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The Railway Series is a series of books about the railways on the Island of Sodor. The books were created by the Rev. W. Awdry, who wrote the first stories in 1942. He wrote twenty-six books in the main series which were first published in the UK from 1945 to 1972. A further sixteen main series books were written by his son, Christopher Awdry, which were first published in the UK from 1983 to 2011.
The series formed the basis for Thomas & Friends, with many of its books and stories being adapted for television; the books themselves also exist in the series' universe.
History
Origins
When Wilbert Awdry was a child, he was always interested in railways, much like his father. He liked to watch trains on the Great Western Railway. To him, the noise of the locomotives' exhaust almost sounded like dialogue - for example, the larger engine having trouble climbing the hills would seem to be saying, "I can't do it, I can't do it," and the smaller engine helping them would sound like it was saying, "I will do it! I will do it! I will do it!".[1]
Awdry's original manuscript and sketches for Edward's Day Out
In 1942, Wilbert's son Christopher had measles and was confined to bed. To prevent their son getting bored, Wilbert and his wife Margaret Awdry told him stories and nursery rhymes. Most of them eventually lost their entertainment value but one that continually appealed to Christopher was the rhyme "Down by the Station". Wilbert subsequently drew a picture based on the rhyme featuring several engines standing in a row and, for fun, gave them faces with various expressions. One sad-looking engine appealed to Christopher, as it shared his mood and he asked what his name was. Wilbert replied with the first name to come to his head: Edward. Through a series of questions and answers, the story of Edward's Day Out was created. Eventually, Christopher began asking for more stories and Awdry obliged him with "Edward and Gordon" and "The Sad Story of Henry", the latter being inspired by another rhyme he was fond of. Even after he recovered, Christopher would constantly ask for the stories to be retold and, to ensure consistency between retellings, Wilbert wrote them down on the back of old church circulars.
The Three Railway Engines dust jacket cover by William Middleton (Thanks to ReproJackets for sharing this with us)
Margaret Awdry also liked the stories and urged her husband to get them published, as she felt they were better than most children's books in circulation. Awdry was reluctant but Margaret persisted. She mentioned the stories in a letter to Wilbert's mother, Lucy, who replied that she knew the author Michael Barsley and asked that the stories be sent to her so she could forward them to him. At Margaret's insistence, Wilbert did so. Barsley's attempts to find a publisher were unsuccessful, so he showed the stories to his agent, Edith Ray Gregorson, who liked them and agreed to pursue the matter further. Her attempts to find a publisher were initially no more successful, as most were suffering paper shortages due to the Second World War. However, in September 1943, Edmund Ward agreed to publish them, though refused to commit to a publication date due to the shortages, to Wilbert's annoyance. In October, Ward wrote to say that the stories would be published in a single book entitled The Three Railway Engines but that he required a fourth story to finish off the book and rough sketches for his illustrator to base his pictures on. While Awdry was annoyed at the requests, since Ward had already rejected his own drawings, he agreed and wrote "Edward, Gordon and Henry" as the final story in the book. While it was hoped this would speed up publication, the book was not published until 12 May 1945 as the Second World War was coming to an end. The book was an immediate commercial success, quickly selling out its initial print run of 22,500 copies and going through two more by the end of the year. Awdry, while happy to see his book in print, was disappointed in the illustrations by William Middleton.
Continuation
Thomas the Tank Engine 1946 cover dust jacket (thanks to ReproJackets for sharing this with us)
Previously, in 1942, after the initial stories were written, Wilbert made Christopher a wooden model of Edward. Christopher apparently also wanted a model of Gordon but this could not be done. Instead, Awdry made a model of a tank engine from odds and ends, painted it blue and gave it to Christopher as a Christmas present. Christopher christened the model engine Thomas. After the publication of The Three Railway Engines in 1945, Christopher would then request stories about Thomas and these stories were later published as Awdry's second and most famous book, Thomas the Tank Engine, in 1946, with illustrations by Reginald Payne.
After a break in writing during 1946 and 1947, while Wilbert was busy sorting out the post-wartime problems of a new parish, Edmund Ward asked for new stories at Easter 1948. The book James the Red Engine was written quickly and, because of this, was always Awdry's least favourite book, as he had written it to meet a deadline rather than from experience.[2] Following the sudden death of Reginald Payne in 1947, C. Reginald Dalby was hired to illustrate for the series. He later re-illustrated The Three Railway Engines in 1949.
