History YMMV / TheRailwaySeries

** The boys who made James become a RunawayTrain are described as being [[DontMakeMeTakeMyBeltOff "soundly walloped"]] by their parents when they are caught.

*** One could explain this away easily though as the stationmaster possibly living in corporate housing built by the railway for his job. Regardless on who owns the house or not, his job title suggests he lives near the railroad for work. It makes his interactions with Thomas less of an angry random civilian, but more that of a beleaguered boss furious his coworker (who also happens to be made of tons of steel and iron) just barged unannounced into his home.

** The very antagonistic approach the early books took to the arrival of diesel engines replacing steam can come off as this to modern readers, who are far removed from the messy modernisation process of the 50's and 60's and are used to efficient diesel and electric locomotives being the workhorses of any present-day railway network. The books did acknowledge this shift with time; while the Steam vs. Diesel rivalry will forever be a staple of the series, the two are treated in later books as being more equal, and many diesel locomotives are given prominence as positive additions to the Island of Sodor.

** Fans are divided on Clive Spong's illustrations. Some hate them, finding his illustrations to be boring, ugly and not as striking or memorable as the likes of Kenny and the Edwards', while others don't mind it, arguing that his art can be seen as BoringButPractical, combining the bright colors of Dalby with a more technical eye. Sure Kenny or the Edwards' had more dramatic scenes, but Spong often captured realistic railway locations well and the only book he illustrated for Rev. Awdry (spin-off entry ''Thomas's Christmas Party'') got the picky Reverend's praise for ''finally'' illustrating the train stations right.

* ContestedSequel: Christopher Awdry's books get this in comparison to Wilbert's. While many adored his stories and consider them to be worthy continuations of the original stories, others felt they were too bland, technical, and dry compared to Wilbert's and lack the charm and wit that his books had, seeming to just play it safe instead of attempting anything new. In Christopher's defense, ExecutiveMeddling is partially to blame as his attempts to continue developing Sodor for the time period were [[{{Pun}} shunted]] aside in favor of stories focusing on the original cast, particularly [[BreakoutCharacter Thomas]], due to the success of the TV show.

* FandomSpecificPlot: While the fourth Hatt to succeed Stephen Hatt (the current Fat Controller) is implied to be his first son Richard Hatt (given he has the name Topham like the current Fat Controller and the previous two), one common idea in the fandom is what if his [[BreakingOldTrends daughter Emily Helen succeeded him instead and become the island's first female controller]], and how would the engines react to such a major change.

* AccidentalInnuendo: To the gutter-minded, Trevor's frequent whispering of "I like children..." can sound like he likes the children [[PaedoHunt a bit too much]].

* FandomSpecificPlot: While the fourth Hatt to succeed Stephen Hatt (the current Fat Controller) is implied to be his first son Richard Hatt (given he has the name Topham like the current Fat Controller and the previous two), an increasingly common idea that has been gaining traction is what if [[BreakingOldTrends Emily Helen (his only daughter) succeeded him instead]] and how would the engines react to such a major shift.