The Little Old Engine

The Little Old Engine was first published in 1960. It was written by the Reverend W. Awdry and illustrated by John T. Kenney.

=Stories=

Trucks
One day, Gordon sees Sir Handel shunting at Crovan's Gate. After a conversation, Gordon advises him to get out of work by pretending to be sick. He does so next morning, and Peter Sam and Rusty take his trucks for him. Peter Sam later goes to the slate mines to collect some trucks. Some trucks, who mistake him for Sir Handel, decide to play a trick on him, and run down the hill into him, soaking him by breaking a small aqueduct, denting his boiler and cracking his funnel. Peter Sam is rescued by Rusty and goes to the Shed. Sir Handel apologises to him, and the Thin Controller tells him to do Peter Sam's work as well as his own. Sir Handel is left wnting to give Gordon a piece of his mind!

Home at Last
Peter Sam, who is still recuperating from his accident, is delighted when Skarloey returns. They talk about the going-ons of the railway, when Skarloey's crew arrive to tell him that the new engine, Duncan, has stuck in a tunnel. Skarloey, some workmen and the new brakevan, Cora, go to pull Duncan out and take his train home. The Thin Controller rebukes Duncan, and Duncan behaves for the rest of the day.

Rock 'n' Roll
Skarloey is out and about when he meets Rusty and compliments him on his work on the line. Rusty confides that a piece of track before the first station is dangerous and he is afraid Duncan will derail. Duncan overhears, and insults Rusty.

The next day, Rusty leaves Duncan to get his own coaches. Duncan is late, and James tells him about the time he "supposedly" made Diesel leave single-handedly. Duncan is impressed, and is so focused on sending Rusty packing that he comes off at the dangerous part of the line. When Rusty hears, he at first refuses to assist, until Skarloey reprimands him. That night, Duncan apologises and he nad Rusty become good friends.

Little Old Twins
Some men are coming to look at the line, and Peter Sam and Sir Handel remember the time people did that on their old line and that it was later sold. The engines are miserable, until Peter Sam's driver tells them the men are TV producers and are going to be filming the engines. Everyone is happy again, except Sir Handel, who tries to weasel out by playing sick again. The Thin Controller, however, responds by asking his crew to take him apart to show the producers how an engine works. Peter Sam is given the honour of pulling the TV train, and, after a circuit around the line, stops to film Skarloey making a speech. To everyone's surprise, Skarloey reveals that he has a twin, Talylynn, and that he met him while being repaired.

Featured Characters

 * Skarloey
 * Sir Handel
 * Peter Sam
 * Rusty (first appearance)
 * Duncan (first appearance)
 * Talylynn (cameo only) (first appearance)
 * Ada, Jame and Mabel (cameo only) (first appearance)
 * Gertrude and Millicent (cameo only) (first appearance)
 * Cora (first appearance)
 * Beatrice (cameo only)
 * Gordon
 * James
 * Henry (cameo only)