View source for The Railway Series

{{Youmay|''the books''|''[[The Railway Stories|the audiobooks]]'' or ''[[The Railway Stories (books)|the Cathay Books Limited books]]''}}
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{{Infobox Book
|title1 = The Railway Series
|image1 = [[File:TheRailwaySerieslogo.png|250px]]
|author = 
* [[Wilbert Awdry|Rev. W. Awdry]] {{Note|1945–1972}}
* [[Christopher Awdry]] {{Note|1983-2011}}
|illustrator = 
* [[William Middleton]] {{Note|1945}}
* [[Reginald Payne]] {{Note|1946}}
* [[C. Reginald Dalby]] {{Note|1948-1956}}
* [[John T. Kenney]] {{Note|1957-1962}}
* [[Gunvor and Peter Edwards]] {{Note|1963–1972}}
* [[Clive Spong]] {{Note|1983-2011}}
|publisher = 
* [[Edmund Ward]] {{Note|1945-1968}}
* [[Kaye & Ward]] {{Note|1968-1998}}
* [[Egmont Publishing]] {{Note|1998-present}}
* [[William Heinemann|Heinemann Young Books]]
* [[Poplar Publishing]] {{Note|JPN}}
* [[Jung Ang Educational Foundation Inc.]] {{Note|KOR; 1996-1998}}
* Adongmoonhak {{Note|KOR; 2005}}
* Ravensburger Verlag GmbH {{Note|GER}}
* Globi Verlag AG {{Note|CH}}
|series=
|published=1945 - 2011
}}'''''The Railway Series''''' is a series of books about the railways of the [[Island of Sodor]]. The books were created by the [[Wilbert Awdry|Rev. W. Awdry]], who wrote the first stories in 1942. He wrote twenty-six books from 1945 to 1972. A further sixteen books were written by his son [[Christopher Awdry]]. The final book in the series, ''[[Thomas and his Friends]]'', was published in 2011.

The series formed the basis for ''[[Thomas & Friends]]'', with many of its books and stories being adapted for television.

==History==
===Origins===
In 1942, Wilbert Awdry'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 of several engines standing in a row based on the rhyme 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 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. Christopher would constantly ask for the stories to be retold, even after he recovered and to ensure consistency between tellings, Wilbert wrote them down on the back of old church circulars.

Margaret Awdry also liked the stories and told 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 and 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, but in September 1943, [[Edmund Ward]] agreed to publish them, though refused to commit to a publication date, to Wilbert's annoyance. In October, Ward wrote to say that the stories would be published as one book entitled ''[[The Three Railway Engines]]'', but that he required rough sketches for his illustrator to base his pictures on and a fourth story to finish off the book. While Awdry was annoyed at the requests, since Ward had already rejected his drawings, he agreed and wrote "Edward, Gordon and Henry". While it was hoped this would speed up publication, the book was not published until 12 May, 1945. 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===
After the publication of the book, Christopher 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. Christopher would then request stories about Thomas and these stories would be published as Awdry's second and most famous book, ''Thomas the Tank Engine''.

After ''Thomas the Tank Engine'', Awdry was finished with writing any more books. However, due to popular demand, Awdry pressed onward. By the time Awdry stopped writing in 1972, ''The Railway Series'' numbered twenty-six books.

===Conclusion===
Christopher subsequently added sixteen more books to the series, including the later two posthumous releases. The last book ''[[Thomas and his Friends]]'' was published in 2011 to commemorate Wilbert's century, particularity 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, but the Heinemann imprint 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 Publishing|Egmont UK]] and the copyright of ''The Railway Series'' to [[The Britt Allcroft Company]] for £13.5 million.<ref>[https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/print/19980511/28612-pw-egmont-buys-reed-children-s-books.html Egmont Buys Reed Children's Books] on Publishers Weekly</ref><ref name="faqs">[https://web.archive.org/web/20070506041432/http://www.aran48.dsl.pipex.com/faqs.htm Frequently Asked Questions] on Awdry Family Website</ref> As a result, [[Christopher Awdry]] was unable to publish ''The Railway Series'' without the permission of the copyright holder, and the series were suspended.<ref name="faqs"/> In the same year, in spite of Christopher's opposition<ref name="faqs"/>, Egmont published [[Egmont Publishing#The Railway Series|new format versions]] of fourteen books from ''The Railway Series'', which were discontinued and scrapped due to negative feedback. It was reverted to the original state in 2004.