A new book was published each subsequent year except for 1971. Wilbert's final book, Tramway Engines, was published in 1972, after which the Reverend retired from writing. By the time he finished writing, The Railway Series numbered twenty-six books.
Conclusion
Starting in 1983 with Really Useful Engines, Wilbert's son, Christopher, wrote sixteen more books for the series. The final book, Thomas and His Friends, was published in 2011 to commemorate Wilbert's 100th birthday, particularly in the last story Centenary.
Publishers
The Railway Series was published by Edmund Ward from The Three Railway Engines in 1945 to Main Line Engines in 1966. Edmund Ward merged with Nicholas Kaye to become Kaye & Ward in 1952 but it was Small Railway Engines in 1967 that began using the new imprint. Kaye & Ward was acquired by William Heinemann in 1984 but the imprint was used up to Toby, Trucks and Trouble in 1988. Heinemann was acquired by Reed Children's Books in 1987 and the Heinemann imprint itself was used from Thomas and the Twins in 1989 to New Little Engine in 1996.
On 25 April 1998, Reed International sold their children's books division to Egmont UK and the copyright of The Railway Series to The Britt Allcroft Company for £13.5 million.[3][4] The Britt Allcroft Company licensed book publishing rights for The Railway Series and all other Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends books to Egmont UK. As a result, Christopher Awdry was unable to publish more books in The Railway Series without the permission of the copyright holder and the series was suspended.[4] In the same year, in spite of Christopher's opposition[4], Egmont published new format versions of fourteen books from The Railway Series. The original format was reintroduced in 2002.
Christopher still wanted to write stories for children, so he founded Sodor Enterprises in 2001 with his wife, Diana Awdry. He repeatedly asked Egmont to reprint The Island of Sodor: Its People, History and Railways and he offered to buy the copyright of this book but these requests were denied.[5] As a result, he wrote a new book titled Sodor: Reading Between the Lines published in May 2005 to celebrate the 60th Anniversary of The Three Railway Engines.
Then, Thomas and Victoria, which was intended to be published in 1997, was published by Egmont in 2007. In 2011, Thomas and His Friends was published and the series was concluded.
Legacy
The success of the Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends television series has enabled new editions of the Railway Series to be published for commemorating anniversaries, as well as for stories to be presented in new mediums. In Japan, Sony Creative Products Inc. released a set of commemorative DVDs from 2010 to 2016 featuring original book stories and their respective television adaptations. From 2013 to 2015, short segments titled Mr. Perkins' Storytime (played by the late Ben Forster) were released as part of the television series on DVD, YouTube and digital streaming. Following Forster's death in 2017, Storytime with Mr. Evans (played by Mark Moraghan) continued this tradition in 2019.
Veronica Chambers unveiling Wilbert Awdry's Historic England Blue Plaque in Stroud in 2025.
Since August 2021, the Talyllyn Railway has celebrated the works and life of the Reverend Awdry with their annual Awdry Extravaganza weekend events. The current republication of Thomas the Tank Engine: The Complete Collection was released in 2023 and some audiobook digital releases narrated by Bruce Alexander were released digitally. On 17 October 2025, a blue plaque from Historic England was unveiled at the former home of Wilbert Awdry in Stroud, Gloucestershire to honour the 80th anniversary of his work.[6]
Main Books
The Rev. W. Awdry
| Cover | Title | Stories | Published | No. # |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Three Railway Engines | Edward's Day Out Edward and Gordon The Sad Story of Henry Edward, Gordon and Henry |
12 May 1945 | #1 | |
| Edward is let out of his shed, Gordon runs into trouble with some trucks and Henry is shut up in a tunnel for being vain. | ||||
| Thomas the Tank Engine | Thomas and Gordon Thomas' Train Thomas and the Trucks Thomas and the Breakdown Train |
14 September 1946 | #2 | |
| A station pilot named Thomas longs to leave his yard to go out and see the world and has several adventures. | ||||
| James the Red Engine | James and the Top-Hat James and the Bootlace Troublesome Trucks James and the Express |
14 September 1948 | #3 | |
| James, the new engine on the Fat Controller's Railway, gets into trouble and tries to make up for his mistakes. | ||||
| Tank Engine Thomas Again | Thomas and the Guard Thomas Goes Fishing Thomas, Terence and the Snow Thomas and Bertie |
