Thomas the Tank Engine: The Complete Collection. Tho' not entirely complete, as it lacks Christopher Awdry's 14 books, all of the Rev W. Awdry's 26 books can be found here along with a foreword, and brief biographies of the Reverend and his illustrators. Click on a national flag to order from amazon.co.uk or amazon.com respectively. The artwork is smaller than in the Railway Series books and is slightly cropped, but is reproduced from the originals. |
|
 |
 |
|
|
 |
|
Thomas the Tank Engine: The New Collection contains all of Christopher Awdry's volumes including #41: Thomas and Victoria. This anthology was released by Egmont Books (along with #41) in early September, 2007. As with the Complete Collection above, the images are reduced in size. Along with Christopher's foreword, an introduction to the characters and a history of Sodor in the endpapers, A 1992 version of the map of Sodor can be found printed on the inside cover. A red cloth bookmarker compliments the collection |
NEW! An encouraging sign that HiT Entertainment cares about the the brand is the October 2009 publication of Hayne's Thomas the Tank Engine: Owner's Workshop Manual authored by Chris Oxlade (ISBN 1844258351 ).From the book's write-up: |
|
 |
|
Old but Gold
These items are out of print and rare, but essential source for this website and any true fan. The relevant ISBN numbers are provided below to assist your searches in case any secondhand copies show up.
Island of Sodor: Its People, History and Railways (1987) |
Island of Sodor: Its People, History and Railways (+map,
1992) |
The Thomas the Tank Engine Man, a Biography |
Map of Sodor (1971) |
| ISBN: 0434927627 | ISBN: 0434963488 | ISBN: 0434969095 | ISBN: 0718208412 |
 |
 |
 |
| Cover of The Island of Sodor, provided by Jim Gratton, to whom many thanks | The cover of The Thomas the Tank Engine Man, by Brian Sibley | Published in 2005, Sodor, Reading Between the Lines. |
THE RAILWAY SERIES
Congratulations to Egmont in UK and Christopher Awdry for reviving the Railway Series in its original format, now with the Egmont imprint, and not only all of Christopher's pre-1996 works, which had become rarer than hen's teeth, but also a brand new volume for 2007, Thomas and Victoria. The original publishers were in order, Edmund Ward, Kaye & Ward, and Heinemann.
You may also buy all the Rev W. Awdry's 26 original books in the Classic Library Station Box, (UK only)
Clicking on a book cover will lead to a fuller description of that book - or start with The Three Railway Engines.
Edward's Day Out Edward and Gordon The Sad Story of Henry Edward, Gordon and Henry Author: Rev W. Awdry Illustrator: C. Reginald Dalby |
Thomas and Gordon Thomas' Train Thomas and the Trucks Thomas and the Breakdown Train Author: Rev W. Awdry Illustrator: Reginald Payne |
James and the Top-Hat James and the Bootlace Troublesome Trucks James and the Express Author: Rev W. Awdry Illustrator: C. Reginald Dalby |
Thomas and the Guard Thomas goes Fishing Thomas, Terence and the Snow Thomas and Bertie Author: Rev W. Awdry Illustrator: C. Reginald Dalby |
Henry and the Elephant Tenders and Turntables Trouble in the Shed Percy Runs Away Author: Rev W. Awdry Illustrator: C. Reginald Dalby |
Coal, The Flying Kipper Gordon's Whistle Percy and the Trousers Henry's Sneeze Author: Rev W. Awdry Illustrator: C. Reginald Dalby |
Toby and the Stout Gentleman Thomas in Trouble Dirty Objects Mrs. Kyndley's Christmas Author: Rev W. Awdry Illustrator: C. Reginald Dalby |
Off the Rails Leaves Down the Mine Paint Pots and Queens Author: Rev W. Awdry Illustrator: C. Reginald Dalby |
Cows! Bertie's Chase Saved From Scrap Old Iron Author: Rev W. Awdry Illustrator: C. Reginald Dalby |
Skarloey Remembers Sir Handel Peter Sam and the Refreshment Lady Old Faithful Author: Rev W. Awdry Illustrator: C. Reginald Dalby |
Percy and the Signal Duck Takes Charge Percy and Harold Percy's Promise Author: Rev W. Awdry Illustrator: C. Reginald Dalby |