Christopher still wanted to write stories for children, so he founded [[Sodor Enterprises]] in 2001 with his wife, Diana Awdry. He offered the publisher the reprints of ''[[The Island of Sodor: Its People, History and Railways]]'', and he offered to buy the copyright of this book, but these were denied.{{Ref|[https://web.archive.org/web/20050404103746/http://www.sodor.co.uk/next.htm What's Next?] on Sodor Enterprises}} As a result, he wrote a new information book and published it in May 2005 as ''[[Sodor: Reading Between the Lines]]'' to celebrate the 60th anniversary of ''The Railway Series''.

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 reached its conclusion with this being the final book.

==Books==
===Rev. W. Awdry===
{{Episodes List 1
|A = Cover
|B = Title
|C = Published
|D = No. #
|01-1 = ThreeRailwayEngines2015cover.jpg
|01-2 = [[The Three Railway Engines]]
|01-3 = 12th May 1945
|01-4 = #01
|01-5 = [[Edward (RWS)|Edward]] is let out of his shed, [[Gordon (RWS)|Gordon]] runs into trouble with some [[Troublesome Trucks (RWS)|trucks]] and [[Henry (RWS)|Henry]] is shut up in a tunnel for being vain.
|02-1 = ThomastheTankEngine2015Cover.jpg
|02-2 = [[Thomas the Tank Engine]]
|02-3 = 14th September 1946
|02-4 = #02
|02-5 = A station pilot named [[Thomas (RWS)|Thomas]] longs to leave his yard to go out and see the world and has several adventures.
|03-1 = JamestheRedEngine2015Cover.jpg
|03-2 = [[James the Red Engine]]
|03-3 = 14th September 1948
|03-4 = #03
|03-5 = [[James (RWS)|James]], the new engine on [[Sir Topham Hatt (RWS)|the Fat Controller]]'s Railway, gets into trouble and tries to make up for his mistakes.
|04-1 = TankEngineThomasAgain2015Cover.jpg
|04-2 = [[Tank Engine Thomas Again]]
|04-3 = 31st December 1949
|04-4 = #04
|04-5 = Thomas has many adventures on [[Ffarquhar Branch Line|his new branch line]] and meets two new friends named [[Terence (RWS)|Terence]] and [[Bertie (RWS)|Bertie]].
|05-1 = TroublesomeEngines2015Cover.jpg
|05-2 = [[Troublesome Engines]]
|05-3 = 15th January 1950
|05-4 = #05
|05-5 = When Gordon, Henry and James begin to behave badly and go on strike, a new tank engine named [[Percy (RWS)|Percy]] is brought to help out.
|06-1 = HenrytheGreenEngine2015Cover.jpg
|06-2 = [[Henry the Green Engine]]
|06-3 = 10th July 1951
|06-4 = #06
|06-5 = Henry proves his worth to the Fat Controller, in spite of his illness and is finally cured.
|07-1 = TobytheTramEngine2015Cover.jpg
|07-2 = [[Toby the Tram Engine]]
|07-3 = 26th July 1952
|07-4 = #07
|07-5 = A steam tram named [[Toby (RWS)|Toby]] comes to Sodor with his faithful coach, [[Henrietta (RWS)|Henrietta]], to help the Fat Controller after his old tramway closes down.
|08-1 = GordontheBigEngine2015Cover.jpg
|08-2 = [[Gordon the Big Engine]]
|08-3 = 19th June 1953
|08-4 = #08
|08-5 = 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.
|09-1 = EdwardtheBlueEngine2015Cover.jpg
|09-2 = [[Edward the Blue Engine]]
|09-3 = 23rd November 1954
|09-4 = #09
|09-5 = Edward is getting old, but proves he has plenty of life left in him.
|10-1 = FourLittleEngines2015Cover.jpg
|10-2 = [[Four Little Engines]]
|10-3 = 22nd November 1955
|10-4 = #10
|10-5 = While [[Rheneas]] is away at the works, the [[Skarloey Railway]] engines work together to keep their line running. Two new engines also arrive to help out.
|11-1 = PercytheSmallEngine2015Cover.jpg
|11-2 = [[Percy the Small Engine]]
|11-3 = 1st January 1956
|11-4 = #11
|11-5 = Percy is fed-up of being ordered about and gets a chance to shine when he is reallocated to Thomas' Branch Line.
|12-1 = TheEightFamousEngines2015Cover.jpg
|12-2 = [[The Eight Famous Engines]]
|12-3 = 15th September 1957
|12-4 = #12
|12-5 = Already famous for their adventures on Sodor, the Fat Controller's engines take a trip to [[The Mainland|England]].
