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Railway Series #4
Tank Engine Thomas Again
You will remember that previously Thomas was given a branch line all to himself. Here he is proudly running up and down his branch line - and the Fat Controller is keeping his eye on him as usual! Thomas still finds trouble, but he also makes some new friends and all turns out happily in the end.
72 pages, Hardcover
Published January 1, 1998
3 people are currently reading
103 people want to read
About the author
W. Awdry
1,113 books110 followersWilbert Vere Awdry, OBE, better known as the Rev. W. Awdry, was an English clergyman, railway enthusiast and children's author, and creator of Thomas the Tank Engine, who starred in Awdry's acclaimed Railway Series.
The characters that would make Awdry famous, and the first stories featuring them, were invented in 1943 to amuse his son Christopher during a bout of measles. The first book (The Three Railway Engines) was published in 1945, and by the time Awdry stopped writing in 1972, The Railway Series numbered 26 books. Christopher subsequently added further books to the series.
The characters that would make Awdry famous, and the first stories featuring them, were invented in 1943 to amuse his son Christopher during a bout of measles. The first book (The Three Railway Engines) was published in 1945, and by the time Awdry stopped writing in 1972, The Railway Series numbered 26 books. Christopher subsequently added further books to the series.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
September 15, 2020
This is About Thomas's Adventures on his Branchline, From Leaving a Guard Behind to Getting FISH in his Tank & From Underestimating the Dangers of Not having a Snowplough to His Eventful Race with Bertie the Bus. Not surprising that All Four stories were Adapted for Series 1 of Thomas The Tank Engine & Friends.
May 9, 2014
Another corker about Thomas and his various adventures on his branch line. Written using real life inspiration. Very good indeed. Shows Thomas' immature side especially in Thomas, Terence and the Snow
August 11, 2016
Notes:
we read these books so many times
the classic series is the only way to enjoy Thomas
we read these books so many times
the classic series is the only way to enjoy Thomas
October 4, 2016
this is the book that had the biggest influence on my childhood and for that I will always love it.
November 17, 2021
"Tank Engine Thomas Again" shifts the focus back on Thomas for the second time. By now, Thomas had proved immensely popular and was becoming a householdname in the UK. (Side note: but this book's title is so damn weird, what the hell is a Tank Engine Thomas Again it sounds and looks so awkward I kinda hate it I also hate that I keep taking these dumb children's books so seriously I only meant to do 2 to fill up my Goodreads page with stuff but I keep doing them for no reason please send help)
There's not too much to say regarding the history surrounding this book though it was the first time that Awdry really started to take the geography of the Island of Sodor into proper consideration after his children questioned him about what exactly Thomas' branch line was. We now know that the line terminates at Ffarquhar and makes stops as Elsbridge and Knapford, which from this point onwards replaces Vicarstown as the 'big station'. In terms of the series chronology, this book is a bit of an oddity. The first three books had a very clear timeline with "The Three Railway Engines" being first and taking place over the course of several years followed by "Thomas the Tank Engine" in 1925 which was then followed by "James the Red Engine" also taking place in 1925. "Tank Engine Thomas Again" has multiple positions within the timeline at varying points of time. The first story "Thomas and the Guard" takes place either during 1925 or 1926, as suggested by Henry being in his blue livery which becomes green in 1926 before the events of "Troublesome Engines". The second story "Thomas Goes Fishing" takes place in 1931 and the fourth story "Thomas and Bertie" takes place in 1948, over TWENTY YEARS after the events of the first story. For some odd reason, in between stories, there is a massive time gap conveniently skipping over World War 2 which we know from future stories is an event that canonically occurs in-universe, during which a few characters die off-screen. This does not matter much in terms of looking at the stories by themselves, but knowing this makes the whole book feel disjointed which is accentuated by the fact that this is the first book in the series to not have any sort of overarching narrative. It's more akin to an anthology of stand-alone stories rather than a continuous storyline spanning across multiple stories. This is not a bad thing in it of itself but knowing that there is a two-decade long time-gap between the first and last stories is such an odd retcon that I will never understand as there's no real reason why "Thomas and Bertie" has to take place so much later into the timeline.
