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British fictional book series about trains and railways
the book series

The Railway Series is a series of British books about a railway known as the North Western Railway, located on the fictional Island of Sodor. There are 42 books in the series, the first published in May 1945 by the Rev. Wilbert Awdry. Twenty six books were written by Awdry, the final one being written in October 1972. Sixteen more were written by his son, Christopher Awdry, between September 1983 and July 2011. The series features many anthropomorphic vehicles, including Thomas the Tank Engine. Thomas became the most popular and famous character in the series and the titular character of the television series Thomas & Friends from 1984 to 2021. The children's television series originated as adaptations of these stories. Nearly all of The Railway Series stories were based on real life events. As a lifelong railway enthusiast, Awdry was keen that his stories should be as realistic as possible. 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. Audio adaptations of The Railway Series have been recorded at various times under the title The Railway Stories.

Anthropomorphisation of locomotives has a literary tradition extending back at least as far as the writings of Rudyard Kipling in his 1897 story ".007".

Christopher Awdry was a keen railway enthusiast like his father. On a visit to the Nene Valley Railway he was inspired to write his first story Triple Header based on a railwayman's account of a locomotive running out of steam short of its destination. In the story, Thomas, Percy and Duck take on Gordon's Express but find it more than they can handle. Christopher wrote three further stories, Stop Thief!, Mind That Bike and Fish and showed them to his father, who encouraged Christopher to submit them for publication. At the time, work on the television adaptation was underway, and Kaye and Ward were keen to revive The Railway Series. The book Really Useful Engines was published in 1983. Wilbert had considered this title for his own 27th volume before abandoning the project. Christopher wrote another thirteen books, including the 50th anniversary volume Thomas and the Fat Controller's Engines. He also wrote stories for the television series, notably More About Thomas the Tank Engine, The Railway Series 30th volume. The success of the television series led to tensions between Christopher and the publishers. Thomas was the central character of the television series and the publishers wanted stories focused on Thomas. Christopher produced Thomas and the Fat Controller's Engines that had one story about Thomas, while Thomas Comes Home did not feature Thomas until the last page. The series' 40th volume, New Little Engine, was published in 1996. Egmont Publishing who had taken over from Kay and Ward, did not publish further Railway Series books and allowed the existing back catalogue to go out of print. There was a selected print run in 2004 of the original 26 books, but in 2005, the sixtieth anniversary of Wilbert's first book, the Awdry family were disappointed that not all of the stories were available in their original format. In 2005 Christopher published Sodor: Reading Between the Lines under his own imprint Sodor Enterprises. This book expanded the fictional world of Sodor. He published several more books, mostly set on real railways in Britain. In 2006, Egmont started to re publish Wilbert's books in their original format. The fourteen books written by Christopher were re released in August 2007. On 3 September 2007, Christopher published the 41st book in the series, Thomas and Victoria, illustrated by Clive Spong. The book addresses issues relating to the railway preservation movement. In July 2011, Egmont released the 42nd book in the series: Thomas and his Friends. The final story ended with the words "The End". Awdry had built a model of Percy as a reference for the artist but Dalby did not make use of it. Despite the tempestuous relationship with Awdry, Dalby is probably the best remembered of the series' artists. With The Eight Famous Engines (1957), John T. Kenney took over the illustration of the series. His style was less colourful but more realistic than Dalby's. Kenney made use of Awdry's model engines as a reference. As a result of his commitment to realism and technical accuracy, he enjoyed a far more comfortable working relationship with Awdry, which lasted until Gallant Old Engine (1962), when Kenney's eyesight began to deteriorate. The artist initially chosen to replace him was the Swedish artist Gunvor Edwards. She began illustrating Stepney the "Bluebell" Engine, but felt unsuited to the work. She was assisted for that volume by her husband Peter, who effectively took over from then on. Both artists retained credit for the work, and the "Edwards era" lasted until Wilbert Awdry's last volume, Tramway Engines. The style used in these volumes was still essentially realistic but had something of an impressionistic feel. When Christopher Awdry took over as author of the series in 1983, the publisher was keen to find an illustrator who would provide work that had the gem like appeal of Dalby's pictures, but also had the realism of Kenney and Edwards' artwork. The artist chosen was Clive Spong. He illustrated all of Christopher Awdry's books, a greater number than any other artist working on The Railway Series. He also produced illustrations for a number of spin off stories written by the Awdrys, and his artwork was used in The Island of Sodor: Its People, History and Railways.

