Successive books would introduce such popular characters as Annie and Clarabel, Percy the Small Engine and Toby the Tram Engine. Dalby illustrated every volume up to Percy the Small Engine (1956), and also produced new illustrations for The Three Railway Engines and made changes to those of Thomas the Tank Engine.
THE RAILWAY SERIES BOX SET SERIES
Reginald Dalby, perhaps the most famous of the Railway Series artists, and certainly the most controversial due to the criticism later aimed at him by Awdry. James the Red Engine was notable as the first book to be illustrated by C.
The book James the Red Engine appeared in 1948, the year in which the railways in Britain were nationalised, and from this point onwards the Fat Director was known by his familiar title of the Fat Controller. Like its predecessor, this book was a success and Awdry was asked to write stories about James, a character who first appeared in Thomas and the Breakdown Train, the final story in Thomas the Tank Engine. This was illustrated by Reginald Payne, whom Wilbert felt to be a great improvement over Middleton. Stories about Thomas were requested by Christopher, and 1946 saw the publication of Thomas the Tank Engine. Awdry constructed a toy tank engine for Christopher, which gained the name Thomas. The four stories were published in 1945 as a single volume, The Three Railway Engines, illustrated by William Middleton.Ĭhristmas 1942 saw the genesis of the character that grew to become the most famous fictional locomotive in the world. Although Wilbert had not intended that the three engines live on the same railway, he complied with the request in the story Edward, Gordon and Henry. The head of the children's books division requested a fourth story to bring the three engines together and redeem Henry, who had been bricked up in a tunnel in the previous story. Encouraged by his wife Margaret, Awdry submitted the three stories to Edmund Ward in 1943.
This story introduced the popular characters Henry the Green Engine and the Fat Director. Ī third story had its origins in a limerick of which Christopher was fond, and which Awdry used to introduce The Sad Story of Henry: Another story about Edward followed, this time featuring Gordon the Big Engine, named after a child living on the same road who Christopher considered rather bossy. Wilbert Awdry's answers to Christopher's questions about the rhyme led to the creation of a short story, "Edward's Day Out", featuring Edward the Blue Engine, an old engine who is allowed out of the shed for a day. The words, with some slight alterations, were later set to music by Lee Ricks and Slim Gaillard in 1948, and released by Tommy Dorsey and his orchestra as a single entitled " Down by the Station". The origins of this rhyme are unknown, but research by Brian Sibley suggests that it originated at some point prior to the First World War. The engine characters were mostly based upon real classes of locomotive, and some of the railways themselves were based upon real lines in the British Isles.Īudio adaptations of The Railway Series have been recorded at various times under the title The Railway Stories. As a lifelong railway enthusiast, Awdry was keen that his stories should be as realistic as possible.
Nearly all of The Railway Series stories were based on real-life events. Characters and stories from the books formed the basis of the children's television series. Thomas became the most popular character in the series and was the titular character of the television series Thomas & Friends from 1984 to 2021. The series features many anthropomorphic vehicles, including Thomas the Tank Engine. Sixteen more were written by his son, Christopher Awdry, between 19. There are 42 books in the series, the first published in 1945.
The Railway Series is a set of British books about a railway, called the North Western Railway, located on the fictional Island of Sodor.
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