| For other uses, see Henry. |
- "Henry liked being at Crewe, but was glad to come home. A crowd of people waited to see him arrive in his new shape. He looked so splendid and strong that they gave him three cheers."
- ― Regarding Henry's homecoming from Crewe
Henry the Green Engine is the sixth book of The Railway Series.
Foreword
Dear Friends,
Here is more news from the Region. All the engines now have numbers as well as names; you will see them in the pictures. They are as follows: Thomas 1, Edward 2, Henry 3, Gordon 4, James 5, Percy 6.
I expect you were sorry for Henry, who was often ill and unable to work. He gave Sir Topham Hatt (who is, of course, our Fat Controller) a lot of worry. Now Henry has a new shape and is ready for anything. These stories tell you all about it.
The Author
Stories
Coal
Henry is feeling ill and the Fat Controller fears that he will have to be replaced if they cannot find a cure. Henry's fireman tells the Fat Controller that Henry's firebox is too small and cannot make enough steam. The Fat Controller decides to have Henry use Welsh coal instead, which helps Henry to run better.
The Flying Kipper
It is Henry's turn to take The Flying Kipper, a special train that takes fish from the harbour into town. Henry makes good time, but accidentally gets diverted into a siding and crashes into another train, leaving him badly damaged. After the crash, Henry is sent away to Crewe to be rebuilt and comes back feeling better than ever, no longer needing special coal.
Gordon's Whistle
Gordon is jealous that Henry now gets to pull the Express and complains that Henry whistles too much. Shortly after, while Gordon is pulling a train, his whistle jams and keeps emitting a loud drone which sends many people into a panic. Gordon leaves his train behind and two fitters knock his whistle valve into place, silencing the noise. That night, Henry teases Gordon about his mishap.
Percy and the Trousers
One cold morning, Percy complains that he wants a scarf and Henry rebuffs him. When he goes to shunt some coaches, he runs over a trolley near the platform, scattering luggage everywhere and leaving him with a pair of trousers wrapped around his funnel. The Fat Controller, enraged by the fact that the passengers will need to be compensated for their ruined clothes due to Percy's actions, has the engine wear his trousers as a scarf as punishment for his reckless behaviour. Following the incident, Percy changes his mind and no longer likes scarves.
Henry's Sneeze
Henry is enjoying himself in the countryside when some silly boys drop stones on him from a bridge, breaking the coaches' windows and hitting his fireman on the head. His driver devises a plan to get back at them, and the next time they pass the bridge, Henry sprays soot and ashes all over the boys. Although Henry has never sneezed again, there have been no more boys with stones.
Characters
Full Book
- Thomas
- Edward
- Henry
- Gordon
- James
- Percy
- Orange-Brown Corridor Coaches
- Troublesome Vans
- Sir Topham Hatt I
- Annie and Clarabel (do not speak)
- Orange-Brown Non-Corridor Coaches (cameos)
Characters Introduced
- Firefighters (do not speak)
- The Stone-dropping Boys (do not speak)
- The Second Blue Tender Engine (cameo)
- The Goods Engine (mentioned)
Coal
- Thomas
- Henry
- James
- Sir Topham Hatt I
- Edward (does not speak)
- Annie and Clarabel (do not speak)
- Percy (cameo)
- Orange-Brown Non-Corridor Coaches (cameos)
- Gordon (mentioned)
The Flying Kipper
- Henry
- Troublesome Vans
- Sir Topham Hatt I
- Edward (cameo)
- Gordon (mentioned)
- The Goods Engine (mentioned)
Gordon's Whistle
- Edward
- Henry
- Gordon
- Percy
- Sir Topham Hatt I
- Firefighters (do not speak)
- James (cameo)
- The Second Blue Tender Engine (cameo)
- Orange-Brown Non-Corridor Coaches (cameos)
Percy and the Trousers
- Henry
- Percy
- Sir Topham Hatt I
- Gordon (cameo)
Henry's Sneeze
- Henry
- Orange-Brown Corridor Coaches
- The Stone-dropping Boys (do not speak)
- James (cameo)
- Sir Topham Hatt I (mentioned)
Locations
Coal
The Flying Kipper
- Island of Sodor
- Crewe (mentioned)
Gordon's Whistle
- Island of Sodor
- Tidmouth
- Tidmouth Sheds
- Wellsworth
- Gordon's Hill (mentioned)
- Tidmouth
- Crewe (mentioned)
Percy and the Trousers
- Tidmouth
Henry's Sneeze
Trivia
- This is the only book in The Railway Series to feature five stories instead of the usual four.
