Recap / The Railway Series B1 "The Three Railway Engines"

"Once upon a time there was a little engine called Edward."

— The first line in the book (and by extension, The Railway Series).

The Three Railway Engines is the first book of The Railway Series published in 1945. It was originally illustrated by William Middleton, but Awdry did not like his amateurish illustrations, so it was redrawn by C. Reginald Dalby a few years later. The four stories are:

• Edward's Day Out: Edward is teased by the big engines for not being allowed out for a long time because he is too weak. The driver feels sorry for Edward and offers to take him out, making the other engines cross. Edward collects some coaches and after waiting for the guard to show up, Edward starts off and has a lovely day.
• Edward and Gordon: Gordon is bragging to Edward about pulling the express, but when Edward is shunting trucks, Gordon comes past with a long train of coal trucks. Gordon deliberately stalls at a hill and Edward comes to be the banker. Gordon finally reaches the top of the hill, but doesn't thank Edward. Despite being tired, Edward is pleased at the prospect of a new coat of paint.
• The Sad Story of Henry: One rainy day, Henry stops in a tunnel and refuses to move. His crew, the passengers, another engine, and even the Fat Director try to move him, but Henry still stays in the tunnel. Eventually, The Fat Director decides to punish Henry by bricking him up with no chance of letting him out again.
• Edward, Gordon and Henry: Gordon is pulling the Express until he bursts his safety valve outside Henry's tunnel. Edward tries to pull the train, but can't. The Fat Director decides to let Henry out of the tunnel so that he and Edward can pull the train together. They later help Gordon home, and Henry is rewarded with a new blue coat of paint.

The book contains examples of:

• 20 Minutes into the Past: Although published in 1945, the stories are all set in 1923 except for The Sad Story of Henry, which takes place in 1922.
• Achilles in His Tent: Decon-Recon Switch; in The Sad Story of Henry, Henry refuses to come out of the tunnel due to his fear of the rain spoiling his paint. As a result, he's bricked up, resulting in his paint getting spoiled for real. But in Edward, Gordon, and Henry, he eventually comes out of the tunnel to help Edward take the heavy Express.
• All of the Other Reindeer: The bigger engines are shown teasing Edward for being smaller and weaker.
• All There in the Manual: According to Awdry, the other two blue engines in Edward's Day Out were named 87546 and 98462. They had been sent to the railway on trial, but were later sent back by the Fat Director for being rude and nasty.
• Art Evolution: The book was originally illustrated by William Middleton, who used watercolor paints and rather simplistic character designs. C. Reginald Dalby later reillustrated the book with acrylic paints and a much more stylized look.
• Break the Cutie: The first story opens with Edward being taunted by the other engines for being smaller and weaker than they. He then becomes so sad at the thought of not going out to work that he beings to weep. Thankfully, this doesn't last long, as the driver and fireman do take Edward out for a run.
• Break the Haughty: This happens to Gordon twice - first when he has to pull trucks instead of coaches, and second when he bursts his safety valve and is laughed at by Henry.
• Canon Welding: The Sad Story of Henry was not written with any connection to the first two stories initially, but publishers asked for a fourth story that brought all three engines together.
• Character Development: Henry overcomes his fear of the rain in the last story.
• The Dandy: Henry cherishes his green paint and hates the idea of it being ruined.
• Dirty Coward: Played straight with Henry. His fear of the rain ruining his paint has made him less concerned about taking the passengers to their destination.
  Henry: I'm not going to spoil my lovely green paint and red stripes for you!
• Downer Ending: The Sad Story of Henry ends with Henry being walled up in the tunnel and left there. Fortunately for him, he’s let out in the next story.
• Early-Installment Weirdness:
  • Sir Topham Hatt is referred to as the Fat Director (the change in title was attributed to the book being published before the nationalization of British Railways).
  • The Fat Director is portrayed as a Lazy Bum who orders people about while making excuses for not pulling his weight.
  • The original book lacks the traditional foreword that would preceed every book from Thomas the Tank Engine onward. A special foreword by Rev. W. Awdry was added in the Japanese printing in 1973 and one by Christopher Awdry was later added to later printings in the 1990s (which even acknowledges the lack of foreword prior).
• Earn Your Happy Ending: For Henry. Not only does he redeem himself by pulling the heavy Express, but he’s also rewarded with a new coat of paint.
• Extreme Omni-Goat: The Fat Director leans out of the window to wave at Edward and Henry, only for the train to move so fast that his hat blows into a field where a goat eats it.
• The Freelance Shame Squad: Gordon laughs at Henry for being bricked up, but Henry returns the favor by laughing at Gordon for bursting his safety valve.
• Go-to-Sleep Ending: Edward's Day Out ends with Edward going to sleep in the shed after a long day's work.
• It's All About Me: Henry is so determined to keep his paint looking good that he stops in the tunnel, not caring at all about the passengers on his train.
• Jerkass: Gordon. He, along with the 4 other big engines, mocked Edward for not being used for a long time, he didn't thank Edward for helping him up the hill, and he mocked Henry for being bricked up in the tunnel, telling him that it served him right.
• Jerkass Has a Point: Gordon is quick to point out that Edward is too small to pull the Express on his own.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Gordon becomes one in "Edward, Gordon, and Henry". He sulks pompously throughout the whole ordeal, but it's him that convinces the Fat Director to release Henry. In the illustration where Edward and Henry double-heading the Express, Gordon is seen looking impressed, and the narration implies that he became goods friends with the two engines.
• Laser-Guided Karma: Henry getting bricked up in the tunnel as a result of his stubbornness.
• My God, What Have I Done?: Henry realizes his error for staying in the tunnel, worrying about his paint more than the passengers, and hoped The Fat Director would forgive him for his misbehavior.
• Nice Guy: Edward, unlike the other five engines. He's the only engine who bumps the coaches gently and is willing to help other engines.
• Nice Mean And In Between: Edward, Gordon, and Henry respectively in the titular story, as well as the whole book.
• Overly Long Gag: In "Edward's Day Out", Edward tells the other engines to look at him while leaving the sheds.
• Rain, Rain, Go Away: "The Sad Story of Henry" takes place in the rain and Henry goes to stay in the tunnel to prevent it from spoiling his paint. Subverted in that it stopped raining, but Henry thinks that it will again soon.
• Rule of Three: In "The Sad Story of Henry", it took three attempts for The Fat Director to get Henry out of the tunnel, but none of them worked. First, pulling him, then pushing him from behind, and third having an unnamed red engine push the train. It’s after the last try, everyone gives up and leaves Henry there.
• Series Continuity Error:
  • According to Word of God invoked, the red engine in the revised illustrations of the book was supposed to be James. Later realising this conflicted with the story taking place before he was painted red, they handwaved it as another red engine loaned to the railway at the time.
  • The art in "The Sad Story of Henry" depicts the second tunnel bore already in place, even though it was only dug because Henry was stuck in the first one.
  • According to Awdry, "The Sad Story of Henry" takes place a year before the other stories, though he can be seen in the shed at the start of "Edward's Day Out").
• Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: Gordon complains that Edward can't pull the Express. He turns out to be saying simple fact, Edward isn't built to handle the large train himself. He ultimately doesn't defy odds like he usually does, and needs Henry's help.
• Ungrateful Bastard: Gordon, who didn't thank Edward for pushing his train up the hill.
• Very Loosely Based on a True Story: "Edward and Gordon" was based on the common instances of trains stalling on the Lickey Incline near the Awdry family's home in King's Norton.

---