|13-1 = DuckandtheDieselEngine2015Cover.jpg
|13-2 = [[Duck and the Diesel Engine]]
|13-3 = 23rd June 1958
|13-4 = #13
|13-5 = [[Duck (RWS)|Duck]] becomes suspicious when a [[Diesel (RWS)|devious diesel]] comes to Sodor and blames him for causing trouble.
|14-1 = TheLittleOldEngine2015Cover.jpg
|14-2 = [[The Little Old Engine]]
|14-3 = 1st January 1959
|14-4 = #14
|14-5 = [[Skarloey (RWS)|Skarloey]] returns to Sodor and finds out that things have changed on his little railway.
|15-1 = TheTwinEngines2015Cover.jpg
|15-2 = [[The Twin Engines]]
|15-3 = 15th September 1960
|15-4 = #15
|15-5 = [[Donald and Douglas (RWS)|Donald and Douglas]], two well-meaning Scottish goods engines, create confusion for the Fat Controller when he only expects one engine.
|16-1 = BranchLineEngines2015Cover.jpg
|16-2 = [[Branch Line Engines]]
|16-3 = 15th September 1961
|16-4 = #16
|16-5 = Thomas has an accident and a lazy diesel railcar named [[Daisy (RWS)|Daisy]] comes to Sodor to fill in for him, but only causes more trouble and Percy gets into a predicament.
|17-1 = GallantOldEngine2015Cover.jpg
|17-2 = [[Gallant Old Engine]]
|17-3 = 1st January 1962
|17-4 = #17
|17-5 = The Skarloey Railway prepares for Rheneas' return.
|18-1 = StepneytheBluebellEngine2015Cover.jpg
|18-2 = [[Stepney the "Bluebell" Engine]]
|18-3 = 15th August 1963
|18-4 = #18
|18-5 = [[Stepney (RWS)|Stepney]], an engine from the [[Bluebell Railway]], pays a visit to the Island of Sodor and its engines.
|19-1 = MountainEngines2015Cover.jpg
|19-2 = [[Mountain Engines]]
|19-3 = 15th August 1964
|19-4 = #19
|19-5 = [[Culdee]] returns to the [[Culdee Fell Railway|Mountain Railway]] and [[Patrick|Lord Harry]] makes up for a silly mistake.
|20-1 = VeryOldEngines2015Cover.jpg
|20-2 = [[Very Old Engines]]
|20-3 = 15th June 1965
|20-4 = #20
|20-5 = Skarloey and Rheneas recall their early days and celebrate their 100th birthdays.
|21-1 = MainLineEngines2015Cover.jpg
|21-2 = [[Main Line Engines]]
|21-3 = 15th November 1966
|21-4 = #21
|21-5 = [[Bill and Ben (RWS)|Bill and Ben]] play a trick on a [[BoCo (RWS)|new diesel]], Gordon and James get into silly mishaps, and Edward pulls through to bring his passengers home.
|22-1 = SmallRailwayEngines2015Cover.jpg
|22-2 = [[Small Railway Engines]]
|22-3 = 1st August 1967
|22-4 = #22
|22-5 = Three miniature gauge engines - [[Rex (RWS)|Rex]], [[Bert (RWS)|Bert]] and [[Mike (RWS)|Mike]] - come to Sodor to work on a [[Arlesdale Railway (RWS)|new railway]].
|23-1 = EnterprisingEngines2015Cover.jpg
|23-2 = [[Enterprising Engines]]
|23-3 = 4th October 1968
|23-4 = #23
|23-5 = A [[Flying Scotsman (RWS)|special visitor]] comes to Sodor, [[Diesel 199|two]] [[Bear|diesels]] are put on trial, and Douglas rescues a steam engine from the cutter's torch.
|24-1 = OlivertheWesternEngine2015Cover.jpg
|24-2 = [[Oliver the Western Engine]]
|24-3 = 15th November 1969
|24-4 = #24
|24-5 = [[Oliver (RWS)|Oliver]], the new Great Western engine on [[the Little Western (RWS)|the Little Western]], gets into trouble when his overconfidence gets the better of him.
|25-1 = DuketheLostEngine2015Cover.jpg
|25-2 = [[Duke the Lost Engine]]
|25-3 = 15th October 1970
|25-4 = #25
|25-5 = [[Peter Sam (RWS)|Peter Sam]] and [[Sir Handel (RWS)|Sir Handel]] recall their old days on the [[Mid Sodor Railway (RWS)|Mid Sodor Railway]], and a search begins to find [[Duke (RWS)|Duke]].
|26-1 = TramwayEngines2015Cover.jpg
|26-2 = [[Tramway Engines]]
|26-3 = 15th October 1972
|26-4 = #26
|26-5 = Thomas and Percy get in a quarrel, and a new diesel shunter named [[Mavis (RWS)|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 call his twenty-seventh volume ''[[Really Useful Engines#Trivia|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.

