RWS #41: Thomas and Victoria

Our very last week in reviewing the Railway Series is here! With two more books to go, let's see how they stack up, starting with Thomas and Victoria!

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 #41

Thomas and Victoria

Written by Christopher Awdry

Illustrated by Clive Spong

Published September 3, 2007

After Wilbert Awdry's death from illness, the Railway Series lay dormant for a decade, and Britt Allcroft bought out the rights for the television series. Six more seasons of Thomas and Friends came and went, as did Thomas and the Magic Railroad and Calling All Engines!, and Hit Entertainment was now the new official owners of Thomas the tank engine. Now, come 2007, we're at the show's eleventh season and The Great Discovery was in production, and in September, a new book by Christopher Awdry was written up. Was it worth the wait?

Dear Friends,
Here are four new adventures from Thomas's branch line. In them you will meet up again with several old friends, including, of course, Thomas himself. Oh, and there is a new friend for you called Victoria - we all hope you will like her as much as we do.
The Author

Overloaded

When Bertie falls ill, poor Henrietta has to carry the workmen all by herself, and she feels overloaded when some workmen crowd on her balcony. A policeman later visits the quarry manager having witnessed the event, and informs him that it's against the rules to have passengers on coaches' balconies. No one knows what to do, but when Thomas' driver finds an old coach in a garden near Elsbridge, this gives Thomas an idea, and he shares it with the Fat Controller...

Yep, this story was the first instance of Henrietta being shown with a face until season 18. I'm actually surprised she was drawn with a face considering that she'd always been faceless in the books... until now. I don't hate it, but I think it's a clever idea to allow her to interact with Toby more often. Once again, we see that trains can't stop instantly, especially when the car gave Toby quite a scare and it resulted in Henrietta getting into trouble. Although, did the policeman ever report the driver for his reckless driving? Just a thought.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Avalanche

Edward is bored at the works, but he's glad for some company when a coach named Victoria (whom Thomas and his crew discovered in the previous story) comes in for repairs, and they discover that they know one another from the Furness Railway. Victoria recalls working on a branchline running to Windermere with another coach Helena and their engine Albert. One wintery day, Albert boasts about snow and when he starts off outside the mouth of a tunnel, he lets off so much steam that he ended up buried in snow. Afterwards, he never bragged about snow again.

This was a great way to give Edward some backstory - he originally worked the Furness Railway before joining the North Western in 1915 and it's said that he knows Victoria. Although Albert didn't speak, he was mentioned to be a bit like Thomas, friendly but at times rather cocky. I'm surprised they chose an obscure type of tank engine - the Parker J1 2-4-2T - for his basis, but considering Victoria's origins, it works nicely well.

Rating: 9.5 out of 10

Eels on Wheels

When Daisy tells the other engines about grass snakes near the line, Percy worries about them, but Daisy tells him off for being silly. Some days later, she eats her words when a box of live eels is knocked onto the platform and spills onto the rails, which terrifies Daisy, even more so when some wriggle underneath her wheels. The eels are rescued, but poor Daisy is so frightened that she's blown a fuse and Thomas takes her passengers. Toby and Percy find Daisy's predicament amusing and joke about wriggly things.

Oh, Daisy - even though she's now become a hard worker, she still boasts at times, but she's still friendly with the Ffarquhar steam engines. Daisy getting her comeuppance for teasing Percy was, as usual, very amusing and well deserved, even though it was an accident. Plus, the title is a play on words for "Meals on Wheels", a company that brings food to the elderly.

Rating: 9 out of 10

Toby's Vintage Train

Once Victoria has been restored, Edward takes her to Knapford where she's coupled to Annie and Clarabel. At Elsbridge, Thomas is topped as Terence has run into trouble near Hackenbeck tunnel - the tractor was helping to build a barn, but he swerved out of a boulder's way and his trailer fell down the cutting into a tree. Luckily, the trailer is secured and Thomas makes it safely to Ffarquhar, and Victoria becomes an official part of Toby's Vintage Train.

What a great way to end the book, and it was nice to see Terence being featured again. I feel happy for Victoria getting her chance to be a really useful coach once again, and more so for Toby and Henrietta having some help from her. I'm surprised that Thomas didn't speak at all in the story, even if his name was mentioned in the book's title, but I digress.

Rating: 9.5 out of 10

Stray Observations

Albert and Victoria got their names from the once reigning King and Queen of England. The King and Queen have made an appearance in Blackadder's Christmas Carol, portrayed by Jim Broadbent and Miram Margolyes, respectively. Broadbent and Margolyes also made appearances in Blackadder - Margolyes portrayed Infanta Maria Escalosa of Spain in The Queen of Spain's Beard. (The Black Adder) and Lady Whiteadder in Beer (Blackadder II). Broadbent also appeared in The Black Adder as Don Speekingleesh.

Helena the coach was named for one of the royal couple's daughters, Helena, Princess of the United Kingdom.

Albert's branchline is currently a part of the Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway. In addition, Christopher acknowledged the assistance of the Furness Railway Trust for helping with the story of Avalanche.

Overall

So, had it been worth the wait? Without a doubt, yes! After the disappointing outcome of New Little Engine, Christopher seems to have gotten back on form with the Railway Series, and it's another of his best. Last year, I compared this to Thomas, Percy and Old Slowcoach, and I still bet the season five episode provided inspiration for this book. But we're not done yet; there's only one more to go...

Overall Book Rating: 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
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
23. Enterprising Engines: 9.5
24. Oliver the Western Engine: 8.9
25. Duke the Lost Engine: 9.4
26. Tramway Engines: 9.1
27. Really Useful Engines: 8.3
28. James and the Diesel Engines: 7.5
29. Great Little Engines: 9
30. More About Thomas the Tank Engine: 8.5
31. Gordon the High-Speed Engine: 9.3
32. Toby, Trucks and Trouble: 9.1
33. Thomas and the Twins: 9.3
34. Jock the New Engine: 7.9
35. Thomas and the Great Railway Show: 8.5
36. Thomas Comes Home: 8.6
37. Henry and the Express: 9.4
38. Wilbert the Forest Engine: 7.6
39. Thomas and the Fat Controller's Engines: 8.5
40. New Little Engine: 7
41. Thomas and Victoria: 9