Sir Handel Brown is the former owner of the Skarloey Railway. He often had other business to attend to, and was never seen in the books.

W. Awdry Dies". The Washington Post. The Washington Post. 23 March 1997 . Retrieved 24 October 2020. Sir Topham Hatt, better known as The Fat Controller, is the owner of the North Western Railway on Sodor. His son Charles Topham Hatt II succeeded him in 1954, and his grandson Stephen Topham Hatt III became the Fat Controller in 1984. His son Richard will be the next Fat Controller.Thomas travels to the Mainland to attend a grand railway exhibition at the National Railway Museum. Nearly all of The Railway Series stories were based on real-life events. As a lifelong railway enthusiast, Awdry was keen that his stories should be as realistic as possible. The engine characters were mostly based upon real classes of locomotive, and some of the railways themselves were based upon real lines in the British Isles. In the fifth illustration of Coal, advertisements for The Three Railway Engines and James the Red Engine are visible.

Gordon is in disgrace after landing in trouble with the Fat Controller, but manages to pull his act together in time for a royal visit. The series was known as "Die lustigen Dampflok-Bücher" which roughly translates to "The funny steam engine books". The Three Railway Engines was translated as "Drei Dampfloks werden Freunde" (Three steam engines become friends), Thomas the Tank Engine was translated as "Thomas die Dampflok" (Thomas the steam engine), James the Red Engine became "James mit dem roten Kleid" (James with the red dress) and Tank Engine Thomas Again was "Neues von Thomas der Dampflok" (New stuff from Thomas the steam engine). Awdry, Wilbert (1982). Mountain Engines. The Railway Series No. 19. Kaye & Ward Ltd. p. 28. ISBN 0718200187.Christopher Awdry said that he had other material, which he hoped would be published. He narrated new stories about the narrow-gauge engines on "Duncan Days" at the Talyllyn Railway in Wales. [ citation needed] Illustrators [ edit ] These volumes were later compiled into Thomas the Tank Engine: The Complete Collection. The Complete Collection compilations were released by various publishers in different years and countries, all containing the same 26 volumes. The Fat Controller (originally The Fat Director in the earliest books which pre-dated the nationalisation of Britain's railways in 1948) was a fictional character, although Christopher Awdry has conceded that his doctor at the time may have provided an 'unconscious contribution' for his father. [11] The Thin Controller, in charge of the narrow-gauge engines in the books was based on Mr Edward Thomas, the manager of the Talyllyn Railway in its last years before enthusiasts took it over in 1951. [ citation needed]

and 1971 were the only years to not have a book published during Wilbert Awdry's time with the series.

Daisy is a green diesel railcar based on the British Rail Class 101 in a unique single car configuration. She was built in 1960 and arrived on Sodor specially for use on the Ffarquhar Branch Line after Thomas crashed into the Ffarquhar stationmaster's house. Daisy was highly opinionated about her functions at first, but after her humiliation from a stray bull, she made more effort to settle in. She first appeared in the book Branch Line Engines. [7] BoCo (NWR D2/D5702) [ edit ] While Rheneas is away at the works, the Skarloey Railway engines work together to keep their line running. Two new engines also arrive to help out.