===Christopher Awdry===
{{Episodes List 1
|A=Cover
|B=Title
|C=Published
|D=No. #
|01-1=ReallyUsefulEnginesCover.png
|01-2=[[Really Useful Engines]]
|01-3=12th September 1983
|01-4=#27
|01-5=Thomas helps to stop a thief, Percy helps [[Tom Tipper (RWS)|Tom Tipper]], Duck helps Henry with the Flying Kipper, and all three engines help with the Express.
|02-1=JamesandtheDieselEnginesCover.png
|02-2=[[James and the Diesel Engines]]
|02-3=17th September 1984
|02-4=#28
|02-5=James is still convinced that diesels are not very useful, but he slowly learns to put his prejudices behind him.
|03-1=GreatLittleEnginesCover.png
|03-2=[[Great Little Engines]]
|03-3=28th October 1985
|03-4=#29
|03-5=Sir Handel visits the [[Talyllyn Railway]].
|04-1=MoreAboutThomastheTankEngineCover.png
|04-2=[[More About Thomas the Tank Engine]]
|04-3=22nd September 1986
|04-4=#30
|04-5=Thomas and Percy fall out after an accident, but they manage to make up for it.
|05-1=GordontheHigh-SpeedEngineCover.png
|05-2=[[Gordon the High-Speed Engine]]
|05-3=7th September 1987
|05-4=#31
|05-5=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.
|06-1=Toby,TrucksandTroubleCover.png
|06-2=[[Toby, Trucks and Trouble]]
|06-3=19th September 1988
|06-4=#32
|06-5=Percy and Toby run the branch line, and Mavis has an accident with a lorry.
|07-1=ThomasandtheTwinsCover.png
|07-2=[[Thomas and the Twins]]
|07-3=11th September 1989
|07-4=#33
|07-5=Thomas must work on [[Brendam Branch Line (RWS)|Edward's Branch Line]] for the time being and meets Bill and Ben while he is there.
|08-1=JocktheNewEngineCover.png
|08-2=[[Jock the New Engine]]
|08-3=6th August 1990
|08-4=#34
|08-5=A boastful new engine called [[Jock]] starts work on the Arlesdale Railway.
|09-1=ThomasandtheGreatRailwayShowCover.png
|09-2=[[Thomas and the Great Railway Show]]
|09-3=12th August 1991
|09-4=#35
|09-5=Thomas travels to the Mainland to attend a grand railway exhibition at the [[National Railway Museum]].
|10-1=ThomasComesHomeCover.png
|10-2=[[Thomas Comes Home]]
|10-3=15th June 1992
|10-4=#36
|10-5=Percy, Toby and Daisy must manage the branch line while Thomas is away in England.
|11-1=HenryandtheExpressCover.png
|11-2=[[Henry and the Express]]
|11-3=8th April 1993
|11-4=#37
|11-5=Henry is feeling ill again and must go to the Works for an overhaul.
|12-1=WilberttheForestEngineCover.png
|12-2=[[Wilbert the Forest Engine]]
|12-3=8th August 1994
|12-4=#38
|12-5=[[Wilbert]] is called in from the [[Dean Forest Railway]] to help the Ffarquhar Branch Line engines, Donald and Douglas.
|13-1=ThomasandtheFatControllersEnginesCover.png
|13-2=[[Thomas and the Fat Controller's Engines]]
|13-3=1st August 1995
|13-4=#39
|13-5=The engines prepare for the fiftieth anniversary of ''The Railway Series''.
|14-1=NewLittleEngineCover.png
|14-2=[[New Little Engine]]
|14-3=8th August 1996
|14-4=#40
|14-5=A [[Ivo Hugh|new engine]] is built for the Skarloey Railway.
|15-1=ThomasandVictoriaCover.png
|15-2=[[Thomas and Victoria]]
|15-3=3rd September 2007
|15-4=#41
|15-5=The Fat Controller has an old coach named [[Victoria]] renovated to help Toby on the branch line.
|16-1=ThomasandHisFriendsCover.png
|16-2=[[Thomas and his Friends]]
|16-3=6th July 2011
|16-4=#42
|16-5=[[The Thin Clergyman (RWS)|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]]. ''
* Another book of ''The Railway Series'' titled ''[[Barry the Rescue Engine]]'' was to be written by Christopher Awdry in the 1980s, but it was cancelled.
* Christopher Awdry had other material, which he hoped would be published. He read new stories about the [[Skarloey Railway|narrow gauge engines]] at the [[Talyllyn Railway]]'s ''[[Douglas (narrow gauge)|Duncan Days]]'' events; however, these stories were never published.

