Sir Handel (RWS)/Behind the Scenes

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This is a behind the scenes subpage for Sir Handel (RWS). This subpage contains all behind the scenes material relating to said article.

Background Information

Sir Handel is a fictional narrow gauge saddletank locomotive created by the Rev. W. Awdry. Before joining the Skarloey Railway, he was originally known as Falcon and worked on the Mid Sodor Railway. He carries the No. 3.

He first appeared in The Railway Series book, Four Little Engines, which was published in 1955. His last appearance was in New Little Engine, published in 1996.

Front of Sir Handel/Falcon:

1952 Sir Handel as illustrated by C. Reginald Dalby (1955)

1961 Sir Handel as illustrated by John T. Kenney (1962)

1963 Sir Handel as illustrated by Gunvor and Peter Edwards (1964)

1904 Falcon as illustrated by Gunvor and Peter Edwards (1970)

1952 Sir Handel as illustrated by Gunvor and Peter Edwards (1970)

1979 Sir Handel as illustrated by Edgar Hodges (1979)

1985 Sir Handel as illustrated by David Palmer (1985)

1982 Sir Handel as illustrated by Clive Spong (1985)

1996 Sir Handel as illustrated by Clive Spong (1996)

Rear of Sir Handel/Falcon:

1952 Sir Handel as illustrated by C. Reginald Dalby (1955)

1958 Sir Handel as illustrated by John T. Kenney (1959)

1965 Sir Handel as illustrated by Gunvor and Peter Edwards (1965)

1920-1936 Falcon as illustrated by Gunvor and Peter Edwards (1970)

1996 Sir Handel as illustrated by Clive Spong (1996)

In The Thomas Way DVD, the Mr. Perkins segment features a re-illustrated version of the story Trucks! where Sir Handel is depicted in his television series livery.

1958 Sir Handel as re-illustrated by Loraine Marshall (2013)

Sir Handel is based on the Talyllyn Railway No. 3 locomotive, Sir Haydn. The locomotive originally belonged to the Corris Railway. Several historical events that occurred with Sir Haydn were mirrored with his fictional counterpart.

Sir Haydn the real locomotive is named after Sir Henry Haydn Jones, the former owner of the Talyllyn Railway and the person upon whom Sir Handel's namesake (the Owner of the Skarloey Railway) is based on.

Sir Handel's derailments in both The Railway Series and television series were inspired from his basis Sir Haydn, who was seldomly used due to the precarious state of the track that caused it to derail during its early days on the Talyllyn Railway. One derailment was captured on film in the documentary Railway with a Heart of Gold. His punishment of being left in the shed for misbehaving is also inspired from Sir Haydn's disuse due to its derailment problem.

In the 1980s, the Talyllyn Railway repainted Sir Haydn to represent Sir Handel. Christopher Awdry wrote this into the 1985 book Great Little Engines, explaining that Sir Handel was visiting the line whilst Talyllyn was ill. An incident in which Sir Haydn ran into a tree branch and was given a bandage and eyepatch was turned into a story in the book, with almost no alteration from the real event.

Sir Handel's basis, Sir Haydn

Sir Haydn's derailment from Railway with a Heart of Gold

Sir Haydn disguised as Sir Handel

Sir Handel's "eyepatch incident"

Behind the Scenes

Awdry's models

The Reverend Wilbert Awdry built an OO9 scale model of Falcon for his layout of the Mid Sodor Railway. Falcon was made from a GEM Vari-kit modified with saddle tank, a cab from an Airfix Pug kit and a Minitrix 0-6-0 chassis. Albert also shares this basis. Falcon's model was donated by Awdry and put on display at the Reverend Teddy Boston's Cadeby Light Railway in Cadeby, Leicestershire, England, before the railway finally closed in 2005.

The Rev. W. Awdry's model of Falcon

Awdry's Falcon model in 2021

A friend of Awdry scratch-built an OO9 model of Falcon as a gift. This model is now stored at the Narrow Gauge Railway Museum in Tywyn, Wales.

The model in 2023