The first story "Thomas and the Guard" is, in all honesty, probably Awdry's weakest story. Period. It's incredibly uneventful and inconsequential and whilst not every story needs to be chock-full of world-building or character development, "Thomas and the Guard" fails to even present an engaging story and is a very dull read. At the very least, it's not totally worth skipping, we at least get a decent idea of the relationship between Thomas and his coaches - Annie and Clarabel. However, this is a dynamic that is criminally underutilised in the Railway Series and Awdry never quite expanded their relationship beyond what is briefly introduced in this story and they do not recieve any major roles until Christopher Awdry took the reigns. This is where the television series actually exceeded the Railway Series, at least at certain points. Britt Allcroft and David Mitton had something going in the fifth season when we saw Thomas and his coaches have meaningful interaction in a few episodes although it wasn't until Andrew Brenner's tenure as headwriter beginning with the 2012 movie "Blue Mountain Mystery" that the dynamic would be fully fleshed out to its full potential. Long story short, not only did the Thomas, Annie and Clarabel dynamic become dramatically more realised in this CGI Series, Annie and Clarabel themselves became fully-fledged characters and more than background characters who occassionally spoke or recieved a mention. Brenner and his writing team understood Annie and Clarabel more than Awdry himself did and it's rather unfortunate that the first major female characters were quickly reduced to background fodder in the books. We also get foreshadowing to Henry's arc in Book 6 as we see that he is in very poor condition and clearly very sick, though this was already established back in "Thomas' Train" so this doesn't really come across as anything new though it does bring forth the highlight of the story and one of my favorite character moments for Thomas in the whole franchise. Typically, the protagonist would sympathise with their sick friend who is very clearly struggling to function normally but Thomas is extremely quick to insult him and downright calls him "too fat" and tells him to piss off. This was censored when in American releases of the television adaptation with the term "fat" being replaced with "lazy" in an attempt to avoid fatphobia (presumably). I find this to be a great moment because it highlights the very specific way in which Awdry depicted Thomas. Whilst many future writers (whether it be television series, movies or otherwise) portray Thomas as a happy-go-lucky optimist who jumps at the chance to help a fellow engine and whilst this makes him a better role-model for children, in reality, Thomas is not intended to be a role model. There is a reason why many of his starring roles involve him getting him getting into trouble or experiencing some form of inconvenience. Thomas is an absolute asshole and this is an element of his character that was phased out very quickly after the eighth season when HiT Entertainment took reigns of the television series but it is so integral that many of his future iterations feel very shallow. This is what I find to be a benefit of the Railway Series not having a definitive main character as this removes the pressure for any given character to be a positive role model and allows each one to have equal standing. I completely understand why Awdry was so heavily against the overexposure of Thomas as a main character in the third season as he tends to lose the essential facets that made him unique and instead made him a malleable blank slate that can be inserted in whatever story whenever necessary. This story proves that Thomas works best when removed from his status as token main character and he is at his best when portrayed as a relentless (borderline aggressive) dickhead. You may have noticed that I have not been talking about the story itself very much though, as I said before, "Thomas and the Guard" offers very little of substance and is a very plain story with minimal plot or anything of worth.
The second story "Thomas Goes Fishing" is a definite improvement. It's kind of a dumb story but that's what helps it stick out. This is a type of story that Awdry also did really well - the ones that don't really make sense but are way too fun for that to matter, as far and few between as they tend to be. I haven't much to say about this one in particular, it doesn't come to mind when I think of Awdry stories or even when thinking about Season 1. Like with "Thomas and the Guard", there's not much character development to speak of but the plot is at least memorable. This is one of the stories that helps to add to the geography of Thomas' branch line. In this case, the River Els where Thomas goes fishing is located just beyond of Elsbrirdge (hence the name) and before Ffarquhar. Something that I've neglected to mention thus far is that most stories are based off of a real-life event, this one in particular has an interesting source of inspiration. Allegedly, on the Glasgow and South Western Railway, a driver kept a fish in the engine's water tank in order to 'keep the water clean'. The television adaptation also has some cultural significance with one particular part being the origin of an internet meme.
