Branch Line Engines is the sixteenth book of The Railway Series published in 1961. The four stories are:
- Thomas Comes to Breakfast: When Thomas' driver jokes that Thomas doesn't need him any more, Thomas misunderstands him and boasts to Percy and Toby that he doesn't need a driver. The next morning, after a careless cleaner fiddles with Thomas' controls, Thomas successfully moves by himself, but can't stop and runs into the stationmaster's house as his family sits down for breakfast. The stationmaster blames Thomas for ruining their breakfasts and Thomas feels upset. Donald and Douglas pull him out and Thomas is sent to the Works.
- Daisy: Thomas' replacement, a snobby Diesel rail-car named Daisy, arrives, and Percy and Toby show her around. She refuses to sleep in the engine shed, but finds the carriage shed good, except for some "rubbish" (Henrietta, Annie and Clarabel). Percy and Toby are tired after staying up late to cheer up the furious coaches, while Daisy is bright and cheerful. She is preparing for her first train when she realizes a milk van is about to be coupled to her and refuses to pull it, saying it is "bad for her swerves". Daisy is lying, but this is not known to the crew and so the van is taken away. Daisy, satisfied, realizes this allows her to do whatever she wants.
- Bulls Eyes: Daisy makes fun of Toby's cowcatchers and sideplates, saying he's scared of getting hurt. Toby tells her they're for stopping him from hurting animals if they stray on the line, but Daisy says that animals will move anyway if you "toot and look them in the eye". Later, Daisy is asked to shoo a bull called Champion to his owner, but he is too busy eating grass to notice. An exasperated Daisy goes back to Dryaw, and Toby "shoos" Champion for her. That evening, Daisy sees some boys enjoying some sweets called "bull's-eyes" and gets huffy.
- Percy's Predicament: Daisy has neglected to take the milk again and Percy is in a bad mood. Toby decides to take the van for him so as to let Percy take his trucks from the quarry. Percy speaks rudely to the trucks, and they plan revenge. As they slow down at a sign to "pin down" brakes, the trucks barge forward and push Percy down the line and crashing into a train of stone trucks. The Fat Controller tells Percy off for putting the branch line into a predicament and reminds him to be more careful with trucks, and scolds Daisy too for being lazy, but gives her a second chance for her work after Percy crashed. Thomas comes home the next day, Percy is sent to be mended, and Toby teaches Daisy the finer points of branch line life.
The book contains examples of:
- Acquired Situational Narcissism: Thomas takes his driver's compliments to heart a bit too much...
- Actually Pretty Funny: Both the driver and workman having to deal with Thomas and his accident appear to be chuckling at his situation. Even the Fat Controller, who’s far more annoyed with Thomas over the consequences, can't resist making snark while lecturing him.
- Arson, Murder, and Lifesaving: The Fat Controller rebukes Daisy for her stubborn and lazy behavior, but then acknowledges that she helped Toby clear the accident Percy had caused and gives her a second chance.
- Artistic License – Physics: It’s most likely that the stationmaster and his family would... not have survived Thomas crashing into their house if this was Real Life.
- Berserk Button:
- By Daisy's reaction to the shunter's comment, she doesn't like being referred to as "feeble".Daisy: F-F-F-Feeble?! Let me...!
- Don't tell Annie, Clarabel or Henrietta that they’re "rubbish". They don’t like it.
- By Daisy's reaction to the shunter's comment, she doesn't like being referred to as "feeble".
- Bittersweet Ending: Despite Percy being sent to the works, Thomas returns and works with Toby and Daisy.
- Break the Haughty: This happened to Thomas who became conceited in believing he can go without a driver. He also got quite shaken when The Fat Controller informs him that a diesel railcar will do his work.
- Car Meets House: Train meets a stationmaster's house, actually. This marks the third time a train crashes into a building, the first being Duck and the barber shop in "A Close Shave", and the second being Donald and the signal box in "Break Van".
- Didn't Think This Through: Sure, stationmaster and family, live in a house built at the end of a train track without any buffers. What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
- Disproportionate Retribution: The trucks make Percy collide with a brake van for talking to them in a bit too bossy a tone.
- Door Slam of Rage: After yelling at Thomas for ruining the family breakfast, the stationmaster's wife slams the door, causing more plaster to fall on Thomas.
- Emergency Transformation: When Thomas' accident damage is repaired, the valance at his front is straightened out from its pre-accident curve down in front of his smokebox.
- Failed a Spot Check: You have to wonder how nobody In-Universe noticed the obvious danger of a house being built at the end of a train track without any buffers.
- From Bad to Worse: At least in "Percy's Predicament". If Thomas' accident with the stationmaster's house was bad, Percy's accident with the trucks which leads to the branch line being run by Toby and Daisy takes the cake. This is thankfully subverted when Thomas comes back.
- I Was Just Joking: Thomas took his driver's comment too seriously. His driver never even informed him that he was joking.
- Lazy Bum: Daisy, who refuses to pull a single milk van. The Fat Controller calls her out on it though.
- Lethally Stupid: It's not a good idea to build a house at the end of a train track without any buffers. If not for Artistic License, the stationmaster and his family would have almost certainly been killed by Thomas crashing through their wall.
- Lost Food Grievance: The stationmaster's wife is annoyed over Thomas ruining the breakfast she made for the family.
- Mid-Season Upgrade: Thomas returns from the works, now with a flat running board, as his old running board left his buffers at different hights.
- Miles Gloriosus: Daisy in "Bulls Eyes". Champion the bull pays no attention to her horn, and she loses all bravado as soon as he turns and looks her in the eye. The moment Champion sniffs at her, she retreats to the station.
- No OSHA Compliance: Who's idea was it to not add a pair of buffers between the stationmaster's house and the end of the tracks?
- Runaway Train: The trucks push Percy down the line, leading him to crash into a brake van.
- Skewed Priorities:
- Spoiled Brat: Daisy is vain, snobbish and wants to have her way by avoiding pulling a single milk van.
- Too Dumb to Live: The stationmaster and his family live in a house that was built at the end of a train track, with no buffers for protection. They never realize anything wrong with this. They would have all been seriously injured at best and most likely killed, if the same accident happened in real life.
- Very Loosely Based on a True Story: Percy's crash in "Percy's Predicament" was based on an incident on page 53 of Model Railway News from 1958, which happened at Swanley Junction on the 13th of April 1876, to London, Chatham & Dover Railway's 123, Phyllis.
- Well, Excuse Me, Princess!: Daisy.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Nothing was said about the careless cleaner in "Thomas Comes to Breakfast", thus making him this and an Idiot Houdini.
- What the Hell, Hero?:
- Along with the Stationmaster's family, The Fat Controller scolds Thomas for crashing into the stationmaster's house for breakfast which resulted in his front end being damaged, despite the fact it was the careless clearer messing with his controls.
- Later, The Fat Controller tells off Percy for his accident with the trucks and crashing into the break van, which resulted in the branch line to be run by only Toby and Daisy, putting them in an awkward predicament and also reminded Percy to be more careful with trucks.
- Finally, he calls out Daisy for her laziness, but gives her a second chance after she helped Toby cleared up the wreckage that was caused by Percy.
- We Want Our Jerk Back!: Percy and Toby shoot down Thomas' arrogance in the first story and then laugh at him after his accident. Then Daisy arrives and makes running the branch line even harder for them, with her refusal to pull anything.
- Whole Episode Flashback: The events of this book takes place in 1960.
