The Eight Famous Engines

The Eight Famous Engines is the twelfth book of the Railway Series.

Percy Takes the Plunge
At Vicarstown, Percy is telling some tank engines about the time he braved bad weather when Henry arrives, tells the tank engines to go away, and calls Percy silly. Percy responds by reminding Henry about the time he stayed in a tunnel and runs off to Knapford, where he sees a board saying "Danger". Thomas tells him to obey it, but Percy wants to know more, and persuades the trucks to push him past. They do so, but go too far and Percy falls into the sea. After a scolding from the Fat Controller, he is "fished out" and sent to the Works.

Gordon goes Foreign
When a foreign engine visits, an argument ensues between him, Gordon, and Duck over, of all things, the name of London's big station. Gordon wants to find out, but isn't allowed to pass Barrow. However, when the engine taking the Express to the mainland derails, Gordon jumps at the chance to take the train, and the next day the Fat Controller reads in the paper that Gordon received a hero's welcome. However, when he returns, Gordon is upset, having discovered that it's St. Pancras!

Double Header
Gordon is exhausted from his trip to London, so James does his work, and when Toby visits him on his way to the Works, James brags to him about his importance. When Toby later tries to get a drink, the signalman, who is new to the line, tells him he has to clear the line, and Toby struggles on. However, Toby's tank was nearly empty to begin with, and he soon runs out of water. The fireman goes back and asks James to push Toby to the Works. When they get there, some boys think Toby was helping James, who, furious, disappears in a cloud of steam.

The Fat Controller's Engines
Thomas arrives at Knapford to see some foreign engines arrive and Percy and Toby tell him the Fat Controller has something planned. At Tidmouth, the Fat Controller tells them they are going to England! The next day, Thomas is showing one of the engines, Jinty, around when he brags of his race, and dents his front when he runs into some buffers. Luckily, he is repaired in time for the trip.

Characters

 * Thomas
 * Henry
 * Gordon
 * James
 * Percy
 * Toby
 * Duck
 * The Foreign Engine
 * The Foreign Engines
 * Annie and Clarabel
 * The Fat Controller
 * Edward (does not speak)
 * Jinty and Pug (do not speak)
 * The Derailed Engine (does not speak)
 * Henrietta (does not speak)
 * Beatrice (cameo)
 * Bertie (mentioned)

Trivia

 * This book's working title was "The Fat Controller's Engines".
 * The Reverend W. Awdry considered making this the final book in the Railway Series.
 * The republished version of this book is called Eight Famous Engines.
 * This was the first book to be illustrated by John T. Kenney.
 * Gordon Goes Foreign is the first Railway Series story not to be adapted into a television series episode. It was later revealed to SiF by art director Bob-Gauld Galliers that the story was indeed planned to be filmed, but was cut for being too high budget.

Goofs

 * In the fourth illustration of "Double Header", Toby has purple sideplates.
 * In the second illustration of "The Fat Controller's Engines", Jinty and Pug appear to be faceless. Also, Pug has round buffers when all the engines of his class had square buffers.
 * Percy and Toby were placed on flatbeds and coupled behind Edward for the journey to England, but the second to last illustration shows them coupled behind James.
 * In the third illustration of the "The Fat Controller's Engines", James has a red roof.