The third story "Thomas, Terence and the Snow" is actually quite a significant story, not only in introducing a new character but the fact that this story houses the first crash that occurs in front of the reader (I was tempted to say on-screen but that makes literally no sense in this context). If anything, the new character "Terence" is somewhat superflouous and does not have much in the way of a unique personality but holds the honor of being the first named off-rail character in the franchise. That being said, this was the only time in Wilbert's original 26 books that Terence actually appears and it wouldn't be until "Toby, Trucks and Trouble" 39 years later that he would appear again. He didn't have that much more significance in the television series either, making a few sporadic appearances throughout the first seven seasons, disappearing for five years, returning very briefly in "The Great Discovery", disappearing yet again for another nine years before making a surprise comeback in Season 21, which serves as a follow-up to this story with quite a long CGI recreation of the events of the original story. All in all, Terence himself is not a remarkable character on his own but he works in the context of this story, serving as a means to convey the moral of the story. Like in "Thomas and the Guard", Thomas is a relentless asshole and I always found it hilarious that one of the first things he says upon meeting Terence for the first time is call him ugly. This is also the first story to be set in winter so visually speaking, this story is more of the most unique thus far as we get our first exposure to the Island of Sodor in snowy weather. We also see another side of Thomas' character - his stubborness, which is yet another one of his many shortcomings that typically backfires on him in many future stories. Interestingly enough, Thomas' hatred for his snowplough is a characteristic that remained surprisingly consistent throughout the entire franchise, in both Railway Series and television series. Each era of the franchise actually makes mention of it and this story is where it originates. In terms of plot and character moments, "Thomas, Terence and the Snow" is the most substantial, it's a very memorable story with good character moments and some decent growth for Thomas' character and is definitely my favorite one in the book.
The final story "Thomas and Bertie" is easily the most iconic story of the lot. It's a quintessential story, both in the Railway Series and television series, with the latter having several follow-ups to this one that utilise very similar plots in the seventh, seventeenth and nineteenth seasons. However, in my honest opinion, this is a story that is greatly benefitted in being visualised by the television adaptation as it doesn't quite hit the same way when simply reading it. Despite how recogniseable of a story it is, it's very basic but that's part of its charm, it's not a particularly meaningful or significant story or even one of the best-written, but it's simplicity makes it a very easy to follow whilst telling a (somewhat) engaging story. The new character "Bertie" definitely had more sticking power than the likes of Terence and he would go on to become a regular reoccuring character, appearing in every single season of the television series except the twenty-second. He has a great dynamic with Thomas in that they have a very distinguishable rivalry, but it's more friendly and light-hearted than other rival complexes in the franchise and you get the impression that they are genuinely really good friend (albeit competitive) friends, which is somewhat refreshing to see in an Awdry story where most of the characters are dickholes to each other. As mentioned before, this is also where Awdry really began to consider the geography of the Island of Sodor and the first map of Thomas' branch line was drawn out to outline the path that Thomas and Bertie travel on throughout the story. It wouldn't be until 1950 the following year that a map of the entire island would be drawn out but this was a significant baseline in creating the map that would truly give Sodor it's natural and cohesive feel.
All in all, "Tank Engine Thomas Again" is a book that takes a step back from signficant character development and worldbuilding and places more emphasis on the day-to-day happenings of Thomas. Whilst the Railway Series would continue to have interconnected stories that lead into one another, the television series would adopt this book's more slice-of-life style of storytelling and I feel like this book sticks out because of that. Granted, "Thomas and the Guard" is admittedly quite dull but the other three stories are great reminders that not every story needs to have a long-lasting impact or be substantial in developing the world and its characters to tell fun and memorable stories that first and foremost, put the characters at the centre of the story. When it comes down to it, the Railway Series is primarily a children's book series and in consideration of that fact, it highlights one of its greatest strengths of being extremely flexible, being both capable of telling stories of personal struggle and redemption in one book and then having a story about a locomotive nearly exploding from a fish trapped in its boiler. Weird title aside, "Tank Engine Thomas Again" is a worthwhile read and is made even better by its very faithful television adaptations from 1984. It's interesting to look back on these early books and see Awdry's writing style really taking form, the fact that they still hold up well nealy 80 years later is testament to how great they really are.
