Small Railway Engines is the 22nd book of The Railway Series published in 1967. The book contains four stories:
- Ballast: New ballast is being laid in the trackbed. Donald and Douglas bring it from a line that starts at Tidmouth, and all they will say is "verra wee engines" bring it down from the hills. Duck is curious and asks to take some trucks along the line. There, he meets a small green engine called Rex, who tells him about the "chute" that loads his trucks. The next time Duck visits, Rex introduces him to two other engines, Bert and Mike. When Duck discovers that they don't have any passengers yet, he leaves, promising to bring some for them.
- Tit for Tat: Bert's driver tells the engines that two clergymen are coming to take pictures of them and put them in a book. Bert thinks he will be physically stuck in a book, and is apprehensive, but cheers up when he meets them. However, he gets cross again when they don't wave at him while taking pictures, and the final straw is when they accidentally drench him with muddy water when they pass him in their car. Bert plans revenge, and at a hilly part he creates steam, soaking his driver and the Fat Clergyman, who was riding in the cab. But later, after both parties make up, Bert tells the others they will be in the book along with him.
- Mike's Whistle: Duck's whistle is faulty after his crew used his fire to cook eggs, and Mike makes fun of him, saying "engines without whistles aren't engines at all". The others tease Mike about his whistle, and when he blows off steam he is chosen to take the passenger train. Mike is furious and is in a bad temper all day. When a cow strays onto the line, Mike tries to 'shoo' her away by whistling, but all that happens is that his whistle shoots off into the sky. Everyone tries looking for it, but to no avail, and they have to make the whistling noises for him. Mike is sent to work at the quarry for the rest of the day, and to top it off Bert and Rex tease him again in the shed.
- Useful Railway: After an encounter with a flock of sheep, Mike calls them silly and can't understand why Rex calls them useful. The Small Controller arrives and tells them they are now arranging to take wool trains for the local farmers. Rex is chosen to take the first train. Rex is over-confident, but gets his comeuppance when a tractor's load spills onto the line, derailing him. Bert and Mike tease him, but say sorry when they come to take him home, and the Small Controller tells them their railway is more popular than ever.
This book contains examples of:
- Beat:Rex: Listen, Mike, if I had a whistle like yours, you know what I do?
Narrator: He paused impressively.
Rex: I'd lose it. - Covered in Mud: Bert in "Tit for Tat" when the clergymen drive through a puddle.
- Creator Cameo: The Rev. W. Awdry makes his first appearance in the series as "The Thin Clergyman". "The Fat Clergyman" is a friend of Awdry's, fellow rail enthusiast the Reverend Teddy Boston.
- The Freelance Shame Squad: Rex and Bert tease Mike about losing his whistle. Mike and Bert tease Rex about his incident with the wool trucks.
- Laser-Guided Karma: Mike says that "engines without whistles aren't engines at all". Guess what happens when he tries to whistle away a cow.
- Roadside Wave: The clergymen drive through a puddle, splashing mud all over Bert's boiler. Bert thought they did it on purpose.
- Very Loosely Based on a True Story:
- "Tit for Tat" is based on a real event that happened to Teddy Boston on the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway.
- "Mike's Whistle" is based on a real event during one of Wilbert Awdry's and Teddy Boston's visits to the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway.
- What the Hell, Hero?:
- The Small Controller scolds Bert for soaking water over the Fat Clergyman as petty revenge for accidentally splashing mud at him.
- Then he scolds Mike for blowing out his whistle and tells him he would have to wait for a new one hoping it would teach him not to be a "crosspatch".