- The Fat Controller's name is first revealed to be Sir Topham Hatt in the foreword to this book.
- In early editions of this book, the story Henry's Sneeze contained a racial slur, being used to describe the boys covered in ash. This caused a controversy so great that it was reported in The National Press in 1972. Wilbert Awdry later apologised for this racist remark and changed it to "as black as soot" for all future publications.
- The story itself was inspired by a tale from the 1950s near London.
- The Flying Kipper is based on two real accidents: one that occurred at Abbot's Ripton in Huntingdonshire in 1876 due to a signal jammed by heavy snow, and the other at Lichfield Trent Valley Railway Station in 1946.
- Percy and the Trousers was adapted from a story in The Trains We Loved by C. Hamilton Ellis. The engine in question of the real-life accident was one of the LSWR A12s.
- Awdry originally considered writing Henry out of the series, but decided against it due to Henry's popularity among readers (he had received many letters from children expressing their concern for Henry). The main reason for Henry's rebuild was so that C. Reginald Dalby would be more consistent with his design when illustrating him.
- In the fifth illustration for Coal, advertisements for The Three Railway Engines and James the Red Engine are visible.
- In the first illustration of Gordon's Whistle, a blue engine with a sloped front footplate (unlike Edward) appeared outside Tidmouth Sheds. It is unclear whether this is simply an illustration error or intended to be a minor background character.
- In the third illustration for Percy and the Trousers, a blue double-decker bus with a sign advertising the book Troublesome Engines can be seen in the background.
- This is the first book in which all of the engines carry numbers. Thomas was the only one to carry a number previously.
- The events of Coal took place in 1934, while the other stories took place in 1935.
- In an article titled "The trouble with some children's books…" published in the Merseyside Daily Post on 20 June 1967, journalist Heather Donnelly discussed the use of complex vocabulary in children's literature. She cited a passage from the story Percy and the Trousers in Henry the Green Engine as one example, writing;
- "Or what of this passage, from the Rev. W. Awdry's "Henry the Green Engine." (Edmund Ward): "My hat is cleated and my trousers are ruined, all because you will come onto the station as if you were playing 'Grandmother's Steps' with the coaches," said the Fat Controller to Percy." My dictionary fails to explain this use of "cleated" and "Grandmother's Steps" is a game new to me."
- ― [1]
- Despite this, most versions of the book use the word "dented" and not "cleated".
- An illustration from Coal was painted by Clive Spong for the 1983 Island of Sodor map.
- Loraine Marshall recreated most of the illustrations in The Flying Kipper and Percy and the Trousers for the Mr. Perkins segments on the Santa's Little Engine and The Christmas Engines DVDs.
- Percy and the Trousers was mostly recreated with the exception of one illustration, as both the story and illustrations were altered to align more closely with the Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends television adaptation, A Scarf for Percy, even being renamed to match the episode's title.
Goofs
- In Coal:
- It is said that the Fat Controller put on overalls, but he is wearing a crewman's uniform.
- In the second and third illustrations, Henry's head lamps are missing.
- In the fourth illustration, Edward's funnel is too short.
- In the sixth and final one, Henry and Thomas are facing opposite directions.
- In the penultimate illustration of The Flying Kipper, Henry's cab roof appears to be missing.
- In the first illustration for Gordon's Whistle, Henry appears to be bigger than Gordon and Percy's front wheels appear to be bogie wheels.
- In Henry's Sneeze:
- It is said that some of the stones fell on Henry and scratched his paint, but no scratches can be seen.
- In the fifth illustration, James' wheels are red, and the front of Henry's buffer beam is grey.
- Henry's driver says in the final illustration that Henry's paint is all covered in black, but Henry looks spotless.
- In the 70th anniversary Railway Series box set, the cover and spine feature illustrations from The Three Railway Engines.
In Other Languages
| Language | Title |
|---|---|
| Chinese Mandarin | 焕然一新的亨利 |
| Hungarian | Henry, a zöld mozdony |
| Japanese | みどりの機関車ヘンリー |
| Korean | 초록색 기관차, 헨리 |
| Welsh | Helyntion Henri |
Merchandise
| Name | Released | Discontinued | Highlights | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bowl | Unknown | Unknown |  | |
| Plate | 1984 | Unknown |
released in a two pack with a mug based off Thomas the Tank Engine |
 |