The books were produced in an unusual landscape format. Each one was around sixty pages long, thirty of which would be text and thirty illustrations. This format, coupled with the smaller size of each book, makes them attractive to small children. The books were each divided into four stories (with the exception of Henry the Green Engine, which was divided into five). Each book from Thomas the Tank Engine onwards opened with a foreword. This would act as a brief introduction to the book, its characters or its themes. They were written as a letter, usually to the readers (addressed as "Dear Friends") but sometimes to individual children who had played some part in the story's creation. The foreword to Thomas the Tank Engine was a letter to Christopher Awdry. This section would often advertise real railways or acknowledge the assistance of people or organisations. The foreword to The Little Old Engine is unique in acknowledging the fact that Skarloey (and, by implication, the entirety of The Railway Series) is fictional. The unusual shape of the books made them instantly recognisable. However, it did prompt complaints from booksellers that they were difficult to display, and even that they could easily be shoplifted. Nonetheless, the format was imitated by publishers Ian Allan for their Sammy the Shunter and Chuffalong books. Unusually for children's books of the austerity period, The Railway Series was printed in full colour from the start, which is cited by many critics as one of its major selling points in the early days.

The Rev. W. Awdry received numerous letters from young fans asking questions about the engines and their railway, as well as letters concerning inconsistencies within the stories. In an effort to answer these, he began to develop a specific setting for the books. On a visit to the Isle of Man, he discovered that the bishop there is known as the Bishop of Sodor and Man. The "Sodor" part of the title comes from the Sudreys, but Awdry decided that a fictional island between the Isle of Man and England by that name would be an ideal setting for his stories. In partnership with his brother George (the librarian of the National Liberal Club), he gradually devised Sodor's history, geography, language, industries and even geology. The results were published in the book The Island of Sodor: Its People, History and Railways in 1987.

The Awdrys both wrote about Sodor as if it were a real place that they visited, and that the stories were obtained first hand. This was often "documented" in the foreword to each book. In some of W. Awdry's later books he appeared as the Thin Clergyman and was described as a writer, though his name and connections to the series were never made explicit. He was invariably accompanied by the Fat Clergyman, based on the Rev. Teddy Boston, who was a fellow railway enthusiast and close friend. The two Clergymen were portrayed as railway enthusiasts, and were responsible for annoying the Small Engines and discovering Duke the Lost Engine. They were often figures of fun, liable to be splashed with water or to fall through a roof. Awdry also appeared in a number of illustrations, usually as a joke on the part of the illustrator. In one illustration by John T. Kenney in Duck and the Diesel Engine he appears with a figure who bears a strong resemblance to C. Reginald Dalby, which Brian Sibley has suggested might be a dig at Dalby's inaccurate rendition of the character of Duck. A vicar appears in Edward the Blue Engine and other volumes as the owner of Trevor the Traction Engine. This may be a reference to Teddy Boston, who had himself saved a traction engine from scrap. Dalby illustrated the entire Awdry family – Wilbert, Margaret, Christopher, Veronica and Hilary – watching Percy pass through a station ("Percy runs away" in Troublesome Engines (p53)). This was Christopher Awdry's only appearance in an illustration, but he often described meetings with the engines in the book forewords, usually with some degree of humour. Other people associated with The Railway Series were also referenced. In Dalby's books, he made allusions to himself twice on store signs (Seen in Off the Rails and Saved from Scrap) and a reference to E. T. L. Marriott, who edited The Railway Series, in Percy Takes the Plunge on a "Ship Chandlers" company sign. Peter Edwards also notes that he based Gordon's face on Eric Marriot's. The Fat Controller (originally The Fat Director in the earliest books which pre dated the nationalisation of Britain's railways in 1948) was a fictional character, although Christopher Awdry has conceded that his doctor at the time may have provided an 'unconscious contribution' for his father. The Thin Controller, in charge of the narrow gauge engines in the books was based on Mr Edward Thomas, the manager of the Talyllyn Railway in its last years before enthusiasts took it over in 1951. A number of the stories are based on articles which appeared in railway enthusiast publications of the period. The monthly Railway Magazine was a long running enthusiasts' companion and the origins of several stories can be recognised. The railway books written by C. Hamilton Ellis, were another source.

Satirical magazine Private Eye produced a book called Thomas the Privatised Tank Engine, written in the style of The Railway Series. The stories were strongly critical of private railway companies and the Government of John Major, and covered subjects such as the Channel Tunnel, London Underground, transport of radioactive waste and the perceived dangerous state of the railways. Andrew Lloyd Webber wanted to produce a musical television series based on The Railway Series, but Awdry refused to give him the control he wanted. Lloyd Webber would go on to compose the 1984 musical Starlight Express, and create The Really Useful Group, a name inspired by the catchphrase "Really Useful Engines". There have been three adaptations of the series produced. The first was an unsuccessful pilot in 1953, which was filmed live and had a number of technical errors. Around three decades later came the Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends series, which premiered in 1984 and concluded in 2021. This was followed by Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go!, a spin off of the previous series which uses 2D animation and a more cartoonish style.