The Railway Stories are a series of audio adaptations of The Railway Series books by the Rev. W Awdry and his son Christopher .
62-588: The Fat Controller is a fictional character in The Railway Series books written by Reverend W. Awdry and his son, Christopher Awdry . In the first two books in the series ( The Three Railway Engines and Thomas the Tank Engine ) he is known as The Fat Director , and as of the third book ( James the Red Engine ) he becomes The Fat Controller, as the railway has been nationalised . In
124-594: A Fat Controller to be too thin. In the United States, on the other hand, he is instead portrayed as a costumed character (with the performer's face hidden). The Railway 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
186-730: A character who first appeared in Thomas and the Breakdown Train , the final story in Thomas the Tank Engine . 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 . James the Red Engine was notable as the first book to be illustrated by C. Reginald Dalby , perhaps
248-514: A few drops of rain It went into a tunnel, And squeaked through its funnel And never came out again. As with the previous rhyme, the origins of this are uncertain, but Awdry received a letter telling him that a similar poem had appeared in a book of children's rhymes, published in 1902: Once an engine when fixed to a train Was alarmed at a few drops of rain, So went "puff" from its funnel Then fled to
310-496: 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 . The stories began in 1942, when Christopher Awdry, at
372-623: 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
434-553: A number of short stories and articles for Thomas the Tank Engine Annuals . 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
496-408: 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
558-743: A spin-off of the previous series which uses 2D animation and a more cartoonish style. The Railway Stories Nearly all of the 42 books in the series have been recorded by one of five different narrators: Johnny Morris , William Rushton , Ted Robbins , Michael Angelis , and even the Rev. W. Awdry himself. The first known audio adaptation was a 7" (33⅓rpm) EP narrated by the Rev. W. Awdry himself ( see photo ), with "background effects taken from real engines". This record, released in 1957 by Chiltern Records of Princes Risborough , contained two stories – Edward's Day Out and Edward and Gordon – from
620-434: A tunnel in the previous story. 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 four stories were published by Edmund Ward in 1945 as a single volume, The Three Railway Engines , illustrated by William Middleton. Christmas 1942 saw the genesis of the character that grew to become the most famous fictional locomotive in
682-584: A tunnel, And would not come out again. This story introduced the popular characters Henry the Green Engine and the Fat Director . Encouraged by his wife Margaret, Awdry submitted the three stories to publishing firm Edmund Ward in Leicester in 1943. 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
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#1732771804275744-459: Is allowed out of the shed for a day. 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. A third story had its origins in a limerick of which Christopher was fond, and which Awdry used to introduce The Sad Story of Henry : Once, an engine attached to a train Was afraid of
806-477: 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
868-523: The First World War . 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 ". 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
930-680: The Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway in Cumbria . From Duck and the Diesel Engine onwards, a number of real engines and railways were explicitly featured. Flying Scotsman , City of Truro , Stepney and Wilbert were all real locomotives that appeared in The Railway Series , the latter two having books dedicated to them: Stepney the "Bluebell" Engine and CHristopher Awdry's Wilbert the Forest Engine . Wilbert's appearance
992-669: 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
1054-655: The Talyllyn Railway in Wales, where he volunteered. The Skarloey books often included a promotion for the Talyllyn Railway, either in the stories themselves, or in a footnote or the foreword. Some of the illustrations in the books depict recognisable locations on the Talyllyn Railway. From the 1980s onwards, the Talyllyn Railway occasionally repainted one of their locomotives to resemble its Skarloey Railway "twin". As well as paint schemes and names taken from
1116-689: 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
1178-551: The twelfth series onward. The term "fat controller" has since been adopted in various contexts in the English language , beyond the sphere of the original stories, usually in reference to someone who runs a railway. The character is first seen in "The Sad Story of Henry" in the first book in the Railway Series , The Three Railway Engines . When Henry refused to leave a tunnel, the story says that "A fat director, who
1240-410: 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". Christopher Awdry said that he had other material, which he hoped would be published. He narrated new stories about
1302-575: The Awdrys, and his artwork was used in The Island of Sodor: Its People, History and Railways . 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
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#17327718042751364-452: The Blue Engine . These stories were narrated by Willie Rushton and the gaps between the tracks included atmospheric (if not always accurate) steam or diesel sound effects. The albums were later released on audio cassette under the same labels. Recordings were produced by Peter Johnson ('Peter John Productions'); with Kaye & Ward Ltd and Third Man Music being identified as owners of the works. Subsequently, Willie Rushton also recorded
