RWS #10: Four Little Engines

We're now into the tenth book of the Railway Series, and to celebrate this mini occasion, we're headed to Crovan's Gate to meet the Skarloey engines!

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 #10

Four Little Engines

Written by The Rev. W. Awdry

Illustrated by C. Reginald Dalby

Published 1955

While Edward heads to the works for repairs, he meets with his old friend Skarloey the narrow gauge engine

Dear Friends,
Sir Handel Brown is the owner of a little Railway which goes to Skarloey and Rheneas. Skarloey means "Lake in the Woods", and Rheneas means "Divided Waterfall". They are beautiful places, and lots of people visit them.

The Owner is very busy, so Mr. Peter Sam, the Thin Controller, manages the Railway.

The two Engines, who are called Skarloey and Rheneas, grew old and tired, so the owner bought two others.

The stories tell you what happened.
The Author

Skarloey Remembers/Four Little Engines Part 1

Season 4, Episode 5A

After his heroic deeds in Old Iron, Edward is sent to the works for repairs, and on his way, he meets his old friend Skarloey, a narrow gauge engine who tells him all about his railway.

I don't get it - why was roughly a third of the story adapted? It showed insight on Skarloey and Rheneas' past prior to the arrivals of Sir Handel and Peter Sam - their work and the coaches they pull. It might not be exciting as an episode, but at least it would've taught kids something. Despite that, I think it's a good story and it began the Skarloey engines' stories with a whisper and not a bang, which, if you think about it, isn't really a bad thing. However, I have an issue with the adaptation on whole, which I'll get to later.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Sir Handel/A Bad Day for Sir Handel

Season 4, Episode 6

One of the new engines, Sir Handel, is bad mannered, and is in a foul mood when he has to take the old coaches Agnes, Ruth, Jemima, Lucy, and Beatrice, going far as to calling them cattle trucks. They him back to teach him a lesson, and after a scolding, Sir Handel behaves, at least until he's made to pick up trucks from the quarry, and he deliberately derails himself.

The adaptation is simply out of place; why on earth was it adapted AFTER Old Faithful, and not before? Same thing with the next story, and it creates a huge continuity error, especially since the intro scene in the episode is totally pointless. To be fair, I do like Gordon and Sir Handel interacting, something we need to see more often. Also, why is the Fat Controller in charge of the Skarloey engines? Doesn't he have a bigger railway to run?

The adaptation is filled continuity issues, and so it's not a great episode; it's still an okay watch, but I'd rather read the book version.

RWS Rating: 8.5 out of 10
TV Series Rating: 6.5 out of 10

Peter Sam and the Refreshment Lady

Season 4, Episode 7

Because Sir Handel is in the sheds for being naughty, Peter Sam is left to run the railway himself, much to his delight. When Henry scolds him for running late, Peter Sam gets anxious, and leaves the Refreshment Lady behind by mistake.

Of the adaptations, this is probably the best of the three; just a shame it was still out of order... Peter Sam is another of my favorite characters, and he's certainly worth the screen time. The modeling of Lakeside is beautiful, and as an Easter Egg, OJ from TUGS appears as a stock model, and now he's happily preserved by the Star Tugs Trust (a shame I can't say the same for Top Hat...) And as a side note; it's always funny when the model makers have their own cock-ups every now and then, right?

Peter Sam wonders if it's Henry or Gordon...

The ending dialogue is very amusing when the Refreshment Lady reveals that Henry was teasing; yeah, I'd be in Peter Sam's position as well if that happened to me. Not much else to say really; it's a solid adaptation even though it has continuity troubles... I'm going to be fair this time and give both versions the same rating.

RWS/TV Series Rating: 9.5 out of 10

Old Faithful/Four Little Engines Part 2

Season 4, Episode 5B

When Peter Sam breaks down, Sir Handel is let out again, but the coaches don't trust him, even when he stops before some sheep, they bump him at the points, causing him to derail. With Skarloey as their last resort, he takes over the train, but a spring breaks, causing him to tilt, but despite being crippled, he gets his passengers safely to Crovan's Gate and is rewarded with an overhaul.

In the adaptations, like I said, it's structured quite badly; Old Faithful should've been adapted last, not first! Unlike Whistles and Sneezes, merging the two stories just didn't work here, and they could've been made either as two episodes, or perhaps merged Skarloey Remembers with Sir Handel, and it wouldn't have looked so sloppy. To end this portion on a positive note, the tilted Skarloey looked very well done, and his determination is very admirable.

RWS Rating: 9 out of 10
TV Series Rating: 7 out of 10

Stray Observations

Peter Sam and the Refreshment Lady is based upon an incident from the Talyllyn Railway. The one at fault was the guard - Wilbert Awdry himself! - and the woman he left behind by mistake? The driver's mother-in-law! Talk about awkward, am I right?

Overall

"If you have enjoyed these stories, you will enjoy a visit to the Tal-y-llyn Railway at Towyn in Wales."

On whole, it's a good introduction to another railway outside of the North Western. The Skarloey engines are among my favorite characters; they play off one another like sports teammates brilliantly well, and each have a distinct personality that defines them. So far, Skarloey is the wise mentor-figure with years of experience, Sir Handel is the stubborn fool who occasionally shines through, and Peter Sam is overexcited and eager to learn. The adaptations on whole were weak, but they're not terrible compared to S13-16.

Overall Book Rating: 8.8 out of 10

A lot of people say that season 4 is good, or at least, among the best of the classic seasons. Personally, I don't agree - my main problem with the season is that there's too much emphasis on the Skarloey engines and not enough on the North Western engines. If they had saved Gallant Old Engine and adapted Very Old Engines for season five, we might've had more stories focused on the likes of BoCo and Trevor, and maybe Duke's book could've been a thirty minute special.

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

Thomas and Friends Season 4 Scorecard

5. Four Little Engines: 7
6. A Bad Day for Sir Handel: 6.5
7. Peter Sam and the Refreshment Lady: 9.5
19. Henry and the Elephant: 7
23. Paint Pots and Queens: 8