September 1949 | #4 | |
| Thomas has many adventures on his new branch line and meets two new friends named Terence and Bertie. | ||||
| Troublesome Engines | Henry and the Elephant Tenders and Turntables Trouble in the Shed Percy Runs Away |
September 1950 | #5 | |
| When Gordon, Henry and James begin to behave badly and go on strike, a new tank engine named Percy is brought to help out. | ||||
| Henry the Green Engine | Coal The Flying Kipper Gordon's Whistle Percy and the Trousers Henry's Sneeze |
10 July 1951 | #6 | |
| In spite of his illness, Henry proves his worth to the Fat Controller and is finally cured. | ||||
| Toby the Tram Engine | Toby and the Stout Gentleman Thomas in Trouble Dirty Objects Mrs Kyndley's Christmas |
September 1952 | #7 | |
| After his old tramway closes down, a steam tram named Toby comes to Sodor with his faithful coach, Henrietta, to help the Fat Controller. | ||||
| Gordon the Big Engine | Off the Rails Leaves Down the Mine Paint Pots and Queens |
19 June 1953 | #8 | |
| Gordon is in disgrace after landing in trouble with the Fat Controller but manages to pull his act together in time for a royal visit. | ||||
| Edward the Blue Engine | Cows! Bertie's Chase Saved from Scrap Old Iron |
August 1954 | #9 | |
| Edward is getting old but proves he has plenty of life left in him. | ||||
| Four Little Engines | Skarloey Remembers Sir Handel Peter Sam and the Refreshment Lady Old Faithful |
22 November 1955 | #10 | |
| While Rheneas is being mended on the Mainland, the Skarloey Railway engines work together to keep their line running. Two new engines also arrive to help out. | ||||
| Percy the Small Engine | Percy and the Signal Duck Takes Charge Percy and Harold Percy's Promise |
1 January 1956 | #11 | |
| A new station pilot named Duck arrives and Percy finally gets a chance to shine when he is reallocated to Thomas' Branch Line. | ||||
| The Eight Famous Engines | Percy Takes the Plunge Gordon Goes Foreign Double Header The Fat Controller's Engines |
15 September 1957 | #12 | |
| Already famous for their adventures on Sodor, the Fat Controller's engines take a trip to England. | ||||
| Duck and the Diesel Engine | Domeless Engines Pop Goes the Diesel Dirty Work A Close Shave |
August 1958 | #13 | |
| Duck becomes suspicious when a devious diesel comes to Sodor and blames him for causing trouble. | ||||
| The Little Old Engine | Trucks! Home at Last Rock 'n' Roll Little Old Twins |
1 January 1959 | #14 | |
| Skarloey returns to Sodor and finds out that things have changed on his little railway. | ||||
| The Twin Engines | 'Hullo Twins!' The Missing Coach Break Van The Deputation |
15 September 1960 | #15 | |
| Donald and Douglas, two well-meaning Scottish goods engines, create confusion for the Fat Controller when he only expects one engine. | ||||
| Branch Line Engines | Thomas Comes to Breakfast Daisy Bull's-Eyes Percy's Predicament |
15 September 1961 | #16 | |
| Thomas has an accident. A lazy diesel railcar named Daisy comes to Sodor to fill in for him but only causes more trouble and Percy gets into a predicament. | ||||
| Gallant Old Engine | Special Funnel Steam-Roller Passengers and Polish Gallant Old Engine |
1 January 1962 | #17 | |
| The Skarloey Railway engines prepare for Rheneas' return. | ||||
| Stepney the "Bluebell" Engine | Bluebells of England Stepney's Special Train Stops Play Bowled Out |
15 August 1963 | #18 | |
| Stepney, an engine from the Bluebell Railway, pays a visit to the Island of Sodor and its engines. | ||||
| Mountain Engines | Mountain Engine Bad Look-Out Danger Points "Devil's Back" |
15 August 1964 | #19 | |
| Culdee returns to the mountain railway and Lord Harry makes up for a silly mistake. | ||||
| Very Old Engines | Crosspatch Bucking Bronco Stick-in-the-Mud Duck and Dukes |
15 June 1965 | #20 | |
| Skarloey and Rheneas recall their early days and celebrate their 100th birthdays. | ||||
| Main Line Engines | The Diseasel Buzz Buzz Wrong Road Edward's Exploit |
15 November 1966 | #21 | |
| Bill and Ben play a trick on a new diesel, Gordon and James get into silly mishaps and Edward pulls through to bring his passengers home. | ||||
| Small Railway Engines | Ballast Tit for Tat Mike's Whistle Useful Railway |
1 August 1967 | #22 | |
| Three miniature gauge engines - Rex, Bert and Mike - come to Sodor to work on a new railway. | ||||
| Enterprising Engines | Tenders for Henry Super Rescue Escape Little Western |
4 October 1968 | #23 | |
| A special visitor comes to Sodor, two diesels are put on trial and Douglas rescues a steam engine from the cutter's torch. | ||||
| Oliver the Western Engine | Donald's Duck Resource and Sagacity Toad Stands By Bulgy |