===Other Books===
{{Episodes List 1
|A=Cover
|B=Title
|C=Writer
|D=Published
|01-1=Thomas'sChristmasParty(book)1992Cover.jpg
|01-2=[[Thomas's Christmas Party (book)|Thomas's Christmas Party]]
|01-3=Rev. W. Awdry
|01-4=29th October 1984
|01-5=Thomas wants to hold a special Christmas party for Mrs. Kyndley. Unfortunately, Mrs. Kyndley's house is snowed in.
|02-1=ThomasComestoBreakfast(book)1992Cover.png
|02-2=[[Thomas Comes to Breakfast (book)|Thomas Comes to Breakfast]]
|02-3=Rev. W. Awdry
|02-4=2nd September 1985
|02-5=Thomas thinks that he can manage without his [[Drivers (RWS)|driver]], until he makes an unexpected visit to the stationmaster's house one morning.
|03-1=ThomasandtheMissingChristmasTree(story).PNG
|03-2=[[Thomas and the Missing Christmas Tree (story)|Thomas and the Missing Christmas Tree]]
|03-3=Christopher Awdry
|03-4=20th October 1986
|03-5=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.
|04-1=ThomasandtheEvilDiesel.jpg
|04-2=[[Thomas and the Evil Diesel]]
|04-3=Christopher Awdry
|04-4=5th October 1987
|04-5=Diesel returns to Sodor to help out on Thomas' branch line and manages to redeem himself after causing trouble.
|05-1=ThomasandGordonOfftheRails.jpg
|05-2=[[Thomas and Gordon Off the Rails]]
|05-3=Rev. W. Awdry
|05-4=3rd September 1990
|05-5=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.
|06-1=ThomasandtheHurricaneCover.png
|06-2=[[Thomas and the Hurricane]]
|06-3=Christopher Awdry
|06-4=16th March 1992
|06-5=Thomas and his friends deal with the aftermath of a hurricane.
}}

==Annuals==
{{See also|Annuals}}
From 1979 to 1980, [[annuals]] were written by the Rev. W. Awdry and from 1985 to 1996 by Christopher Awdry. In some cases, these stories expanded upon earlier books of ''The Railway Series''. In others, they were entirely new and some stories were later rewritten and used as stories of ''The Railway Series''.
<gallery position="center" spacing="small" captionalign="center" bordersize="none">
File:1979Annual.jpg|1979 cover
File:1980Annual.jpg|1980 cover
File:1985Annual.jpg|1985 cover
File:1986Annual.jpg|1986 cover
File:1987Annual.jpg|1987 cover
File:1988Annual.jpg|1988 cover
File:1989Annual.jpg|1989 cover
File:1990Annual.jpg|1990 cover
File:1991Annual.jpg|1991 cover
File:1992Annual.jpg|1992 cover
File:1993Annual.jpg|1993 cover
File:1994Annual.jpg|1994 cover
File:1995Annual.jpg|1995 cover
File:1996Annual.jpg|1996 cover
</gallery>

==Pop-Up Books==
Several Pop-Up books were released based on various stories of ''The Railway Series'', all from previous books.

