The Railway Series

The Railway Series are a set of children's books on which "Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends" is based.

The first books were written by the Reverend W. Awdry as a way to cheer up his son Christopher, who was ill with measles. The original series had twenty-six books, since expanded to forty-one. After a 10 year hiatus, a new book was published.

Books written by the Reverend W. Awdry

 * 1) "The Three Railway Engines" - Edward, Henry and Gordon have several adventures.
 * 2) "Thomas the Tank Engine" - A station pilot tries to gain respect.
 * 3) "James the Red Engine" - James gets into trouble and tries to make up for his errors.
 * 4) "Tank Engine Thomas Again" - Life on Thomas' branchline is far from dull.
 * 5) "Troublesome Engines" - The big engines go on strike, and Percy is added to the fleet.
 * 6) "Henry the Green Engine" - Henry overcomes illness to prove his might.
 * 7) "Toby the Tram Engine" - Toby is saved by the Fat Controller after his tramway closes.
 * 8) "Gordon the Big Engine" - Gordon pulls his act together in time for a royal visit.
 * 9) "Edward the Blue Engine" - Edward is getting old, but proves he has plenty of life in him yet.
 * 10) "Four Little Engines" - The story of the Skarloey Railway engines working together to keep their line running.
 * 11) "Percy the Small Engine" - Percy is fed up of being ordered about and gets a chance to shine when Thomas needs help.
 * 12) "The Eight Famous Engines" - After becoming famous for their adventures the engines take a trip to England, but Thomas almost puts a damper on the trip.
 * 13) "Duck and the Diesel Engine" - A malicious diesel creates confusion and blames Duck.
 * 14) "The Little Old Engine" - Skarloey returns to find that things have changed on his little railway.
 * 15) "The Twin Engines" - Two well-meaning Scottish goods engines create confusion in the yard.
 * 16) "Branch Line Engines" - Thomas has an accident and a lazy diesel-railcar named Daisy arrives.
 * 17) "Gallant Old Engine" - The Skarloey Railway engines prepare for Rheneas' return.
 * 18) "Stepney the "Bluebell" Engine" - Stepney of the Bluebell Railway pays a visit to Sodor.
 * 19) "Mountain Engines" - We meet the Culdee Fell Railway engines, and Lord Harry makes up for a silly accident.
 * 20) "Very Old Engines" - Skarloey and Rheneas recall their early days and celebrate their 100th birthday.
 * 21) "Main Line Engines" - Gordon and James get into silly mishaps while Edward surprises everyone.
 * 22) "Small Railway Engines" - Three new engines arrive on Sodor to work a narrow gauge goods line.
 * 23) "Enterprising Engines" - Diesel power may be triumphing on the mainland, but it's quite the contrary on Sodor.
 * 24) "Oliver the Western Engine" - A boisterous Great Western engine gets into trouble.
 * 25) "Duke the Lost Engine" - When Peter Sam and Sir Handel recall their old days a search begins for an old engine.
 * 26) "Tramway Engines" - Percy and Thomas have adventures while Mavis causes a fuss.


 * "Thomas the Tank Engine: The Complete Collection"

Books written by Christopher Awdry

 * 1) "Really Useful Engines" - The engines may not have appeared in books for years, but that doesn't mean life on Sodor is dull.
 * 2) "James and the Diesel Engines" - James learns a lesson in acceptance of diesels.
 * 3) "Great Little Engines" - Sir Handel isn't necessarily the life and soul of the Skarloey Railway, as Peter Sam and Duncan prove.
 * 4) "More About Thomas the Tank Engine" - Thomas and Percy fall out after an accident.
 * 5) "Gordon the High-Speed Engine" - Gordon tries to prove he can go fast, and we meet Pip and Emma.
 * 6) "Toby, Trucks and Trouble" - A series of events leave Percy and Toby running the branchline.
 * 7) "Thomas and the Twins" - Thomas meets Bill and Ben on Edward's branchline.
 * 8) "Jock the New Engine" - A boastful new engine called Jock starts work on the Arlesdale Railway.
 * 9) "Thomas and the Great Railway Show" - Thomas travels to the mainland for a grand railway exhibition.
 * 10) "Thomas Comes Home" - The tale of Percy, Toby and Daisy's adventures while Thomas is in England.
 * 11) "Henry and the Express" - Henry is ill again and needs repairs.
 * 12) "Wilbert the Forest Engine" - Donald and Douglas desperately need help, but so do the branchline engines. Wilbert is called in.
 * 13) "Thomas and the Fat Controller's Engines" - The engines prepare for the fiftieth anniversary of the Railway Series.
 * 14) "New Little Engine" - A new engine is built for the Skarloey Railway.
 * 15) "Thomas and Victoria" - The Fat Controller renovates an old coach called Victoria for Toby.

These volumes were later compiled into "Thomas the Tank Engine: The New Collection".