15 November 1969 | #24 | |
| Oliver, the new Great Western engine on the Little Western, gets into trouble when his overconfidence gets the better of him. | ||||
| Duke the Lost Engine | Granpuff Bulldog You Can't Win! Sleeping Beauty |
15 October 1970 | #25 | |
| Peter Sam and Sir Handel recall their old days on the Mid Sodor Railway and a search begins to find Duke. | ||||
| Tramway Engines | Ghost Train Woolly Bear Mavis Toby's Tightrope |
15 October 1972 | #26 | |
| Thomas and Percy get in a quarrel and a new diesel shunter named Mavis causes trouble for Toby. | ||||
These volumes were later compiled into Thomas the Tank Engine: The Complete Collection. The Complete Collection compilations were released by various publishers in different years and countries, all containing the same 26 volumes.
The Reverend W. Awdry planned to title his twenty-seventh volume Really Useful Engines but he never got to use it following his retirement. Christopher Awdry's first publication used this title for the official twenty-seventh volume of the series.
Christopher Awdry
| Cover | Title | Stories | Published | No. # |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Really Useful Engines | Stop Thief! Mind that Bike Fish Triple-Header |
12 September 1983 | #27 | |
| Thomas helps to stop a thief, Percy helps Tom Tipper, Duck helps Henry with the Flying Kipper and all three engines help with the Express. | ||||
| James and the Diesel Engines | Old Stuck-Up Crossed Lines Fire Engine Deep Freeze |
17 September 1984 | #28 | |
| James is still convinced that diesels are not very useful but he slowly learns to put his prejudices behind him. | ||||
| Great Little Engines | Patience Is a Virtue Peter Sam and the Prickly Problem Pop-Special Sir Handel Comes Home |
28 October 1985 | #29 | |
| Sir Handel visits the Talyllyn Railway. | ||||
| More About Thomas the Tank Engine | Thomas, Percy and the Coal The Runaway Better Late than Never Drip Tank |
22 September 1986 | #30 | |
| Thomas and Percy fall out after an accident but they manage to make up for it. | ||||
| Gordon the High-Speed Engine | High-Speed Gordon Smokescreen Fire Escape Gordon Proves His Point |
7 September 1987 | #31 | |
| Gordon tries to prove that he can be just as fast as the new high-speed diesels and Pip and Emma visit the railway for the first time. | ||||
| Toby, Trucks and Trouble | Mavis and the Lorry Toby's Seaside Holiday Bulstrode Toby Takes the Road |
19 September 1988 | #32 | |
| Percy and Toby run the branch line and Mavis has an accident with a lorry. | ||||
| Thomas and the Twins | Scrambled Eggs What a Picture! Trevor Helps Out Down the Drain |
11 September 1989 | #33 | |
| Thomas must work on Edward's Branch Line for the time being and meets Bill and Ben while he is there. | ||||
| Jock the New Engine | We Need Another Engine Sticking Power Jock Teamwork |
6 August 1990 | #34 | |
| A boastful new engine called Jock starts work on the Arlesdale Railway. | ||||
| Thomas and the Great Railway Show | Museum-Piece Not the Ticket Trouble on the Line Thomas and the Railtour |
12 August 1991 | #35 | |
| Thomas travels to the Mainland to attend a grand railway exhibition at the National Railway Museum. | ||||
| Thomas Comes Home | Snow Problem Washout! Toby's Megatrain Thomas Comes Home |
15 June 1992 | #36 | |
| Percy, Toby and Daisy must manage the branch line while Thomas is away in England. | ||||
| Henry and the Express | Out of Puff Overhaul Sliding Scales Henry Sees Red |
8 April 1993 | #37 | |
| Henry is feeling ill again and must go to the Works for an overhaul. | ||||
| Wilbert the Forest Engine | Percy's Porridge Cab Over Wheels Foaming at the Funnel Wired-Up |
8 August 1994 | #38 | |
| Wilbert is called in from the Dean Forest Railway to help the Ffarquhar Branch Line engines and Donald and Douglas. | ||||
| Thomas and the Fat Controller's Engines | Birdstrike Edward and the Cabbages Rabbits Golden Jubilee |
1 August 1995 | #39 | |
| The engines prepare for the fiftieth anniversary of The Railway Series. | ||||
| New Little Engine | Speedkiller Sir Handel's Plan Dirty Water I Name This Engine… |
8 August 1996 | #40 | |
| A new engine is built for the Skarloey Railway. | ||||
 |
Thomas and Victoria | Overloaded Avalanche Eels on Wheels Toby's Vintage Train |
3 September 2007 | #41 |
| The Fat Controller has an old coach named Victoria renovated to help Toby on the branch line. | ||||
 |
Thomas and His Friends | Thomas and the Swan Buffer Bashing Gordon's Fire Service Centenary |
6 July 2011 | #42 |
| The Thin Clergyman's centenary is celebrated and Pip and Emma become permanent members of the North Western Railway. | ||||
Volumes 27-41 were compiled into Thomas the Tank Engine: The New Collection.