# [[The Flying Kipper and Henry the Green Engine]] (''W. Awdry, 1983'')
# [[Bertie the Bus and Thomas the Tank Engine]] (''W. Awdry, 1983'')
# [[Thomas the Tank Engine and the Tractor]] (''W. Awdry, 1984'')
# [[Henry the Green Engine and the Elephant]] (''W. Awdry, 1984'')
# [[Henry the Green Engine Gets Out]] (''W. Awdry, 1984'')
# [[James the Red Engine and the Troublesome Trucks]] (''W. Awdry, 1984'')
# [[Thomas the Tank Engine Goes Fishing]] (''W. Awdry, 1986'')
# [[Percy the Small Engine Takes the Plunge]] (''W. Awdry, 1986'')
# [[James the Red Engine and the Signal]] (''C. Awdry, 1994'')
# [[Percy the Small Engine and the Scarf]] (''W. Awdry, 1995'')
# [[Thomas the Tank Engine Catches a Thief]] (''C. Awdry, 1995'')
# [[Thomas the Tank Engine and the Scrambled Eggs]] (''C. Awdry, 1995'')

==Mini/Board/Sticker books==
There have been several books published related to ''The Railway Series'', which were written by the Awdrys. These books were illustrated by [[Ken Stott]], [[Tony Wells]] and [[Edgar Hodges]].

{{Scroll box|
# [[James and the Balloons]]
# [[Percy and the Kite]]
# [[Thomas and the Birthday Party]]
# [[Henry and the Ghost Train]]
# [[Henry Goes to the Hospital]]
# [[Thomas and the Pony Show]]
# [[Thomas and the Dinosaur]]
# [[Thomas and the Tiger]]
# [[Thomas Goes to School]]
# [[Thomas and the Station Cat]]
# [[James and The Fat Controller]]
# [[Thomas and the Prize Pig]]
# [[Tracking Thomas the Tank Engine and his Friends]]
# [[Thomas and the Lost Cat]]
# [[Percy the Seaside Train]]
# [[Thomas and the Giant (sticker book)|Thomas and the Giant]]
# [[Thomas and the Bad Dog]]
# [[Henry Pulls the Express]]
# [[Learn With Thomas (book)]]
# [[A False Start for Duck]]
# [[Percy and the Postman]]
# [[Edward and the Bear]]
# [[Thomas the Tank Engine's European Word Book]]
# [[Down the Line with Thomas]]
# [[Tell the Time with Thomas]]
# [[Thomas Goes to Town]]
# [[Percy to the Rescue (book)|Percy to the Rescue]]
# [[Thomas's ABC]]
# [[Thomas's Counting Book]]
# [[Thomas's Book of Colours]]
# [[Up and Down with Percy]]
# [[Famous Engines]]
# [[Bumper Colouring Book]]
}}

==Companion Volumes==
These books mainly feature the Island of Sodor, dealing with its history, geography and industry in far greater depth than could ever be discussed in ''The Railway Series'' stories themselves. However, [[The Thomas the Tank Engine Man]] is a biography of the [[Wilbert Awdry|Rev. W. Awdry]] and is considered a companion to the series.

# [[Railway Map of the Island of Sodor]] (''W. Awdry, 1958; 1971; 1983'')
# [[Twelve Happy Engines]] (''W. Awdry, 1970'')
# [[The Railway Series: Surprise Packet]] (''W. Awdry, 1972'')
# [[The Island of Sodor: Its People, History and Railways]] (''W. Awdry and [[George Awdry|G. Awdry]], 1987'')
# [[The Thomas the Tank Engine Man]] (''[[Brian Sibley|B. Sibley]], 1995; 2015'')
# [[Sodor: Reading Between the Lines]] (''C. Awdry, 2005'')
# [[Thomas the Tank Engine (Est. 1945): Style Guide]] (''2007'')

==Bad Days for Thomas==
Main Article: [[Bad Days for Thomas]]

A series of books written to highlight rail safety. They were written partially due to Christopher Awdry's frustration at not being able to include a proper rail safety story in ''[[Thomas and the Great Railway Show]]''.

<gallery position="center" spacing="small" captionalign="center" bordersize="none">
File:BadDaysforThomasandhisFriends.jpg|Bad Days for Thomas and his Friends
File:MoreBadDaysforThomasandhisFriends.png|More Bad Days for Thomas and his Friends
</gallery>

==Storytime Segments==
In this series of segments, [[Mr. Perkins]] and later [[Mr. Evans]] read ''The Railway Series'' stories. Each story is rewritten by [[Andrew Brenner]] and reillustrated by [[Loraine Marshall]].

