RWS #14: The Little Old Engine

Another day, another review! We're heading back to Crovan's Gate to see the return of Skarloey, The Little Old Engine!

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 #14

The Little Old Engine

Written by The Rev. W. Awdry

Illustrated by John T. Kenney

Published 1959

After Skarloey left for an overhaul on the mainland, Sir Handel and Peter Sam ran the railway and were soon joined by Rusty the diesel and Duncan the rock 'n' roll engine. When Old Faithful made his comeback, boy did he get a surprise...!

Dear Friends,
You remember in Four Little Engines that Sir Handel Brown, The Owner, sent Skarloey away to be mended. These stories tell what happened when "The Little Old Engine" came home.

Skarloey is not real. You can only see him in these books. But there is a real engine just like Skarloey. He is very, very old, and has been mended. His name is Talyllyn, and he lives at Towyn in Wales.

You would all enjoy going to see him at work.
The Author

Trucks!

Season 4, Episode 8

Sir Handel takes Gordon's advise to feign illness to avoid doing work, but it leads to trouble for Peter Sam, especially since the trucks are cross with Sir Handel and break away on the incline.

Read that summary very carefully - in the books, the original Skarloey engines (barring Rusty, who was painted charcoal black) were painted red, so it gave the trucks credence to crash into who they thought was Sir Handel. But in the TV series, Peter Sam and Sir Handel are different colors, so why would the trucks think that Peter Sam was Sir Handel? (On a side note, Harold's role is pointless.) I must praise the accident though; it was excellently filmed, just a shame the colors weren't the same as in the books...

RWS Rating: 9 out of 10
TV Series Rating: 8 out of 10

Home at Last

Season 4, Episode 9

When Skarloey returns after his overhaul, Peter Sam tells him about the most recent changes to the line, but then Skarloey is called in to help new engine Duncan who has stuck in a tunnel.

Another fine adaptation, despite the Fat Controller being here; a bit of a shame that Ada, Jane, Mabel, Gertrude and Millicent were never modeled, but what the heck - with CGI, who knows? I definitely chuckled at the Fat Controller's little pun at the end - "If it happens again, I shall find way of cutting you down to size. In other words, your career is, uh... *ahem* 'on the line'. Need I say more?"

RWS/TV Series Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Rock 'N' Roll

Season 4, Episode 10

Rusty warns Duncan about a bad bit before the first station, but the Scottish engine ignores Rusty and insults him. The following morning, James fibs about sending Diesel away which gives Duncan inspiration to send Rusty packing, only to derail and Rusty (after some reluctance) is called in to help.

Quite coincidental; the last book introduced a standard gauge diesel and this book introduced a narrow gauge diesel, and also coincidentally, both are painted black; (at least in the books, in Rusty's case). however, both Diesel and Rusty are of polar opposites - Diesel is oily and scheming while Rusty is kind and helpful, even after Duncan was rude to him. Definitely one of the better adaptations in season four.

RWS/TV Series Rating: 9 out of 10

Little Old Twins

Peter Sam and Sir Handel fret when some men look over the line, fearing that they'll be sold, until they're told that some television producers will be filming the engines. Sir Handel isn't pleased about this, and when faking illness again, he ends being taken apart to show the producers how an engine works, much to his horror. Peter Sam pulls the television equipment, and Skarloey makes a speech, revealing that he met his twin, Talyllyn, while being repaired.

This should've been made for TV, because it would've been one of the few buildups to Duke the Lost Engine, but instead, that book was adapted first and this was cut entirely. Seriously, the structure of season four is a complete mess; a lot of content could've been used for seasons two and three, and although season one has a strong structure, it is missing a few stories.

Other than that complaint, this is a really good story, and the opening scenes with Peter Sam and Sir Handel are why this should've been made for TV, although it'd be ironic since it is a TV show.

Rating: 9 out of 10

Stray Observations

Little Old Twins is the longest story at 790 words, and with nine illustrations, only matched by A Close Shave from last book.

Even after his accident in Trucks!, Peter Sam's funnel is straight in every other story. Why is that?

Overall

This is a good way to bring back the Skarloey engines, and it tied up the loose end of Skarloey being away, but there's still a few more loose ends to tie up, and we've got twelve more Wilbert Awdry books to get through...

Overall Book Rating: 8.9 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

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
8. Trucks!: 8
9. Home at Last: 8.5
10. Rock 'n' Roll: 9
19. Henry and the Elephant: 7
22. Thomas and the Special Letter: 8.5
23. Paint Pots and Queens: 8