about his friend, Rheneas, who is being repaired on the mainland, the two new engines, Sir Handel and Peter Sam, his coaches and his work, and when Edward goes to the workshops Skarloey dozes off in the sunshine.

Sir Handel
The two new engines have arrived. Peter Sam is good-natured, but Sir Handel is in a bad temper. The next morning he insults the furious coaches by calling them "cattle trucks", and they get vengeance by holding back on a hill. The Thin Controller scolds Sir Handel, and he behaves until he is sent to work at the quarry one day. He purposely derails himself, and is sent to the shed in disgrace.

Peter Sam and the Refreshment Lady
Peter Sam has to do all the work himself. One day he has so much fun getting ready that he is late, and Henry threatens that he will leave without Peter Sam's passengers if it happens again. Peter Sam is so worried that at the lake he starts off without the Refreshment Lady. She is rather miffed, but bursts out laughing when she hears Peter Sam's story, and explains that Henry was joking. Peter Sam is furious, but Henry has wisely left!

Old Faithful
Peter Sam is away for maintenance, so Sir Handel has to take the coaches. They still don't trust him and when he has to stop suddenly they are bumped, so to pay him out they derail him at the points. Skarloey offers to take the train home, but a spring breaks and Skarloey tilts. Despite this, he braves the journey home, and the Owner sends him to be mended.

Characters

 * Edward
 * Henry
 * Gordon
 * Skarloey
 * Sir Handel
 * Peter Sam
 * The Thin Controller
 * Agnes, Ruth, Lucy, Jemima and Beatrice
 * The Owner
 * Rheneas (does not speak)
 * James (does not speak)

Trivia

 * "Peter Sam and the Refreshment Lady" was inspired by an incident that occurred on the Talyllyn Railway. However, it was not the engine's fault but the fault of the guard - also known as the Reverend W. Awdry - and the woman left behind was in fact his mother-in-law!
 * At the end of "Old Faithful" there is short message about the Talyllyn Railway; "If you have enjoyed these stories, you will enjoy a visit to the Tal-y-llyn Railway at Towyn in Wales."

Goofs

 * Edward was talking to Skarloey from beside the wooden shed, but in the last illustration of "Skarloey Remembers" his plume of smoke is coming from behind the carriage shed.
 * In "Sir Handel" and "Peter Sam and the Refreshment Lady" Agnes is a third-class coach.
 * In the second illustration of "Peter Sam and the Refreshment Lady" no sidings can be seen behind the sheds, unlike in the book Very Old Engines, which was set around 90 years earlier.
 * Sir Handel's face changes size in the second illustration of "Old Faithful".
 * In the fourth illustration of "Old Faithful" Skarloey is pulling five coaches, not four.