The Railway Series

The Railway Series

Map showing the railways on the fictional Island of Sodor
Author	Rev. W. Awdry (1945–1946, 1948–1970, 1972) Christopher Awdry (1983–1996, 2007, 2011)
Illustrator	William Middleton (1945) Reginald Payne (1946) C. Reginald Dalby (1948–1956) John T. Kenney (1957–1962) Peter and Gunvor Edwards (1963–1970, 1972) Clive Spong (1983–1996, 2007, 2011)
Cover artist	(see illustrators above)
Country	United Kingdom Ireland
Language	English Irish Welsh Scottish English Scottish Gaelic Scots
Genre	Children's
Publisher	Edmund Ward, Ltd. (1945–1946, 1948–1966) Kaye & Ward, Ltd. (1967–1972, 1983–1996) William Heinemann, Ltd. (1983–1996) Egmont Publishing (2007, 2011)
Publication date	May 1945 – March 1946 April 1948 – September 1970 October 1972 September 1983 – August 1996 September 2007 July 2011
Published in English	May 1945 – March 1946 April 1948 – September 1970 October 1972 September 1983 – August 1996 September 2007 July 2011

The Railway Series is a set of story books about a railway system located on the fictional Island of Sodor. There are 42 books in the series, the first being published in 1945. Twenty-six were written by the Rev. Wilbert Awdry, up to 1972. A further 16 were written by his son, Christopher Awdry; 14 between 1983 and 1996, and two more in 2007 and 2011.

Nearly all of The Railway Series stories were based upon real-life events. As a lifelong railway enthusiast, Awdry was keen that his stories should be as realistic as possible. The engine characters were almost all based upon real classes of locomotive, and some of the railways themselves were directly based upon real lines in the British Isles.

Characters and stories from the books formed the basis of the children's television series Thomas and Friends.

Audio adaptations of The Railway Series have been recorded at various times under the title The Railway Stories.

The stories began in 1942, when two-year-old Christopher Awdry had caught measles and was confined to a darkened room. His father would tell him stories and rhymes to cheer him up. One of Christopher's favourite rhymes was:

Early in the morning,
Down at the station,
All the little engines
Standing in a row.

Along comes the driver,
Pulls the little lever
Puff, puff! Chuff, chuff!
Off we go!

The precise origins of this rhyme are unknown, but research by Brian Sibley suggests that it originated at some point prior to the First World War. Wilbert Awdry's answers to Christopher's questions about the rhyme led to the creation of a short story, "Edward's Day Out". This told the story of Edward the Blue Engine, an old engine who is allowed out of the shed for a day. Another story about Edward followed, which this time also featured a character called Gordon the Big Engine, named after a child living on the same road whom Christopher considered rather bossy.