# [[Henry the Green Engine#The Flying Kipper|The Flying Kipper]] - (''[[Santa's Little Engine (DVD)|Santa's Little Engine]] DVD; US/UK/AUS'')
# [[The Little Old Engine#Trucks!|Trucks!]] - (''[[The Thomas Way (DVD)|The Thomas Way]] DVD; UK only/[[Whale of a Tale and Other Sodor Adventures]] DVD; UK only/[[Spills and Thrills]] DVD; US only'')
# [[Thomas the Tank Engine#Thomas and Gordon|Thomas and Gordon]] - (''Spills and Thrills DVD; UK/[[Wild Water Rescue and Other Engine Adventures]] DVD; US'')
# [[Duck and the Diesel Engine#Pop Goes the Diesel|Pop Goes the Diesel]] - (''[[Trouble on the Tracks (DVD)|Trouble on the Tracks]] DVD; UK/US/AUS'')
# [[Thomas the Tank Engine#Thomas and the Breakdown Train|Thomas and the Breakdown Train]] - (''[[Tale of the Brave]] DVD; UK/AUS only/[[Engines to the Rescue (US DVD)|Engines to the Rescue]] DVD; US only'')
#[[Henry the Green Engine#Percy and the Trousers|A Scarf for Percy]] - (''[[The Christmas Engines]] DVD; US/UK/AUS'')
# [[Tank Engine Thomas Again#Thomas Goes Fishing|Thomas Goes Fishing]] - (''[[Signals Crossed (DVD)|Signals Crossed]] DVD; US/UK'')
# [[The Three Railway Engines#Edward and Gordon|Edward and Gordon]] - (''[[Dinos and Discoveries]] DVD; UK/US/AUS'')
# [[Tramway Engines#Toby's Tightrope|Toby's Tightrope]] - (''Trouble on the Tracks DVD; UK/AUS only/[[Whale of a Tale and Other Sodor Adventures]] DVD; US only'')
# [[The Eight Famous Engines#Gordon Goes Foreign|Gordon Goes Foreign]] - (''[[Thomas' YouTube World Tour]]'')
# [[Thomas the Tank Engine#Thomas' Train|Thomas' Train]] - ([[Railway Mischief|''Railway Mischief'']]'' DVD; UK/AUS only/[[Tales on the Rails]] DVD; US only'')
# [[Troublesome Engines#Henry and the Elephant|Henry and the Elephant]] - (''Thomas' YouTube World Tour'')
# [[Branch Line Engines#Thomas Comes to Breakfast|Thomas Comes to Breakfast]] - (''Thomas' YouTube World Tour'')
# [[Toby the Tram Engine#Thomas in Trouble|Thomas in Trouble]] - (''Thomas' YouTube World Tour'')
# [[Tramway Engines#Ghost Train|Ghost Train]] - (''Thomas' YouTube World Tour'')
# [[Tank Engine Thomas Again#Thomas and Bertie|Thomas and Bertie]] - (''Thomas' YouTube World Tour'')
# [[Percy the Small Engine#Percy and Harold|Percy and Harold]] - (''Thomas' YouTube World Tour'')
# [[Tank Engine Thomas Again#Thomas, Terence and the Snow|Thomas, Terence and the Snow]] - (''Thomas' YouTube World Tour'')
# [[The Eight Famous Engines#The Fat Controller's Engines|Sir Topham Hatt's Engines]] - (''Thomas' YouTube World Tour'')
# [[Troublesome Engines#Trouble in the Shed|Trouble in the Shed]] - (''Thomas' YouTube World Tour'')
# [[Tank Engine Thomas Again#Thomas and the Guard|Thomas and the Guard]] - (''[[Storytime with Mr. Evans]]'')

==Lectures==
In addition to writing the books, the Rev W. Awdry also wrote a series of 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.

* [[Narrow Gauge Rails in Sodor]] (''1972'')
* [[Railways of Sodor]] (''1972'')