1426-612: The Green Engine ) (The book Henry the Green Engine was unique in the series by having five stories rather than four. For the recording, it was the fourth story "Percy and the Trousers" which was omitted.) Volume 4: DECCA MONO LP - PA 273 (1972), Cassette - KCPA 273 (19??) Side 1 (from Book 7: Toby the Tram Engine ) Side 2 (from Book 8: Gordon the Big Engine ) Volume 5: ARGO STEREO LP - SPA 559 (1979) Cassette - KCSP 559 (1979) Side 1 (from Book 9: Edward
1488-414: The Red Engine : Stories from Book 4 - Tank Engine Thomas Again : Stories from Book 5 - Troublesome Engines : Stories from Book 6 - Henry the Green Engine : Stories from Book 7 - Toby the Tram Engine : Stories from Book 8 - Gordon the Big Engine : Stories from Book 9 - Edward the Blue Engine : Stories from Book 10 - Four Little Engines : Stories from Book 11 - Percy
1550-436: The Red Engine , so C. Reginald Dalby was hired. Dalby also illustrated the next eight books in the series. The Three Railway Engines was reprinted with Dalby's artwork replacing William Middleton's and Dalby also touched up Payne's artwork in the second book. Dalby's work on the series proved popular with readers, but not with the author, who repeatedly clashed with him over issues of accuracy and consistency. Dalby resigned from
1612-469: The Small Engine : In the 1970s the stories were released on 12" (33⅓rpm) vinyl albums by Decca Records as part of their "World of Children's Stories" series. Each record contained the stories from two complete books, one book on each side. The sleeve notes included the same quote from Rev. W. Awdry (see Delysé recordings, above). The sleeve illustrations were taken directly from the artwork of
1674-513: The Small Engine and Toby the Tram Engine . In making the stories as real as possible, Awdry took a lot of inspiration from a number of sources in his extensive library and found the Railway Gazette ' s "Scrapheap" column particularly useful as a source of unusual railway incidents that were recreated for The Railway Series characters. Awdry continued working on The Railway Series until 1972, when Tramway Engines (book 26 in
1736-482: 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
1798-484: The Trousers". The first use of the name Sir Topham Hatt in the TV series comes in the episode 'The Sad Story of Henry' when the narrator ( Ringo Starr in both UK version and the first US version and George Carlin in the second US version) introduces him to the audience. " Day Out with Thomas " events are a popular way of raising money for heritage railways . These events are an opportunity for children to meet characters from
1860-450: The age of three I told him these stories to amuse him. They were not written down at first, I made them up as I went along. But I had to tell them so often, carefully using the same words, that both he and I soon knew them by heart. It was only later, at my wife's suggestion, that I wrote them down, so that other children besides our own might have pleasure from them too. — Rev. W. Awdry The label on
1922-476: The age of two, had measles and was confined to a darkened room. His father told him stories and rhymes to cheer him up. One of Christopher's favourite rhymes was: Early in the morning, Down at the station, All the little engines Standing in a row. Along comes the driver, Pulls the little lever Puff, puff! Chuff, chuff! Off we go! The origins of this rhyme are unknown, but research by Brian Sibley suggests that it originated at some point prior to
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1984-501: 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
2046-496: The books and television series (or at least, engines that have been "dressed up" to resemble them). These events are invariably presided over by a Fat Controller, played by a railway volunteer of appropriate age and build. The copyright holders are strict about how these volunteers should appear: the South Devon Railway 's Fat Controller was forced to either quit or shave off his beard, and it is absolutely forbidden for
2108-549: The books' artwork, these locomotives are fitted with fibreglass "faces". These characters' appearances have been written into The Railway Series by Christopher Awdry in the form of visits by the fictional engines to the Talyllyn Railway. Two other railways on Sodor are based on real railways: The Culdee Fell Railway is based on the Snowdon Mountain Railway and the Arlesdale Railway is based on
2170-450: 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! ,
2232-519: 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
2294-641: The end of this book, Thomas is made an honorary member of the National Collection. The following table lists the titles of all 42 books in The Railway Series . 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
2356-734: 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
2418-608: The first book in the Railway Series: The Three Railway Engines . The first widely available recordings were narrated by Johnny Morris and released in the early 1960s by the Delysé Recording Company. Each 7" (45rpm) vinyl record contained two stories, taken from the first eleven books of The Railway Series. The recordings were released in mono . The front of the record sleeve showed an original illustration from
2480-435: The foreword to the 1951 book Henry the Green Engine , his real name is revealed to be Sir Topham Hatt . The Fat Controller also appears in the television series Thomas & Friends , adapted from the books. On television, he was usually portrayed in the form of several different static figures made with either wood or lead during series one, and resin from series two onwards, but has been portrayed using CGI from
2542-483: 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
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2604-421: The most famous of the Railway Series artists, and certainly the most controversial due to the criticism later aimed at him by Awdry. 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 . Successive books would introduce such popular characters as Annie and Clarabel, Percy