- Christopher Awdry planned to write another book of The Railway Series titled Barry the Rescue Engine in the 1980s but it was cancelled prior to publication.
- Christopher Awdry also had other material which he hoped would be published. He read new stories about the narrow gauge engines at the Talyllyn Railway's Duncan Days events but these stories were never published.
Other Books
Miscellaneous
| Cover | Title | Writer | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
Thomas's Christmas Party | The Rev. W. Awdry | 29 October 1984 |
| Thomas wants to hold a special Christmas party for Mrs. Kyndley. Unfortunately, Mrs. Kyndley's house is snowed in. | |||
 |
Thomas Comes to Breakfast | The Rev. W. Awdry | 2 September 1985 |
| Thomas thinks that he can manage without his driver, until he makes an unexpected visit to the stationmaster's house one morning. | |||
 |
Thomas and the Missing Christmas Tree | Christopher Awdry | 20 October 1986 |
| Thomas is sent to collect a Christmas tree but when he ends up getting lost along the way home, Donald and Douglas set off to rescue him in time for the Christmas celebrations. | |||
 |
Thomas and the Evil Diesel | Christopher Awdry | 5 October 1987 |
| Diesel returns to Sodor to help out on Thomas' branch line and manages to redeem himself after causing trouble. | |||
 |
Thomas and Gordon Off the Rails | The Rev. W. Awdry | 3 September 1990 |
| Gordon decides to jam the turntable to prove a point but his attempt makes him slide into a ditch. Thomas goes to a lead mine to collect some trucks but he foolishly passes a danger board and falls down a mine. | |||
 |
Thomas and the Hurricane | Christopher Awdry | 16 March 1992 |
| Thomas and his friends deal with the aftermath of a hurricane. | |||
Companion Volumes
These books mainly focus on the Island of Sodor, dealing with its history, geography and industry in far greater depth than was ever discussed in The Railway Series stories themselves.
(The Rev. W. Awdry, 1970)
Famous Engines
In 1976, a collection of books were released under the title Rev. W. Awdry's Famous Engines. These were a series of colouring and activity books, as well as a press-out book which allowed the reader to create a model of Skarloey out of pre-cut card. These books were written by the Rev. W. Awdry and illustrated by Edgar Hodges.
Annuals
In 1979 and 1980, two annuals with stories written by the Rev. W. Awdry were released as tie-ins with The Railway Series.
From 1985 onwards, annuals were continued as tie-ins with the television series. Christopher Awdry wrote stories which were published in these annuals up until 1996. The 1985 and 1986 annuals feature a few stories based on The Railway Series alongside those based on the television series. The stories based on The Railway Series contained within these annuals were:
- 1985 - Percy to the Rescue, Edward Cracks a Nut, Oliver Gets the Bird, Donald's Duck, The Twins' Passing Problem, The Strawberry Special, Bertie Saves the Day and Whistle Trouble
- 1986 - Funnel Trouble and You Never Know
Additionally, two annual stories - The Strawberry Special and Thomas and the Swans - were later adapted into the stories Toby's Megatrain (from Toby, Trucks and Trouble) and Thomas and the Swan (from Thomas and His Friends) respectively.
