RWS #4: Tank Engine Thomas Again

As today is my birthday, I feel like sharing my thoughts on my personal favorite Railway Series book, and my favorite episode overall.

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 #4

Tank Engine Thomas Again

Written by The Rev. W. Awdry

Illustrated by C. Reginald Dalby

Published 1949

After rescuing James after his accident in Thomas and the Breakdown Train, the plucky blue tank engine settles down on his branchline with his two coaches Annie and Clarabel. Even so, he still has much to learn...

Dear Friends,

Here is news from Thomas' branch line. It is clearly no ordinary line, and life on it is far from dull.

Thomas asks me to say that if you are ever in the Region, you must be sure to visit him and travel on his line. "They will have never seen anything like it," he says proudly.

I know I haven't!

The Author

Thomas and the Guard

Season 1, Episode 11

Henry runs late, and Thomas is eager to get going again, but when his guard trips over an umbrella, the guard is left behind and runs after Thomas. When Thomas stops at a signal, the guard catches up, and Thomas continues on his journey.

I like how the moral is hinted at, but not told to the audience - patience is a virtue. Some of you may say the episode isn't good due to the lack of action, but you have to know that the story comes first. I like a little bit of action as much as the next guy, but the story is key to everything. As for Thomas' characterization, we can all relate to him about being the best, but we don't know everything. There is an illustration goof, but I'll get to that later. The ratings for each respective story will be the same, as the adaptations are very much carbon copies of the originals.

RWS/TV Series Rating: 9 out of 10

Thomas Goes Fishing

Season 1, Episode 12

When the water tower is out of order, Thomas' crew fish water from the river outside of the station, but when Thomas experiences pain in his boiler, it's discovered that he has fish in his tanks and they're fished out for supper.

"Inspector, can you see... fish?" *music cue*

Yep, that one line of dialogue has very much become a meme. :P Here, Thomas isn't leaving while workmen are on him or being a racist prick; he's simply being naive wanting to try new things, only to find out that it lead to trouble. I have the say, the holes on the bucket were amazingly filmed. This is definitely up there as one of my favorite season one episodes.

RWS/TV Series Rating: 9.5 out of 10

Thomas, Terence and the Snow

Season 1, Episode 13

Thomas meets Terence the tractor and insults him for his use of caterpillar tracks, but he soon learns how useful they are after he runs into a snowdrift because he damaged his snowplow from earlier.

Yes, Thomas being rude to Terence wasn't right, but remember that Thomas wasn't being racist to tractors; he just went too far commenting on his caterpillar tracks. Caterpillar tracks are used for terrains like snow, mud, grass, desert, etc., as they can get vehicles like a tank to get to places that ordinary cars can't. With Thomas also damaging his snowplow, kids can learn how they have to do what their parents tell them to, even if they don't like it. On whole, it's a great story I would love to watch again and again, something that can't be said for James to the Rescue or Wonky Whistle...

RWS/TV Series Rating: 9.5 out of 10

Thomas and Bertie

Season 1, Episode 14

Thomas meets Bertie the bus (who helped Thomas' passengers in the previous story) and they have a race along the branchline. Thomas wins the race by going through the tunnel, while Bertie travels over the hill.

My favorite RWS story AND my favorite TV series episode, buffers down. It gave birth to the road vs. rail rivalry, something we need more of, and it was a lovely showcase of Thomas' branchline in the early days. It shows what the best way to befriend others is; always show appreciation for their abilities even if they're different to yours. No matter what episodes are shown in season 19 onwards, Thomas and Bertie will always be my number one Thomas story.

RWS/TV Series Rating: 10 out of 10

Stray Observations

Remember what I said about an illustration goof in Thomas and the Guard? Well, this is what I mean...

Because Henry is blue, Dalby very much drew him to look like Gordon instead! Awdry explained in letters that Henry needed some of Gordon's spare parts at the works.

In the same story, Thomas calls Henry fat in the British narration, but in the American narration, he calls Henry slow. "Killing people is easy. Being politically correct is a pain in the ass," said Achmed the Dead Terrorist.

Did you know that Thomas and Bertie was based on a board game Awdry created for his children on wet holiday in Wales?

Overall

My favorite Railway Series book written by Wilbert thus far. The stories are simple, but they teach worthwhile messages to children, and they bring Thomas down to earth when he gets ahead of himself. Next time, we're going back to the mainline, because there's Trouble in the Shed...!

Overall Book Rating: 9.5 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
4. Tank Engine Thomas Again: 9.5

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
11. Thomas and the Guard: 9
12. Thomas Goes Fishing: 9.5
13. Thomas, Terence and the Snow: 9.5
14. Thomas and Bertie: 10