Percy Takes the Plunge Gordon Goes Foreign Double Header The Fat Controller's Engines Author: Rev W. Awdry Illustrator: John T. Kenney |
Domeless Engines Pop Goes the Diesel Dirty Work A Close Shave Author: Rev W. Awdry Illustrator: John T. Kenney |
Trucks Home at Last Rock 'n' Roll Little Old Twins Author: Rev W. Awdry Illustrator: John T. Kenney |
'Hullo Twins' The Missing Coach Break Van The Deputation Author: Rev W. Awdry Illustrator: John T. Kenney |
Thomas Comes to Breakfast Daisy Bulls-eyes Percy's Predicament Author: Rev W. Awdry Illustrator: John T. Kenney |
Special Funnel Steamroller Passengers and Polish Gallant Old Engine Author: Rev W. Awdry Illustrator: John T. Kenney |
Bluebells of England Stepney's Special Train Stops Play Bowled Out Author: Rev W. Awdry Illustrator: Peter and Gunvor Edwards |
Mountain Engine Bad Look-out Danger Points "Devil's Back" Author: Rev W. Awdry Illustrator: Peter and Gunvor Edwards |
Crosspatch Bucking Bronco Stick-in-the-Mud Duck and Dukes Author: Rev W. Awdry Illustrator: Peter and Gunvor Edwards |
The Diseasel Buzz Buzz Wrong Road Edward's Exploit Author: Rev W. Awdry Illustrator: Peter and Gunvor Edwards |
Ballast Tit-for-Tat Mike's Whistle Useful Railway Author: Rev W. Awdry Illustrator: Peter and Gunvor Edwards |
Tenders for Henry Super Rescue Escape Little Western Author: Rev W. Awdry Illustrator: Peter and Gunvor Edwards |
Donald's Duck Resource and Sagacity Toad Stands By Bulgy Author: Rev W. Awdry Illustrator: Peter and Gunvor Edwards |
Granpuff Bulldog You Can't Win! Sleeping Beauty Author: Rev W. Awdry Illustrator: Peter and Gunvor Edwards |
Ghost Train Woolly Bear Mavis Toby's Tightrope Author: Rev W. Awdry Illustrator: Peter and Gunvor Edwards |
 |
Interlude - Early Railway Series Anthologies:
The Rev. W. Awdry Engine Stories Contains: |
 |
WH Smith published additional anthology volumes from 1983 onward. Callum Walker shares his collection of these book covers below with our thanks.
 |
 |
| SELECTED ENGINE STORIES The Rev. W. Awdry WH SMITH (198?) Troublesome Engines Percy the Small Engine Duck and the Diesel Engine Main Line Engines Enterprising Engines |
MORE ENGINE STORIES The Rev. W. Awdry WH SMITH (1985) Toby the Tram Engine Four Little Engines The Little Old Engine Oliver the Western Engine Duke the Lost Engine |
 |
| FURTHER ENGINE STORIES The Rev. W. Awdry WH Smith/Kaye & Ward (1983) ISBN: 0718208463 Stories Gordon the Big Engine Edward the Blue Engine James the Red Engine Henry the Green Engine The Three Railway Engines |
St. Michael/Octopus Books furnished these anthologies in 1982-85. The 1982 edition contained 6 of the RWS books. The 1983 edition was split into two volumes each containing only 3 RWS books. Pictured centre is Volume 1. The 1985 edition was reformatted and contained two RWS books (found by Callum).
 |
 |
 |
| The Railway Stories | The Railway Stories: Vol. 1 | More Railway Stories |
| St. Michael / Octopus Books (1982) ISBN: 0862730538 |
St. Michael / Octopus Books (1983) ISBN: 0862730546 |
St. Michael / Octopus Books (1985) ISBN: 0862732530 |
 |
 |
| THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE AND OTHER RAILWAY STORIES The Rev. W. Awdry Treasure Press (1989) ISBN-10: 9781850514602 ISBN-13: 978-1850514602 Stories Thomas The Tank Engine Tank Engine Thomas Again Gallant Old Engine Stepney the "Bluebell" Engine Tramway Engines |
MORE ENGINE STORIES FEATURING THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE The Rev. W. Awdry Treasure Press (1989) ISBN-10: 1850514615 ISBN-13: 978-1850514619 Stories Gordon the Big Engine Edward the Blue Engine James the Red Engine Henry the Green Engine The Three Railway Engines ISBN: 071820848X |
Between 1984 and 1986, anthologies of the Rev. Awdry's books were sold in a four-volume The Rev. W. Awdry's RAILWAY STORIES. Each colour-coded volume (red, yellow, green and blue) contained six of the sequentially-ordered Railway Series books up to No.24, but curiously not beyond for Nos. 25-26. Callum Walker kindly shares views of the volume covers below (with our thanks).