==Trivia==
* 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''.
* With the exception of [[William Middleton]], through illustration errors, each illustrator of the Railway Series has drawn Thomas both with and without the dip in his running board.
* 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.
* [[C. Reginald Dalby]] drew the advertisement for Railway Series books in the illustrations.
** In the fourth illustration of [[Tank Engine Thomas Again#Thomas and the Guard|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 [[Henry the Green Engine#Coal|Coal]], advertisements for [[The Three Railway Engines]] and [[James the Red Engine]] are visible.
** In the third illustration of [[Henry the Green Engine#Percy and the Trousers|Percy and the Trousers]], an advertisement for [[Troublesome Engines]] is visible on the [[Buses|blue double-decker bus]].
* The dust jacket for the books published in 1965<ref>[http://www.reprojackets.co.uk/PBSCProduct.asp?ItmID=11508749 Very Old Engines, 1st edn 1965 - ReproJackets]</ref> - 1967<ref>[http://www.reprojackets.co.uk/PBSCProduct.asp?ItmID=11554226 Small Railway Engines, 1st edn 1967 - ReproJackets]</ref> contained an advertisement for "[[Meccano|Percy the Small Engine, brought to life by Meccano]]".
* Prior to ''[[Thomas & Friends|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, both of which were cancelled.
** ''[[The Sad Story of Henry (1953)|The Sad Story of Henry]]'' produced by the BBC in 1953. Because this episode failed, the BBC cancelled the planned subsequent episodes.
** ''[[Thomas the Tank Engine (1976)|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. Christopher's books were commonly rare to find and expensive to purchase.
* 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).
* [[The Railway Series]] books were published in South Korea, but never in North Korea.
* 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.
* When correctly translated the German name for the Railway Series (Wilbert Awdrys sprechende Eisenbahnen) translates to ''Wilbert Awdry's Speaking Railway''.
* 1947 and 1971 were the only years to not have a book published during Wilbert Awdry's time with the series.

==In Other Languages==
{{Other Languages
|CHI-MAN = 托马斯和朋友原著绘本
|GER = Wilbert Awdrys sprechende Eisenbahnen
|JPN = 汽車のえほん
|KOR = 기관차 친구들<br>토마스 원작 시리즈<br>토마스와 친구들 클래식 시리즈<br>토마스와 친구들 원작 동화 세트<br>기관차 시리즈<br>칙칙폭폭 그림책<br>철도 시리즈
|NOR = Togbok
|SWI-GER = Die lustigen Dampflok-Bücher
}}

===Japan===
[[File:WilbertAwdry1973.jpg|thumb|Wilbert around 1973, a photo often used for Japanese RWS books]]
From 1965 to 1967, [[:ja:清水周裕|Shuyū Shimizu]] lived in [[The Mainland|England]] with his family as a lecturer and international student at the Japanese Studies of Oriental Institute at the [[Wikipedia:University of Oxford|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 [[Wikipedia:ja:慶應義塾幼稚舎|Keio Yochisha]] at the request of his acquaintance [[:ja:桑原三郎|Saburō Kuwabara]]. During this time they decided to translate ''The Railway Series''. The Japanese translation rights were granted by [[Kaye & Ward]] through [[:ja:タトル・モリ エイジェンシー|Charles E. Tuttle Co.]], a literary agent company. [[Wilbert Awdry|The Rev. W. Awdry]] was delighted to publish in [[Japan]] and sent a [[:ja:3だいの機関車#前書き|message]] to Japanese readers. This message was published in the foreword message of [[The Three Railway Engines]] and the front flaps of 26 books.

On 10th 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. The railway technical terms of these books were supervised by [[:ja:黒岩源雄|Motō Kuroiwa]], the railway company owner. These original versions were discontinued around 2001. The books by Christoper Awdry, however, have yet to be translated into Japanese.

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 [[Other Languages#Japan|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 10th December 2010, the 26 books were published as [[Railway Series (Complete Boxsets)|new mini versions]] to commemorate the 65th anniversary of ''The Railway Series''. On 20th July 2013, [[Thomas the Tank Engine: The Complete Collection]] was published to commemorate the 40th anniversary of ''The Railway Series'' in Japan. On 3rd December 2020, the 26 books were published as new versions to commemorate the 75th anniversary of ''The Railway Series''.

When the [[Thomas & Friends|television series]] began broadcasting in Japan on [[Thomas and Gordon|4th 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 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 in German grammar.

The book was published in 1981 by the Otto Maier Verlag Ravensburg and it was translated by [[Josef Guggenmos]]. It has long been discontinued.

Most of the stories' titles were translated rather literal with The Sad Story of Henry being a noticable exception as it was called "Von Henry, dem es schlecht erging" (Of Henry, who fared badly).

The television series was not translated until 1996 and used completely different dialogues, 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".

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External Links==
* [https://www.sodor-island.com/the-railway-series The Railway Series] on Sodor Island Fansite
{{The Railway Series}}

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