2666-497: The narrow-gauge engines on "Duncan Days" at the Talyllyn Railway in Wales . The Railway Series is perhaps as highly regarded for its illustrations as for its writing, which in the immediate post-Second World War era were seen as uniquely vivid and colourful. Indeed, some critics (notably Miles Kington ) have claimed that the quality of the illustrations outshines that of the writing. The first edition of The Three Railway Engines
2728-457: The original books. The first eight books were again narrated by Johnny Morris . The original Delysé recordings were re-used. Decca was also the owner of the Argo label, renowned for its audiobooks and other non-music recordings. It was therefore a natural progression to extend the series on this label. New recordings were made for six further books from The Railway Series, starting with Edward
2790-565: 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
2852-427: The record was also quite distinctive, showing a smiling red engine on a blue/white background. The label was carefully designed so that the record player spindle fitted through the engine's 'nose'! No attempt had been made to make the engine look like one of those from the stories. Stories from Book 1 - The Three Railway Engines : Stories from Book 2 - Thomas the Tank Engine : Stories from Book 3 - James
2914-543: The remaining books (up to no. 26 Tramway Engines ) on the Argo label. These recordings were never released on vinyl, only on audio cassette. The Johnny Morris albums were identified as 'Volume 1' to 'Volume 4'; while the Willie Rushton recordings omitted any 'Volume' identity on the front cover. For clarity, the recording details below have been identified by volume numbers, regardless of whether these were shown on
2976-418: The series in 1956, following an argument over the portrayal of Percy the Small Engine in the book of the same name. 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
3038-430: 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
3100-508: The series) was published. However, he had been finding it increasingly difficult to come up with ideas for new stories. After this, he felt that "the well had run dry" and so decided that the time had come to retire. He wrote no further Railway Series volumes, but later wrote a spin-off story ( Thomas's Christmas Party ) for the television series, and expanded versions of some of his earlier stories, as well as writing The Island of Sodor: Its People, History and Railways . In addition, he wrote
3162-402: 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
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#17327718042753224-525: The sleeve. Volume 1: DECCA MONO LP - PA 270 (1972), Cassette - KCPA 270 (19??) Side 1 (from Book 1: The Three Railway Engines ) Side 2 (from Book 2: Thomas the Tank Engine ) Volume 2: DECCA MONO LP - PA 271 (1972), Cassette - KCPA 271 (19??) Side 1 (from Book 3: James the Red Engine ) Side 2 (from Book 4: Tank Engine Thomas Again ) Volume 3: DECCA MONO LP - PA 272 (1972), Cassette - KCPA 272 (19??) Side 1 (from Book 5: Troublesome Engines ) Side 2 (from Book 6: Henry
3286-469: 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. Awdry used the books to promote steam railways in the United Kingdom. The Skarloey Railway was based on
3348-588: 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
3410-600: The story in the original book. While on the back, there was a list of the other recordings in "The Railway Engine Series" [sic], together with an introduction from the Rev. W. Awdry : My father was a railway enthusiast and brought me up accordingly. Our home at Box, Wiltshire, was near the Great Western main line and listening to heavy freights clawing up the grade it was not hard to imagine train engine and banker talking to each other, and for me, steam engines developed personality. So when my son caught measles at
3472-407: The world. Awdry constructed a toy tank engine for Christopher, which gained the name Thomas . Stories about Thomas were requested by Christopher, and 1946 saw the publication of Thomas the Tank Engine . This was illustrated by Reginald Payne, whom Wilbert felt to be a great improvement over Middleton. Like its predecessor, this book was a success and Awdry was asked to write stories about James ,
3534-435: Was illustrated by the artist William Middleton, with whom Awdry was deeply dissatisfied. The second artist to work on the series was Reginald Payne, who illustrated Thomas the Tank Engine in a far more realistic style. Despite an early disagreement as to how Thomas should look, Awdry was ultimately pleased with the pictures produced. Payne later suffered a nervous breakdown and proved impossible to contact to illustrate James
3596-590: 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
3658-673: Was of particular significance as the locomotive was named in tribute to Wilbert Awdry who was the president of the Dean Forest Railway at the time. In Thomas and the Great Railway Show (1991) Thomas visited the National Railway Museum in York, and several of the museum's locomotives are featured including Mallard , Duchess of Hamilton , Stephenson's Rocket , Iron Duke and Green Arrow . At
3720-404: Was on the train, told the guard to get a rope". The character is referred to as The Fat Controller from the third book, James the Red Engine, for the remainder of the Railway Series, due to the nationalisation of British Railways. The name Sir Topham Hatt is first mentioned in the foreword to Henry the Green Engine and also appears on his luggage trunk in the same book in the story "Percy and
3782-563: 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
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#17327718042753844-425: 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
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