The Twin Engines



"The Twin Engines" was first published in 1960. It was written by the Reverend W. Awdry and illustrated by John T. Kenney.

=Stories=

"Hullo Twins!"
The engines are getting dragged down by the amount of work they have, and they are pleased to hear a goods engine is arriving from Scotland. However, the Fat Controller is surprised to hear two engines have arrived and goes to meet the engines, but only manages to discover they have "lost their numbers", as they put it, and they have since named themselves Donald and Douglas. The Fat Controller orders for them to have numbers painted on them.

The Missing Coach
Donald and Douglas (now #9 and #10 respectively) realise they have only numbers painted on their tenders. One afternoon, Douglas is shunting in the Yard and worries about being sent away, unfortunately forgetting to shunt Thomas' special coach. The twins decide to swap tenders so as to convince the Fat Controller that Donald has taken his goods train, but he isn't fooled and reprimands Douglas severely.

Break Van
The Fat Controller threatens to send one of the twins away and they behave, until a spiteful brakevan delays Douglas' goods train. Donald soon puts the van right, but when Donald crashes into a signalbox and James has to do his goods work the brakevan and the trucks, sensing James' fury, hold back, and Douglas has to help as a "banker". The brakevan holds back again, but gets its comeuppance after Douglas accidentally crushes it. The Fat Controller comes to supervise the cleaning-up, and has mixed feelings about Douglas staying.

The Deputation
Winter comes early, and Donald and Douglas ask to help clear the line. They manage to rescue Henry from a snowdrift, but they are still worried that they will be sent back. Edward tells Percy that they need a "deputation", and the big engines elect Percy to be their "disputation". After Percy tells the Fat Controller that Donald and Douglas will be scrapped if they return to Scotland, the Fat Controller gives the twins a new coat of paint and allows them to stay.

=Featured Characters=
 * Thomas
 * Edward
 * Henry
 * Gordon
 * James
 * Percy
 * Duck
 * Donald and Douglas
 * Spiteful Breakvan
 * Annie and Clarabel (do not speak)

=Trivia= The Fat Controller: Now, which of you is 57646?
 * This is a subtle joke, as, had the Fat Controller checked the British Railway rolls, he would have realised it only went up to 57645.
 * Gordon makes a reference to "Tugboat Annie", a Canadian television series filmed in the 1950s about a tough old widow who captained a tugboat.
 * David Mitton has confirmed that an adaptation of "The Missing Coach" was half-finished for the second season, but Britt Allcroft scrapped the idea, citing that the plot would be too complicated for young viewers.
 * First appearances of Donald, Douglas, Thomas's special coach and the Spiteful Breakvan.

=Goofs=
 * In the fourth illustration of "The Missing Coach", Annie and Clarabel (taking perspective into account) are different lengths.
 * When James approaches the Spiteful Breakvan his lampiron disappears.
 * When Percy, Gordon and Henry mix up the pronunciation of "deputation" Edward is visible in the Shed; however, he doesn't correct them. This might be James but with his paintwork dulled by the shadow of the shed.
 * When James approaches the Spiteful Breakvan the Spiteful Breakvan is faced towards the trucks but in the next illustration he is the other way round.
 * Duck and Henry have white buffers throughout the book. They never have them again.
 * The Signal box name can't be read. Throughout the books you never see names of location. Not strictly true as a sign saying Ffarquhar can be seen in Daisy and signs for stations are more frequent when Clive Spong has illustrated the books

=Also see=

The Missing Coach (TV episode)