"Engines on the Other Railway aren't safe now. Their Controllers are cruel. They don't like engines anymore."
Three Railway Engines
- Edward in "Edward's Day Out" has been shut in the Shed for a long while and mocked by the bigger engines for no longer being good enough for service. Edward is visibly in tears until the Driver takes pity on him.
- Henry being locked up in the tunnel in "The Sad Story of Henry", with no steam to even talk back to the engines passing by. No wonder Publishers demanded a Happy Ending through "Edward, Gordon and Henry".
James the Red Engine
- In "Troublesome Trucks", James is so sad and remorseful about the events that led to him being shut in the Shed that he actually starts crying. Luckily, it's short-lived as he's let out on the very next page.
Tank Engine Thomas Again
- In "Thomas, Terence, and the Snow", Thomas cries after getting stuck in the snow without his snowplough. It's even sadder if you listen to Johnny Morris' crying in the narration.
Henry the Green Engine
- The first story, "Coal", immediately sets the tone where we learn that Henry's illness is getting more and more serious. No matter what The Works on Sodor have done, nothing seems to work, and the Fat Controller is at the end of his rope, seeming ready to send Henry away, much to the sadness of his crew and Henry himself.
- One subtle but effective narrative detail is the story noting that Henry was genuinely trying his hardest to pull his train, only for it be in vain. Being established as melodramatic and self important engine quick to abandon his duties in previous stories, the fact Henry so wanted to prove he was dependable this time makes clear his condition is very real, and his character all the more heartbreaking.
"Henry tried very hard, but it was no good. He didn't have enough steam."- The revelation of why Henry is a poor steamer; he has a small firebox, which supplemental materials reveal is because he was built from stolen, faulty Gresley designs. The only solution is Welsh Coal, the only coal that burns well enough to work such a firebox. It's notably very expensive too. Thankfully, the Fat Controller agrees that Henry deserves a fair chance and has James go to fetch a supply.
- The ending of the "Flying Kipper", or rather, the crash at the end. It seems like a brutal "Shaggy Dog" Story when you think about it. Just as Henry is doing better for himself, he ends up having the most brutal accident in the present-day of the books. When the Fat Controller comes, all Henry can do is pitifully groan that the signal was down, clearly believing he's about to be sent away...only for the Fat Controller to assure Henry that he knows and that the bad winter weather was to blame. He does have Henry shipped away, but it is to Crewe, a fine place for sick engines that rebuilds Henry into a proper locomotive shape and sees him return to Sodor, triumphant.
- One final sad note from this book in the third story, "Gordon's Whistle", at the start, where Gordon is jealous of Henry's stronger status, claiming that a shape good enough for him note is good enough for Henry, and then he complains that Henry whistles too much, as a further Kick the Dog moment. This all dampens Henry's mood, causing Percy to stick up for him.
Duck and the Diesel Engine
- Duck feeling betrayed by Gordon, James and Henry in Dirty Work, thanks to Diesel's lies and manipulation. Although it isn't in the book, Duck is shown to be crying in the TV version. Poor engine...
The Twin Engines
- The severity of Donald and Douglas' situation. Only Donald had been bought by Sodor, and Douglas was to be withdrawn and subject to the scrapper's torch. It's only a deputation by Percy which saves the twins.
Stepney the "Bluebell" Engine
- The book pulls no punches that steam engines are becoming redundant, and any engine that is no longer "Really Useful" gets scrapped. The books portray this fear of modernization like it's an metaphorical evolutionary war between past engines like the steam engines and future engines such as the diesels, and the steam engines are losing this war and are slowly going extinct. Sodor is played as the only safe place left for steam engines and now Diesels are starting to come to Sodor. If the diesels' takeover becomes too hostile for the steam engines to cope with, it might not be long before the Railway Series shifts from Thomas & Friends to Diesel & Friends...
- The explanation of steam engines getting scrapped is accompanied by the chilling image above of a couple of dilapidated engines in the scrapyard awaiting their fate from a Workman's blow torch with a broken look on their faces:
"Engines on the Other Railway aren't safe now. Their Controllers are cruel. They don't like engines any more. They put them on cold damp sidings, and then," Percy nearly sobbed, "they...they c-c-cut them up."- The Author foreword slighty lightens this, stating that British Railway Controllers are not cruel, and are left very sad and guilt ridden at having to get rid of their faithful steam engines and contributing to the steam engines' slow, but horrible extinction, hence why the Bluebell Railway and its preservation is so beloved.
Very Old Engines
- How about the very first bit in Duck and Dukes? We, the audience, know things are going to be fine, but when Duck says that all 'engine' Dukes are scrapped, Peter Sam is sent into a turmoil thinking that Granpuff is dead. And we don't even know how Sir Handel took it either.
- To top this off, Skarloey, and presumably Rheneas, Rusty and Duncan don't take this seriously, not even the Thin Controller. Granted, none of them knew which Duke that Peter Sam was referring to.
Enterprising Engines
- Gordon in "Tenders for Henry" when he finds out from boasting diesels that all of his brothers were scrapped, save for Flying Scotsman. In spite of this awful news, he carries on with his Express duties. Serves as a double dose of heartwarming, as the Fat Controller feels so sorry for him, he arranges for Flying Scotsman to visit him as quickly as possible.
- Not explored in The Railway Series, but it's implied in the books that Scotsman is owned by Alan Pegler, the real life owner of the engine at the time. Shortly after the year Enterprising Engines was set, Pegler arranged to send Scotsman to North America to tour the US and Canada (stricter regulations meant Pegler was not licensed to drive the Flying Scotsman on the British mainline, but he was able to get the certifications needed to be recognized as a locomotive engineer in the US where he could continue to operate it). Pegler suffered a bankruptcy and divorce during the tour, eventually leaving Scotsman impounded in the US in a dock outside of San Francisco. Eventually the engine was successfully repatriated and returned to Britain, but there was a brief time where many worried Scotsman would be scrapped in the US; and even then being stored outside meant once the engine was rescued its paint was chipped and weathered and it had begun to show rust spots (though was still in good enough condition to be driven to The Works under his own power). If we assume these real life events played out in the Railway Series as well (very likely due to how the books reflect the real world), we can only imagine Gordon's reaction to knowing his only surviving brother was sitting in an impound lot half a world away and potentially facing the cutter's torch!
- Also not explored in The Railway Series, but Gordon is the only engine who is seen to be saddened that most of his brothers have been scrapped. The reactions of the other engines to the scrapping of their own siblings is open to interpretation, but for all we know, many of them would be most likely as devastated as Gordon, especially Thomas, Edward, and Toby, all of whom lost all their siblings to the scrapper's torch.
Duke The Lost Engine
- The last part in Granpuff. Duke being sheeted up because he was deemed "too old", while Falcon and Stuart get sent off to the Aluminum Works Plant at Peel Godred. Once the engines served their purpose in aiding in the plant's construction, they were sheeted up and stored, and then the two engines wound up on the SKR under the names of Sir Handel and Peter Sam respectively. And Sir Handel and Peter Sam talked about Duke when alone, for a good 22 years. Tell me that isn't depressing!
Thomas and his Friends
- After years of being the proud Express Engine, Gordon retires from his signature train and is replaced by Pip and Emma. Although Gordon still enjoys a nice retirement pulling local passenger trains, it still shows that even on Sodor, Time Marches On and that the foretold day of the diesels replacing steam has happened. Furthermore, Gordon takes it rather well a sign of his character growth and seeing his arc come to a conclusion is emotionally satisfying.