 |
 |
| The Rev. W. Awdry's RAILWAY STORIES SIX VOLUMES IN ONE (1-6) RED BOOK Guild Publishing (1984) |
The Rev. W. Awdry's RAILWAY STORIES SIX VOLUMES IN ONE (7-12) YELLOW BOOK Guild Publishing (1984) |
 |
 |
| The Rev. W. Awdry's RAILWAY STORIES SIX VOLUMES IN ONE (13-18) GREEN BOOK Guild Publishing (1984) |
The Rev. W. Awdry's RAILWAY STORIES SIX VOLUMES IN ONE (19-24) BLUE BOOK Guild Publishing (1986) |
Cathay Books published this two-RWS volume anthology in 1987 (from Callum W.'s collection)
 |
| THE RAILWAY STORIES: Henry the Green Engine & Toby the Tram Engine
Cathay Books LTD. (1987) ISBN: 0861784820 |
| |
 |
|
Thomas the Tank Engine: The Complete Collection. Published by Heinemann in 1996, contains all 26 of the Rev W. Awdry's books. Contains a foreword, and brief biographies of the Reverend and his illustrators. A few used copies of this anthology can still be ordered from amazon.co.uk or amazon.com (click any flag on the left) Smaller versions of the original artwork are included in this volume. |
Stop Thief! Mind That Bike Fish Triple Header Author: Christopher Awdry Illustrator: Clive Spong |
Old Stuck-Up Crossed Lines Fire Engine Deep Freeze Author: Christopher Awdry Illustrator: Clive Spong |
Patience is a Virtue Peter Sam and the Prickly Problem Pop Special Sir Handel Comes Home Author: Christopher Awdry Illustrator: Clive Spong |
Thomas, Percy, and the Coal The Runaway Better Late Than Never Drip-Tank Author: Christopher Awdry Illustrator: Clive Spong |
High-Speed Gordon Smokescreen Fire Escape Gordon Proves His Point Author: Christopher Awdry Illustrator: Clive Spong |
Mavis and the Lorry Toby's Seaside Holiday Bulstrode Toby Takes the Road Author: Christopher Awdry Illustrator: Clive Spong |
Scrambled Eggs What a Picture! Trevor Helps Out Down the Drain Author: Christopher Awdry Illustrator: Clive Spong |
We Need Another Engine Sticking-Power Jock Teamwork Author: Christopher Awdry Illustrator: Clive Spong |
Museum-Piece Not the Ticket Trouble on the Line Thomas and the Railtour Author: Christopher Awdry Illustrator: Clive Spong |
Snow Problem Washout! Toby's Megatrain Thomas Comes Home Author: Christopher Awdry Illustrator: Clive Spong |
Out of Puff Overhaul Sliding Scales Henry Sees Red Author: Christopher Awdry Illustrator: Clive Spong |
Percy's Porridge Cab Over Wheels Foaming at the Funnel Wired-Up Author: Christopher Awdry Illustrator: Clive Spong |
Birdstrike Edward and the Cabbages Rabbits Golden Jubilee Author: Christopher Awdry Illustrator: Clive Spong |
Speedkiller Sir Handel's Plan Dirty Water I Name This Engine Author: Christopher Awdry Illustrator: Clive Spong |
Overloaded Avalanche Eels on Wheels Toby's Vintage Train Author: Christopher Awdry Illustrator: Clive Spong |
Thomas and the Swan Buffer Bashing Gordon's Fire Service Centenary Author: Christopher Awdry Illustrator: Clive Spong |
|
|
The following three books written by Wilbert and Christopher Awdry are not the "Railway Series" but must be considered canonical, dating from when the TV and Railway Series still managed to get along.