Individual Story Ratings:
* Thomas and the Guard (2/5)
* Thomas Goes Fishing (4/5)
* Thomas, Terence and the Snow (5/5)
* Thomas and Bertie (5/5)
There's not too much to say regarding the history surrounding this book though it was the first time that Awdry really started to take the geography of the Island of Sodor into proper consideration after his children questioned him about what exactly Thomas' branch line was. We now know that the line terminates at Ffarquhar and makes stops as Elsbridge and Knapford, which from this point onwards replaces Vicarstown as the 'big station'. In terms of the series chronology, this book is a bit of an oddity. The first three books had a very clear timeline with "The Three Railway Engines" being first and taking place over the course of several years followed by "Thomas the Tank Engine" in 1925 which was then followed by "James the Red Engine" also taking place in 1925. "Tank Engine Thomas Again" has multiple positions within the timeline at varying points of time. The first story "Thomas and the Guard" takes place either during 1925 or 1926, as suggested by Henry being in his blue livery which becomes green in 1926 before the events of "Troublesome Engines". The second story "Thomas Goes Fishing" takes place in 1931 and the fourth story "Thomas and Bertie" takes place in 1948, over TWENTY YEARS after the events of the first story. For some odd reason, in between stories, there is a massive time gap conveniently skipping over World War 2 which we know from future stories is an event that canonically occurs in-universe, during which a few characters die off-screen. This does not matter much in terms of looking at the stories by themselves, but knowing this makes the whole book feel disjointed which is accentuated by the fact that this is the first book in the series to not have any sort of overarching narrative. It's more akin to an anthology of stand-alone stories rather than a continuous storyline spanning across multiple stories. This is not a bad thing in it of itself but knowing that there is a two-decade long time-gap between the first and last stories is such an odd retcon that I will never understand as there's no real reason why "Thomas and Bertie" has to take place so much later into the timeline.
The first story "Thomas and the Guard" is, in all honesty, probably Awdry's weakest story. Period. It's incredibly uneventful and inconsequential and whilst not every story needs to be chock-full of world-building or character development, "Thomas and the Guard" fails to even present an engaging story and is a very dull read. At the very least, it's not totally worth skipping, we at least get a decent idea of the relationship between Thomas and his coaches - Annie and Clarabel. However, this is a dynamic that is criminally underutilised in the Railway Series and Awdry never quite expanded their relationship beyond what is briefly introduced in this story and they do not recieve any major roles until Christopher Awdry took the reigns. This is where the television series actually exceeded the Railway Series, at least at certain points. Britt Allcroft and David Mitton had something going in the fifth season when we saw Thomas and his coaches have meaningful interaction in a few episodes although it wasn't until Andrew Brenner's tenure as headwriter beginning with the 2012 movie "Blue Mountain Mystery" that the dynamic would be fully fleshed out to its full potential. Long story short, not only did the Thomas, Annie and Clarabel dynamic become dramatically more realised in this CGI Series, Annie and Clarabel themselves became fully-fledged characters and more than background characters who occassionally spoke or recieved a mention. Brenner and his writing team understood Annie and Clarabel more than Awdry himself did and it's rather unfortunate that the first major female characters were quickly reduced to background fodder in the books. We also get foreshadowing to Henry's arc in Book 6 as we see that he is in very poor condition and clearly very sick, though this was already established back in "Thomas' Train" so this doesn't really come across as anything new though it does bring forth the highlight of the story and one of my favorite character moments for Thomas in the whole franchise. Typically, the protagonist would sympathise with their sick friend who is very clearly struggling to function normally but Thomas is extremely quick to insult him and downright calls him "too fat" and tells him to piss off. This was censored when in American releases of the television adaptation with the term "fat" being replaced with "lazy" in an attempt to avoid fatphobia (presumably). I find this to be a great moment because it highlights the very specific way in which Awdry depicted Thomas. Whilst many future writers (whether it be television series, movies or otherwise) portray Thomas as a happy-go-lucky optimist who jumps at the chance to help a fellow engine and whilst this makes him a better role-model for children, in reality, Thomas is not intended to be a role model. There is a reason why many of his starring roles involve him getting him getting into trouble or experiencing some form of inconvenience. Thomas is an absolute asshole and this is an element of his character that was phased out very quickly after the eighth season when HiT Entertainment took reigns of the television series but it is so integral that many of his future iterations feel very shallow. This is what I find to be a benefit of the Railway Series not having a definitive main character as this removes the pressure for any given character to be a positive role model and allows each one to have equal standing. I completely understand why Awdry was so heavily against the overexposure of Thomas as a main character in the third season as he tends to lose the essential facets that made him unique and instead made him a malleable blank slate that can be inserted in whatever story whenever necessary. This story proves that Thomas works best when removed from his status as token main character and he is at his best when portrayed as a relentless (borderline aggressive) dickhead. You may have noticed that I have not been talking about the story itself very much though, as I said before, "Thomas and the Guard" offers very little of substance and is a very plain story with minimal plot or anything of worth.