Pop-Up Books
Goes Fishing
(The Rev. W. Awdry, 1983)
Thomas the Tank Engine
(The Rev. W. Awdry, 1983)
Henry the Green Engine
(The Rev. W. Awdry, 1983)
(The Rev. W. Awdry, 1984)
Takes the Plunge
(The Rev. W. Awdry, 1984)
and the Troublesome Trucks
(The Rev. W. Awdry, 1984)
and the Elephant
(The Rev. W. Awdry, 1984)
and the Tractor
(The Rev. W. Awdry, 1984)
and the Scarf
(The Rev. W. Awdry, 1994)
Mini Books
In the 1980s, several mini books related to The Railway Series were written by the Rev. W. Awdry. They were initially illustrated by Tony Wells, and later by Ken Stott. In c. 1988, Christopher Awdry started writing mini books of his own as well, with Ken Stott continuing as illustrator.
Mini/Board/Sticker Books  Thomas Goes to Town (The Rev. W. Awdry, 1986)  Percy to the Rescue (The Rev. W. Awdry, 1986)  Thomas's ABC (The Rev. W. Awdry, 1987)  Thomas's Counting Book (The Rev. W. Awdry, 1987)  Thomas Goes to the Farm (The Rev. W. Awdry, 1988)  James Pulls the Circus Train (The Rev. W. Awdry, 1988)  Percy Goes to the Harbour (The Rev. W. Awdry, 1988)  Thomas and his Engine Friends (The Rev. W. Awdry, 1988)  Thomas's Book of Colours (The Rev. W. Awdry, 1989)  Up and Down with Percy (The Rev. W. Awdry, 1989)  Henry Pulls the Express (The Rev. W. Awdry, 1989)  James and the Rescue Train (The Rev. W. Awdry, 1989)  Percy the Seaside Train (The Rev. W. Awdry, 1989)  James and the Giraffe (C. Awdry, 199?) |
See Also
Lectures
In addition to writing the books, the Rev. W. Awdry also wrote a series of unpublished lectures which went into further detail on the history and lore of various aspects of the Island of Sodor within the universe of The Railway Series. Many of these lectures featured information which is not recorded in any of the books. Known lectures included Narrow Gauge Rails in Sodor (1972), Railways of Sodor (1976) and Pages from Sodor History.
For a number of years following their last readings, the contents of these lectures were widely unknown, with no public records existing of them. The lecture notes and slides themselves, however, were preserved by the Talyllyn Railway and the Awdry family respectively. Since 2021, their contents have gradually become more well-known thanks to live readings performed at Awdry Extravaganza events, as well as a full reading of Narrow Gauge Rails in Sodor uploaded to the Talyllyn Railway's official YouTube page in December 2021.
Audiobooks
- Main article: The Railway Stories
Many audiobooks of The Railway Series were produced over the years. In 1957, a 33⅓ RPM vinyl record was released featuring the Rev. W. Awdry narrating Edward's Day Out and Edward and Gordon. Since then, the voices of Johnny Morris, William Rushton, Sir John Gielgud, Ted Robbins, Ron Haddrick, Andrew Sachs, Michael Angelis and Bruce Alexander have narrated various books of the series.
Storytime Segments
- Main article: Mr. Perkins' Storytime and Postcards
In this series of segments, Mr. Perkins and later Mr. Evans read stories from The Railway Series. Each story was re-written by Andrew Brenner and re-illustrated by Loraine Marshall.
Trivia
- A Scarf for Percy includes additional material from the television series story which was not included in the original Railway Series story.
Anniversaries
Since 2005, there have been regular celebrations for every fifth anniversary of The Railway Series. These will often include special releases and tie-ins for the occasion, including books, live events and other merchandise. Below is a list of pages documenting releases made as tie-ins with each anniversary:
45th Anniversary (1990)- 50th Anniversary (1995)
- 60th Anniversary (2005)
- 65th Anniversary (2010)
- 70th Anniversary (2015)
- 75th Anniversary (2020)
- 80th Anniversary (2025)
In Other Languages
| Language | Title |
|---|---|
| German | Wilbert Awdrys sprechende Eisenbahnen |
| German (Switzerland) | Die lustigen Dampflok-Bücher |
| Hungarian | Régi és új mesék |
| Japanese | 汽車のえほん 新・汽車のえほん (Book 27 onwards) |
| Korean | 기관차 친구들 토마스 원작 시리즈 토마스와 친구들 클래식 시리즈 토마스와 친구들 원작 동화 세트 기관차 시리즈 칙칙폭폭 그림책 철도 시리즈 |
| Mandarin (China) | 托马斯和朋友原著绘本 |
| Norwegian | Togbok (published by Grøndahl) |
| Welsh | Cyfres Tomos y Tanc |
Wales
Welsh was the first and, for many years, only translation of The Railway Series books. In 1950, Welsh minister Sir Ben Bowen Thomas suggested that Edmund Ward publish the engines' adventures in the Welsh language. As a result, J.T. Jones, a former winner of two National Eisteddfod literary awards, was paid seven guineas to translate the first four titles - Y Tri Injian Tren, Thomas yr Injian Danc, James yr Injian Coch and Thomas Injian-Danc Eto - each of which were produced in a print run of 5,000 copies.
