With Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure having come out in September 2015, I felt that it was fair that I reviewed the book featuring the characters that made their TV series debut back then - the Arlesdale Miniature engines Rex, Bert and Mike! So here's my thoughts on Small Railway Engines.
Small Railway Engines
Written by The Rev. W. Awdry
Illustrated by Gunvor and Peter Edwards
Published 1967
Dear Friends,
Some leadmines up in the hills have long been closed, but their waste-heaps still spoil a lovely valley.
The Fat Controller has now found that this waste is good weed-killing railway ballast. He talked to the Owner and the Thin Controller of the Skarloey Railway, and other important people. They "went shares" and built a Small Railway to fetch it away.
The Small Engines are managed by a Controller. They call him the Small Controller; but that is only in fun. He is bigger than either of the others!
The Author
Some leadmines up in the hills have long been closed, but their waste-heaps still spoil a lovely valley.
The Fat Controller has now found that this waste is good weed-killing railway ballast. He talked to the Owner and the Thin Controller of the Skarloey Railway, and other important people. They "went shares" and built a Small Railway to fetch it away.
The Small Engines are managed by a Controller. They call him the Small Controller; but that is only in fun. He is bigger than either of the others!
The Author
Donald and Douglas claim that the new ballast in the sidings comes from the hills brought in by "verra wee engines". When Duck gets his chance to go up the line beyond the big station, he meets with a miniature green engine named Rex, and later on, he meets with Mike and Bert and they tell him about their line. Afterwards, he promises to bring them lots of passengers.
Take note of the last line of the summary - it will build up to the next two books, and the third afterward will be built up to as well. Once again, a nice, simple introduction to a new railway, and the way Rex revealed himself to Duck (you'd have to picture it for yourself) was very amusing.
Rating: 8.5 out of 10
Two clergymen are coming to the Arlesdale Railway to take pictures of the engines; Bert misunderstands that he could be physically stuck in a book, but when he meets the two clergymen, he feels better, but not when they don't wave when taking pictures. The last straw for him is when he is drenched in muddy water and Bert gets back at them and gets his driver and the Fat Clergyman soaked with his steam. After he is scolded, Bert makes amends with the two clergymen and tells Rex and Mike they're going to be in a book.
Don't feel put off by the first word in the title; in the story's context, it does not mean... yeah, I think I've explained enough. What "tit for tat" means is equivalent retribution, an eye for an eye, or returning exactly what you get. In this case, the clergymen got Bert muddy by accident, and he got the Fat Clergyman (and his driver) wet deliberately. It's a great way to show that two wrongs don't make a right.
Rating: 9 out of 10
When Duck's whistle is broken due to his crew using his fire to cook eggs, Mike mocks Duck for it ("engines without whistles aren't engines at all"), but is infuriated when Bert and Rex tease him about his whistle. Mike's temper worsens when he's forced to take passengers, and the last straw comes when a cow strays onto his line, and he blows his whistle so hard it flies away never to be seen again. The passengers and crew all whistle for Mike, and afterward, he's made to work at the quarry for the rest of the day, and to add insult to injury, Bert and Rex tease by calling him an improper engine.
If you've read my Faulty Whistles review, you'll find the similarities. This is my favorite of the book, and I almost imagine Mike having a Basil Fawlty-esque rant towards the cow, ending with him shrieking about giving her a "damn good blast of [his] whistle" before doing so. I can almost hear it in my head.
Rating: 10 out of 10
After some trouble with a herd of sheep, Mike calls them silly, but Rex says they're useful since they provide wool. To prove his point, Rex is assigned the first train and becomes cocky about it. He gets his comeuppance when a tractor's load spills on the tracks and he has a derailment. Rex stays where he is for a few days with Mike and Bert teasing him as they pass, but they help him back on the rails afterward and are sorry for teasing him, as is Rex for being arrogant. In the end, all three have proven themselves really useful engines.
Once again, an engine becomes cocky and gets his comeuppance, and this time, the one responsible for causing the accident - Willie - is scolded for his carelessness, but makes up for it by cleaning up his mess. I did feel bad for Rex; he had been cocky and deserved consequences for it, but he felt very silly for it and when Mike and Bert helped him, you can tell that Rex got the message and in a sense, asked for forgiveness which he got.
Rating: 9.5 out of 10
Stray Observations
The Small Controller's nickname derives from the fact that he runs the small railway. Ironically, he is quite tall! His appearance almost reminds me of John Cleese for some reason...
Don't those two clergymen seem familiar? They should be - they are, in fact, the Rev. W. Awdry (the Thin one) and the Rev. Teddy Boston (the Fat one) themselves!
Overall
Rex, Bert and Mike bounce off one another in very humorous ways; Mike's fiery temper and Rex's playful teasing is amusing to see, almost like something out of a British sitcom like Fawlty Towers or Blackadder. Until 2015, it was disappointing that the Arlesdale Railway had never been adapted for TV; they played a very important role in Duke's book and yet the last story in said book had been rewritten to fit TV standards. However, they're finally got their chance in CGI in Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure and it continued onto three episodes in season 20. I'd love to see more of what they can do (given the chance, of course)!
Overall Book Rating: 9.3 out of 10
The Railway Series Scorecard
1. The Three Railway Engines: 8.4
2. Thomas the Tank Engine: 9
3. James the Red Engine: 7.5
4. Tank Engine Thomas Again: 9.5
5. Troublesome Engines: 8.1
6. Henry the Green Engine: 8.4
7. Toby the Tram Engine: 9
8. Gordon the Big Engine: 8.6
9. Edward the Blue Engine: 9.3
10. Four Little Engines: 8.8
11. Percy the Small Engine: 8.9
12. The Eight Famous Engines: 8.8
13. Duck and the Diesel Engine: 8.5
14. The Little Old Engine: 8.9
15. The Twin Engines: 9.1
16. Branch Line Engines: 9.3
17. Gallant Old Engine: 9.3
18. Stepney the "Bluebell" Engine: 8.5
3. James the Red Engine: 7.5
4. Tank Engine Thomas Again: 9.5
5. Troublesome Engines: 8.1
6. Henry the Green Engine: 8.4
7. Toby the Tram Engine: 9
8. Gordon the Big Engine: 8.6
9. Edward the Blue Engine: 9.3
10. Four Little Engines: 8.8
11. Percy the Small Engine: 8.9
12. The Eight Famous Engines: 8.8
13. Duck and the Diesel Engine: 8.5
14. The Little Old Engine: 8.9
15. The Twin Engines: 9.1
16. Branch Line Engines: 9.3
17. Gallant Old Engine: 9.3
18. Stepney the "Bluebell" Engine: 8.5
19. Mountain Engines: 8.9
20. Very Old Engines: 9.1
21. Main Line Engines: 9
22. Small Railway Engines: 9.3
20. Very Old Engines: 9.1
21. Main Line Engines: 9
22. Small Railway Engines: 9.3
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