James the Red Engine

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For other uses, see James (disambiguation).

James the Red Engine
Overview
Author	Rev. W. Awdry
Illustrator(s)	C. Reginald Dalby
Publisher(s)	Edmund Ward (1948-1968) Kaye & Ward (1968-1998) Egmont Publishing (1998-present)
Series	The Railway Series
Published	14th September 1948 - present
Release Guide
← Previous	Thomas the Tank Engine
Next →	Tank Engine Thomas Again

“James was a new engine who lived at a station at the other end of the line. He had two small wheels in front and six driving wheels behind. They weren't as big as Gordon's and they weren't as small as Thomas'.”

― The introduction to James

James the Red Engine is the third book of the Railway Series.

Foreword

Dear friends of Edward, Gordon, Henry and Thomas,
Thank you for your kind letters. Here is the new book for which you asked.

James, who crashed in the story of Thomas the Tank Engine, settles down and becomes a Useful Engine.

We are nationalised now, but the same engines still work the Region. I am glad, too, to tell you that the Fat Director, who understands our friends' ways, is still in charge, but is now the Fat Controller.

I hope you will enjoy this book, too.
The Author

Stories

James and the Top-Hat

James has recovered from his accident and now has a new coat of red paint. He starts learning how to pull passenger trains with Edward. At the platform, he accidentally showers water over the Fat Controller's new top-hat and then, afraid of the consequences, starts off suddenly. During the run, he almost forgets to drop off his passengers and to top everything off he disturbs an old lady with his hiccups after hearing about the time Edward had to help Gordon up the hill. That night, James is scared of what the Fat Controller will say.

James and the Bootlace

James is grumpy after being threatened by blue paint and having to fetch his own coaches. It takes the biscuit when no one comes near him at the platform and James is so determined to pay everyone out that he does not take care with his coaches and causes a leak in the brake-pipe. The crew determines that they need newspaper and leather bootlaces to fix it until they get home and after a great amount of persuasion, a man named Jeremiah Jobling hands his bootlaces over and the train manages to get home.

Troublesome Trucks

James is shut up for several days for his bad behaviour, but when the Fat Controller comes to see him, James apologises and is let out to take a goods train. The trucks play tricks on James and break away on Gordon's Hill, but James tries again and with some support from Edward, gets the train to Killdane. The Fat Controller is pleased and allows James to keep his red paint.

James and the Express

Gordon brags that he knows the right line by "instinct", but is proven wrong when he is switched off the Main Line onto the loop. The Fat Controller asks James to take the Express and after a successful run and the promise of being allowed to take the Express, James returns to see Gordon shunting. The two become friends and Gordon refrains from teasing James about the bootlace incident.

Characters

James and the Top-Hat

• Thomas
• Edward
• James
• Sir Topham Hatt I
• Annie and Clarabel (not named; do not speak)
• The Lady with the Black Bonnet (does not speak)
• Gordon (mentioned)

James and the Bootlace

• James
• Sir Topham Hatt I
• Jeremiah Jobling
• Gordon (mentioned)

Troublesome Trucks

• Edward
• James
• The Little Blue Tank Engine
• Troublesome Trucks
• Sir Topham Hatt I

James and the Express

• Gordon
• James
• Sir Topham Hatt I
• Henry (does not speak)

Locations

James and the Top-Hat

• Tidmouth
  • Tidmouth Sheds
• Knapford
• Gordon's Hill
• Cronk
• The Cow Field (mentioned)
• Wellsworth (mentioned)

James and the Bootlace

• Tidmouth

Troublesome Trucks

• Tidmouth Sheds
• Tidmouth Yards
• Gordon's Hill
• Killdane (illustrated as Wellsworth)

James and the Express

• Tidmouth
  • Tidmouth Sheds

Trivia

• The Rev. W. Awdry often stated this was his least favourite book, due to it being written to meet a deadline rather than from experience.
• When Reginald Payne proved unavailable to illustrate this book, Wilbert Awdry decided to illustrate it himself. While he was able to draw engines and railway infrastructure, he was unable to draw humans and scenery. He found a solution in the new Headmistress of the Knapwell Church of England School, Barbara Bean, whose hobby was sketching. Although Miss Bean knew nothing of railways, she agreed to collaborate with Wilbert on the illustrations. Wilbert drew the engineering side of things, while Miss Bean filled in the scenic details and added watercolour to the illustrations. By the time the illustrations were finished, however, Edmund Ward had already hired C. Reginald Dalby as illustrator, who re-drew the pictures for publication.
• In this book, the Fat Director is renamed the Fat Controller, which he would be known as from this book onwards.
• The book was released digitally for Apple products on 11th May 2012.
• A 70th anniversary print was released on 16th April 2015.
• James and the Top-Hat is based on an event that occurred at Ghent, Belgium that was witnessed by the Rev. W. Awdry.
• The events of this book took place in 1925.
• In an Onion article called "Our Dumb Century", a possible reference to James' bootlaces incident is made.
• James and the Bootlace is based off a snippet in The Railway Gazette.

Goofs

• In the fifth illustration of James and the Top-Hat, Thomas' number is missing, his siderods are blue, the red lining on his splasher is missing and the smaller window on the side of his cab is missing.
• In the sixth illustration of James and the Top-Hat, James is missing his buffers.
• Throughout James and the Bootlace the number of coaches changes.
• In the third illustration of Troublesome Trucks, a sad van is at the front of James' train. For the remainder of the story, its face disappears.
• In the same illustration, the little blue tank engine is missing his front wheel arches.
• Between the fifth and sixth illustrations of Troublesome Trucks, the grass on the sides of Gordon's Hill becomes lighter.
• In The Island of Sodor: Its People, History and Railways, it was mentioned that in Troublesome Trucks James took his trucks to Killdane, but the illustration shows Wellsworth instead.
• In the fourth illustration of James and the Express, James does not have any cab windows. However, pencil outlines for them can be seen.
• In the sixth illustration of James and the Express, Gordon's front coupler is missing.
• In the final illustration, Gordon is missing his steam-pipes and the curve at the bottom of his valance.

In Other Languages

Language	Title
Chinese	亮闪闪的詹姆士
Japanese	赤い機関車ジェームズ (1973-2004) 赤い機関車ジェームス (2005-)
Korean	빨간 기관차 제임스
Welsh	James Yr Injian Coch

Merchandise

Name	Released	Discontinued	Highlights	Image
Plate	Unknown	Unknown	{{{highlights1}}}

References

The Railway Series

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