Japan
Wilbert around 1973, a photo often used for Japanese RWS books
From 1965 to 1967, Shuyū Shimizu lived in England with his family as a lecturer and international student at the Japanese Studies of Oriental Institute at the University of Oxford. One day he found The Railway Series books at an Oxford bookstore, purchased it for his son and they loved it. For seven years from April 1972, Shimizu taught English at Keio Yochisha at the request of his acquaintance Saburō Kuwabara. During this time they decided to translate The Railway Series. The Japanese translation rights were granted to Poplar Publishing by Kaye & Ward through Charles E. Tuttle Co., a literary agent company. The railway technical terms of these books were supervised by Motō Kuroiwa, the owner of the Keisei Electric Railway.
The series was translated as "汽車のえほん" (meaning "Steam locomotive picture books"). The Rev. W. Awdry was delighted to publish in Japan and sent a message to Japanese readers. This message was published in the foreword message of The Three Railway Engines and the front flaps of 26 books. A few Japanese Railway Series books are to be found in the Rev. W. Awdry's study at Tywyn, Wales. On 10 November 1973, Poplar Publishing published the first three books and, by November 1974, the first fifteen books were published. The remaining eleven books were published between August 1980 and February 1981. These original versions were discontinued around 2001.
From March 2005 to January 2006, the first fifteen books were published to commemorate the 60th Anniversary of The Railway Series. There have been "updates" such as expanding the size of the book, having the same character name as the television series and correcting old-fashioned phrases. After the first fifteen publications, the remaining eleven books were scheduled to be published but they were cancelled. On 10 December 2010, the 26 books were published as new mini versions to commemorate the 65th Anniversary of The Railway Series. On 20 July 2013, Thomas the Tank Engine: The Complete Collection was published to commemorate the 40th Anniversary of The Railway Series in Japan. On 3 December 2020, the 26 books were published as new versions to commemorate the 75th Anniversary of The Railway Series.
On 28 November 2023, Really Useful Engines was published to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of The Railway Series in Japan and on 19 March 2025, James and the Diesel Engines to commemorate the 80th Anniversary of The Railway Series. These books were translated by Mizuhito Kanehara.
When Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends began broadcasting in Japan on 4 October 1990, the Railway Series became even more popular. In 1992, 2005-06, 2013-15 and 2020-21, exhibitions of original artwork of The Railway Series, many sketches by Wilbert Awdry and the original television series models were held in Japan.
Germany
In Germany, only the first two books were ever translated and published as one book called "Wilbert Awdry's Sprechende Eisenbahnen: Thomas die Tenderlok und andere Eisenbahngeschichten", meaning "Wilbert Awdry's talking railways: Thomas the tank engine and other railway stories". It should be noted that the spelling "Wilbert Awdry's Sprechende Eisenbahnen" is incorrect as the apostrophe after a name is not used in German grammar. Furthermore, the word "Sprechende" (talking) should not be spelled with a capital s, as for every adjective not at the beginning of a sentence in German grammar. The book was published in 1981 by the Otto Maier Verlag Ravensburg and it was translated by Josef Guggenmos. Most of the stories' titles were translated rather literally with The Sad Story of Henry being a noticeable exception, as it was called "Von Henry, dem es schlecht erging" (Of Henry, who fared badly).
Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends was not translated until 1996 and used completely different dialogue, phrases and titles.
Switzerland
The Globi Verlag AG translated at least the first four books into Swiss-German in 1987.