The second story "Thomas Goes Fishing" is a definite improvement. It's kind of a dumb story but that's what helps it stick out. This is a type of story that Awdry also did really well - the ones that don't really make sense but are way too fun for that to matter, as far and few between as they tend to be. I haven't much to say about this one in particular, it doesn't come to mind when I think of Awdry stories or even when thinking about Season 1. Like with "Thomas and the Guard", there's not much character development to speak of but the plot is at least memorable. This is one of the stories that helps to add to the geography of Thomas' branch line. In this case, the River Els where Thomas goes fishing is located just beyond of Elsbrirdge (hence the name) and before Ffarquhar. Something that I've neglected to mention thus far is that most stories are based off of a real-life event, this one in particular has an interesting source of inspiration. Allegedly, on the Glasgow and South Western Railway, a driver kept a fish in the engine's water tank in order to 'keep the water clean'. The television adaptation also has some cultural significance with one particular part being the origin of an internet meme.
The third story "Thomas, Terence and the Snow" is actually quite a significant story, not only in introducing a new character but the fact that this story houses the first crash that occurs in front of the reader (I was tempted to say on-screen but that makes literally no sense in this context). If anything, the new character "Terence" is somewhat superflouous and does not have much in the way of a unique personality but holds the honor of being the first named off-rail character in the franchise. That being said, this was the only time in Wilbert's original 26 books that Terence actually appears and it wouldn't be until "Toby, Trucks and Trouble" 39 years later that he would appear again. He didn't have that much more significance in the television series either, making a few sporadic appearances throughout the first seven seasons, disappearing for five years, returning very briefly in "The Great Discovery", disappearing yet again for another nine years before making a surprise comeback in Season 21, which serves as a follow-up to this story with quite a long CGI recreation of the events of the original story. All in all, Terence himself is not a remarkable character on his own but he works in the context of this story, serving as a means to convey the moral of the story. Like in "Thomas and the Guard", Thomas is a relentless asshole and I always found it hilarious that one of the first things he says upon meeting Terence for the first time is call him ugly. This is also the first story to be set in winter so visually speaking, this story is more of the most unique thus far as we get our first exposure to the Island of Sodor in snowy weather. We also see another side of Thomas' character - his stubborness, which is yet another one of his many shortcomings that typically backfires on him in many future stories. Interestingly enough, Thomas' hatred for his snowplough is a characteristic that remained surprisingly consistent throughout the entire franchise, in both Railway Series and television series. Each era of the franchise actually makes mention of it and this story is where it originates. In terms of plot and character moments, "Thomas, Terence and the Snow" is the most substantial, it's a very memorable story with good character moments and some decent growth for Thomas' character and is definitely my favorite one in the book.
The final story "Thomas and Bertie" is easily the most iconic story of the lot. It's a quintessential story, both in the Railway Series and television series, with the latter having several follow-ups to this one that utilise very similar plots in the seventh, seventeenth and nineteenth seasons. However, in my honest opinion, this is a story that is greatly benefitted in being visualised by the television adaptation as it doesn't quite hit the same way when simply reading it. Despite how recogniseable of a story it is, it's very basic but that's part of its charm, it's not a particularly meaningful or significant story or even one of the best-written, but it's simplicity makes it a very easy to follow whilst telling a (somewhat) engaging story. The new character "Bertie" definitely had more sticking power than the likes of Terence and he would go on to become a regular reoccuring character, appearing in every single season of the television series except the twenty-second. He has a great dynamic with Thomas in that they have a very distinguishable rivalry, but it's more friendly and light-hearted than other rival complexes in the franchise and you get the impression that they are genuinely really good friend (albeit competitive) friends, which is somewhat refreshing to see in an Awdry story where most of the characters are dickholes to each other. As mentioned before, this is also where Awdry really began to consider the geography of the Island of Sodor and the first map of Thomas' branch line was drawn out to outline the path that Thomas and Bertie travel on throughout the story. It wouldn't be until 1950 the following year that a map of the entire island would be drawn out but this was a significant baseline in creating the map that would truly give Sodor it's natural and cohesive feel.
