Four Little Engines


 * ''If looking for the fourth season episode, click here.

"Four Little Engines" was first published in 1955. It was written by the Reverend W. Awdry and llustrated by C. Reginald Dalby.

=Stories=

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 vengence 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. 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, a lady who owns a shop on the lakeside. She is rather miffed, but bursts out laughs when she hears Peter Sam's explaination, and explains that Henry was joking. Peter Sam is furious, but Henry has wisely left!

Old Faithful
Peter Sam is away for maintainence, so Sir Handel has to take the coaches. They still don't trust him and when he has to stop suddenly they are bumped, and they are so furious 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.

=Featured Characters=
 * Skarloey
 * Sir Handel
 * Peter Sam
 * Agnes, Ruth, Lucy and Jemima
 * Beatrice
 * Edward
 * Henry
 * Gordon
 * Rheneas
 * James
 * The Thin Controller
 * The Owner

=Trivia=
 * "Peter Sam and the Refreshment Lady" was inspired by an incident that occured on the Talyllyn Railway. However, it was not the engine's fault, it the the fault of the guard - also known as the Reverend W. Awdry! The woman left behind was in fact his mother-in-law!
 * In Skarloey Remembers, Edward goes to the Works to be mended which means it was the same day as "Old Iron".
 * First appearances of Skarloey, Rheneas, Sir Handel, Peter Sam, Agnes, Ruth, Lucy, Jemima, Beatrice, Cros-ny-Cuirn, Rheneas, Skarloey, the Narrow Gauge engine shed at Crovan's Gate, The Thin Controller and The Owner.

=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 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.
 * In the fourth illustration of "Old Faithful", Skarloey is pulling five coaches, not four.
 * Sir Handel's face changes size in the second illustration of "Old Faithful".

=On Film=
 * Skarloey Remembers: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSx9c6sUVtw
 * Sir Handel: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQVywjGNWpc&feature=related
 * Peter Sam and the Refreshment Lady: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ltUbY8RxU0&feature=related
 * Old Faithful: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xepF8qhsbkw&feature=related