The series was known as "Die lustigen Dampflok-Bücher" which roughly translates to "The funny steam engine books". The Three Railway Engines was translated as "Drei Dampfloks werden Freunde" (Three steam engines become friends), Thomas the Tank Engine was translated as "Thomas die Dampflok" (Thomas the steam engine), James the Red Engine became "James mit dem roten Kleid" (James with the red dress) and Tank Engine Thomas Again was "Neues von Thomas der Dampflok" (New stuff from Thomas the steam engine).
The back of "Drei Dampfloks werden Freunde" incorrectly states that the first book was published in 1943 and Edward's name uses the German-speaking spelling "Eduard".
Trivia
- The Railway Series have sold approximately 201 million copies worldwide.
- Every mainstream book of The Railway Series features four stories, except for Henry the Green Engine, which features five.
- Nearly all of The Railway Series stories were based upon real-life events. As a life-long railway enthusiast, Wilbert Awdry was keen that his stories should be as realistic as possible. The engine characters were almost all based upon real classes of locomotives and some of the railways themselves were directly based upon real lines in the British Isles.
- Awdry drew from railway literature for some of his stories, such as C. Hamilton Ellis' The Trains We Loved and L. T. C. Rolt's Railway Adventure.
- According to The Thomas the Tank Engine Man, Awdry had no intention of writing more Railway Series books after 'Thomas the Tank Engine' but after hearing about letters sent saying from fans of the books, he was convinced to continue writing the series.
- 1947 and 1971 were the only years to not have a book published during Wilbert Awdry's time with the series.
- C. Reginald Dalby drew several advertisements for Railway Series books in the illustrations:
- In the fourth illustration of Thomas and the Guard, advertisements for James the Red Engine and "All About Thomas the Famous Tank Engine" are visible.
- In the fifth illustration of Coal, advertisements for The Three Railway Engines and James the Red Engine are visible.
- In the third illustration of Percy and the Trousers, an advertisement for Troublesome Engines is visible on the blue double-decker bus.
- The dust jacket for the books published in 1965[7] - 1967[8] contained an advertisement for "Percy the Small Engine, brought to life by Meccano".
- Prior to Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends being produced by Britt Allcroft in 1984, there were two attempts to adapt The Railway Series books to the television:
- The Three Railway Engines which was televised live by the BBC in 1953. Due to numerous issues, the BBC cancelled the planned subsequent episodes.
- Thomas the Tank Engine planned by Andrew Lloyd Webber in 1973. A pilot episode was produced but cancelled by 1977 for various reasons.
- The first large-scale celebration of an anniversary of The Railway Series was the Thomas the Tank Engine 45th Birthday at the National Railway Museum in 1990.
- The books written by Wilbert Awdry were the most widely available and are the only ones that remain in print.
- After the rights to The Railway Series were sold to The Britt Allcroft Company in 1998 and subsequently licensed to Egmont, most of The Railway Series went out of print. In 1998, only twelve of the Rev. W. Awdry's books and two of Christopher Awdry's books, Really Useful Engines and More About Thomas the Tank Engine were reprinted. The rest of the Rev. W. Awdry's books were finally reprinted in 2002 and the rest of Christopher Awdry's books were finally reprinted in 2007. As a result, many of Christopher Awdry's books are considered rare.
- There were often translation errors in the Korean version.
- The Jung Ang Educational Foundation Inc. South Korean version transcribed "Thomas" as "토머스" (tomeoseu). However, Adongmoonhak's South Korean version got the transcription correct, as "토마스" (tomaseu).
- In the Korean versions of the books, they translated the "Small" word as "작은"(Jak-eun) and the "Little" word as "꼬마"(kkoma) for distinction in South Korea.
- The Railway Series received criticism for the lack of female characters, specifically with male engines pulling female coaches, despite the introduction of prominent female engines such as Daisy, Mavis, Pip and Emma.
External Links
- The Railway Series on Sodor Island Fansite
References
- ↑ 1988: Rev W. Awdry on THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE | Wogan | Writers and Wordsmiths | BBC Archive (2:42)
- ↑ "Sodor: Reading Between the Lines" p. 35
- ↑ Egmont Buys Reed Children's Books on Publishers Weekly
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Frequently Asked Questions on Awdry Family Website
- ↑ What's Next? on Sodor Enterprises
- ↑ Thomas the Tank Engine author honoured with plaque - BBC News
- ↑ Very Old Engines, 1st edn 1965 - ReproJackets
- ↑ Small Railway Engines, 1st edn 1967 - ReproJackets
The Railway Series