All in all, "Tank Engine Thomas Again" is a book that takes a step back from signficant character development and worldbuilding and places more emphasis on the day-to-day happenings of Thomas. Whilst the Railway Series would continue to have interconnected stories that lead into one another, the television series would adopt this book's more slice-of-life style of storytelling and I feel like this book sticks out because of that. Granted, "Thomas and the Guard" is admittedly quite dull but the other three stories are great reminders that not every story needs to have a long-lasting impact or be substantial in developing the world and its characters to tell fun and memorable stories that first and foremost, put the characters at the centre of the story. When it comes down to it, the Railway Series is primarily a children's book series and in consideration of that fact, it highlights one of its greatest strengths of being extremely flexible, being both capable of telling stories of personal struggle and redemption in one book and then having a story about a locomotive nearly exploding from a fish trapped in its boiler. Weird title aside, "Tank Engine Thomas Again" is a worthwhile read and is made even better by its very faithful television adaptations from 1984. It's interesting to look back on these early books and see Awdry's writing style really taking form, the fact that they still hold up well nealy 80 years later is testament to how great they really are.
Individual Story Ratings:
* Thomas and the Guard (2/5)
* Thomas Goes Fishing (4/5)
* Thomas, Terence and the Snow (5/5)
* Thomas and Bertie (5/5)
November 5, 2022
The original Thomas the Tank Engine series, by Reverend W. Awdry, is a rare but impressive set of stories for young children: it includes moral lessons, complexity of character and distinctive and deep use of language. (Unfortunately, these are not captured in the more recent books spawned by the popular franchise.) The original series uses an assortment of transportation machinery (engines, buses, tractors, trucks, carriages, etc.) to bring to life various personality types and temperaments. The engines, mirroring the maturity-level of young boys, have adventures, learn about their own weaknesses, face the consequences of their decisions, and grow in character.
Subtly permeating through the clever stories are virtues like respecting authority and elders, hard work, teamwork and perseverance. Unlike most books for this age group, the characters are not beset with one-dimensional personalities. Their strengths and weaknesses help young children understand that people are not pure evil or pure goodness. The good guy/bad guy narrative is replaced with a more holistic understanding of human nature at a level children can understand.
With all this combined in a setting especially appealing to boys, Mindful Muslim Reader gives this series our Gold Star. While children are growing up in a culture which increasingly devalues the positive aspects of masculinity, this is a must-read for young boys.
Read more at MindfulMuslimReader.com.
Books Worth Reading
Subtly permeating through the clever stories are virtues like respecting authority and elders, hard work, teamwork and perseverance. Unlike most books for this age group, the characters are not beset with one-dimensional personalities. Their strengths and weaknesses help young children understand that people are not pure evil or pure goodness. The good guy/bad guy narrative is replaced with a more holistic understanding of human nature at a level children can understand.
With all this combined in a setting especially appealing to boys, Mindful Muslim Reader gives this series our Gold Star. While children are growing up in a culture which increasingly devalues the positive aspects of masculinity, this is a must-read for young boys.
Read more at MindfulMuslimReader.com.
Books Worth Reading
January 1, 2022
A fun series of short stories to an iconic collection, with one of THEE most iconic stories in the whole series no doubt (the fourth one). The first two are harmless fun and the last two are harmless fun with some okay messages on patience, a reoccurring theme in this book.
Good.
Good.
April 13, 2023
I am lamenting not reading all these books sooner. They are so well written and the stories are top notch. There is this sense you get from reading the books that the author really knew kids and treated them with respect and love.
April 4, 2025
Four fun little stories about Thomas. One of the more skippable RWS books
July 6, 2024
More tales featuring Thomas and his locomotive companions on the Isle of Sodor. It's consistently a wonderful chance to absorb life lessons through enjoyable and engaging narratives.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews