RWS #3: James the Red Engine

Make way for James, because he's starring in his own book!

THE OPINIONS, THOUGHTS AND MUSINGS IN THIS BLOG POST ARE SOLELY THOSE OF ZACK WANZER, NOT THE THOMAS FANDOM IN GENERAL

(special thanks to the Thomas the Tank Engine Wikia for the images)

The Railway Series Book #3

James the Red Engine

Written by The Rev. W. Awdry

Illustrated by C. Reginald Dalby

Published 1948

After his crash in Thomas the Tank Engine, James has been repainted to his well-known red livery with a brass dome. It had been two years since Thomas received his branchline, and Awdry received letters for more books, which he did yearly up to 1972, except in 1971. He often said that James was his least favorite of the books, as it was written just to meet a deadline, not from experience. Let's put that to the test, shall we?

Dear friends of Edward, Gordon, Henry, and Thomas,

Thank you for your kind letters. Here is the new book for which you asked.

James, who crashed in the story of Thomas the Tank Engine, settles down and becomes a Useful Engine.

We are nationalized now, but the same engines still work the Region. I am glad, too, to tell you that the Fat Director, who understands our friends' ways, is still in charge, but is now the Fat Controller.

I hope you will enjoy this book, too.

The Author

James and the Top-Hat

Season 1, Episode 8A

The Fat Director (now known as the Fat Controller) assigns James to work with Edward on passenger duties. However, in his vanity, James makes several mistakes; he sprays water on the Fat Controller's top hat, overruns a platform, and gets hiccups, scaring an old lady.

This was a nice, simple way to start the book, although it did drag on for a bit, same thing with the next story. I'm actually glad they were mashed together as one episode, and as for the elephant in the room? I'll get to it later.

RWS Rating: 6 out of 10

James and the Bootlace

Season 1, Episode 8B

After he's threatened with blue paint if he doesn't behave, an ill-tempered James bumps his coaches so roughly that while on his run, a brakepipe bursts and it has to be mended with newspaper and a leather bootlace.

This one was a little better. The passenger (Jeremiah Jobling) being told off for being selfish was a nice little addition; if he didn't help out, then the rest of the passengers wouldn't get to their destinations. Nothing much more to say, other than I feel the adaptation was better in my view.

RWS Rating: 7 out of 10
TV Series Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Troublesome Trucks

Season 1, Episode 9

James is in the sheds for being naughty, but seeing how sorry he is, the Fat Controller gives him another chance by having him take a goods train. The trucks play tricks on him, but James comes out on top and is allowed to keep his red paint.

Now this was a good step up from the previous two stories. It makes you feel bad for James, even though he did do things to deserve his punishment. I really like how it shows the Fat Controller as a father figure (I'm not gonna deal with those pathetic excuses for "journalists"; they aren't worth my time). I'm gonna be fair and give both versions of the story the same rating.

RWS/TV Series Rating: 9 out of 10

James and the Express

Season 1, Episode 10

When Gordon gets switched off the mainline onto the loop, James is sent to take his place on the express, and he does so with success, and he and Gordon become friends.

Definitely shows how far James has come in one book; he started off brash and arrogant (which comes up from time to time) but he soon mellowed out and does work without question (sometimes). There is a plot hole, and I don't normally discuss them, but where is the loop line? I've looked at the maps of Sodor and I didn't see one loop line. Maybe he went off on a branchline by mistake? Yeah, it'd sound like Wrong Road, but at least it wouldn't be a plot hole. It's still a good story with an obvious plothole.

RWS Rating: 8 out of 10
TV Series Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Stray Observations

Ah yes; the mysterious station between Tidmouth and Knapford in James and the Top-Hat. What was the station's name anyway? South Tidmouth? North Knapford? It makes you wonder why Awdry didn't feature it in any Sodor map, does it?

In the original, Thomas' role is replaced by a mysterious little blue 0-6-2 tank engine. What happened to this little bugger afterward? Bloody generic engines! :P

Overall

There's a difference between a problem that destroys the entire story and an issue that causes a minor distraction; the problems I discussed could explain Awdry's claim that it was his least favorite book. I think that the book is good, but not great compared to the previous two books. Like the previous two books, however, it did have a nice flow which the stories built up to one another.

Overall Book Rating: 7.5 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

Thomas and Friends Season 1 Scorecard

1. Thomas and Gordon: 9.5

2. Edward and Gordon: 8.5

3. The Sad Story of Henry: 8

4. Edward, Gordon and Henry: 9

5. Thomas' Train: 8.5

6. Thomas and the Trucks: 9

7. Thomas and the Breakdown Train: 9
8. James and the Coaches: 8.5
9. Troublesome Trucks: 9
10. James and the Express: 8.5