 Thomas's Christmas Party (1984)
|
Author: Christopher Awdry Illustrator: Clive Spong |
Author: Christopher Awdry Illustrator: Clive Spong |
The Reformatted Railway Series: Heinemann began to reformat the Railway Series books circa 1998. A slightly larger book size, bigger typeface and cropped blown-up sections of the illustrations on the left side of each page distinguished these volumes from the classic format. Only 14 of the books were made rather than all 40. The project was eventually shelved, but not before the classic format had gone completely out of print for many years. Below is a gallery of of the reformatted volumes - replete with links for the discretionary collector.
|
|
|
|||||||||
|
|
|
|||||||||
|
|
|
|||||||||
|
|
|
|||||||||
|
|
|
|||||||||
Below-left:At least one Slipcase was produced containing the first 5 new format volumes. Below-right: A 2002 Slim Calendar showcasing the new RWS format. (pictures courtesy of Callum)
Slipcase contains the following RWS volumes1- The Three Railway Engines 2- Thomas the Tank Engine 3- James the Red Engine 4- Tank Engine Thomas Again 5- Troublesome Engines Heinemann Young Books (29 April 1999) # ISBN-10: 0434805211 # ISBN-13: 978-0434805211 Details for 2002 Slim Calendar (Right) Heinemann Young Books (1 Aug 2001) # ISBN-10: 0434807184 # ISBN-13: 978-0434807185 |
 |
Additional Single-Story Books were published: Thomas and Gordon: Off the Rails and Christopher Awdry's Thomas and the Hurricane. Covers below were provided courtesy of Callum Walker and his friend, Scott.
 |
 |
 |
| THOMAS AND GORDON: OFF THE RAILS The Rev. W. Awdry Heinemann (1990) ISBN: 0434926116 |
THOMAS AND THE HURRICANE Christopher Awdry Heinemann (1992) ISBN: 0434961337 |
THOMAS COMES TO BREAKFAST The Rev. W. Awdry Heinemann (1995) ISBN-10: 0749724463 ISBN-13: 978-0749724467 |
Christopher Awdry has a second book series, based on the adventures of engines on the Eastbourne Miniature Railway , Eastbourne, East Sussex, a railway whose motive power is all 7" gauge models of classic British locos, including a Royal Scot 4-6-0 (General), Fowler 4F 0-6-0 (Rachel), a Churchward GWR 38xx 2-8-0 (Western), a Hymek B-B (Oily), and a Maunsell "Schools" 4-4-0 (Eastbourne). The volumes listed below used to be available directly from the now-closed Awdry-owned and operated SODOR ENTERPRISES. Other titles penned by Christopher were also showcased on their online store.
 General Takes Charge Author: Christopher Awdry Illustrator: Marc Vyvyan-Jones |
 Rachel and the Goose Author: Christopher Awdry Illustrator: Marc Vyvyan-Jones |
 Western and the Lost Ring Author: Christopher Awdry Illustrator: Marc Vyvyan-Jones |
 Oily Keeps Things Going Author: Christopher Awdry Illustrator: Marc Vyvyan-Jones |
 Eastbourne's Wedding Special Author: Christopher Awdry Illustrator: Marc Vyvyan-Jones |
 Oily and the Flood Author: Christopher Awdry Illustrator: Marc Vyvyan-Jones |
Additional Titles of Interest:
The Little People, a story based on the Rev Awdry's Ffarquhar I model railway scenery and characters, serialised in the Church of England Newspaper in early 1960. Needs Acrobat. With thanks to the British Libary (Newspapers) in Colindale.
In 1958, the Rev. W. Awdry ventured into more mature literary territory with Belinda the Beetle and its sequel in 1961 - Belinda Beats the Band. Published by Brockhampton Press Ltd., the stories follow the adventures of a little three-wheeled red car owned by the Vicar Excel, his wife, and their children, Susan and John. One of the more unusual crimefighter teams ever assembled in sleuthing history.
 Belinda the Beetle (1958) Illustrated by IONICUS  |
 Belinda Beats the Band (1961) Illustrated by JOHN KENNEY |
The Trains We Loved by C. Hamilton Ellis
Narrow Gauge Album by PB Whitehouse
Railway Adventure by LTC Rolt
============ooOOOOoo==============
VIDEO and DVD
There appear to be gadzillions of Thomas DVD, VCD and VHS titles, and I'm the probably the last person to consult on them. But a bit of hunting turned up The Original Adventures of Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends (26 episodes) as a starting point in the UK, which came with the following hopeful encomium:
"The original series of Thomas the tank engine and friends is brought to Bumper Video. When Henry had the same shape as Gordon, Diesels were nowhere to be seen and Thomas shunted coaches in the big station. " - a quote I found later came from SiF administrator Ryan!
 |
The Original Adventures of Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends (26 episodes: VHS-PAL) |
 |
Each complete television season/series is available on DVD from Amazon's UK Branch. (Region 2: PAL Format) Series 1 |
For excellent episode summaries for each series, we recommend Ryan Hagan's Sodor Island Fansite
Thanks to Jake for assistance with texts and images on this page.
