#the fact that thomas and toby originally bonded over heckling a policeman is amazing 🙏 we stan

[mean-scarlet-deceiver]

Hi! What’s your favorite Railway Series book? I have another question too, what do you think of the engines faces being the smokebox doors?

I'm not sure what I think about the smokebox faces? It's peculiar when you try to think through it and make it "realistic" but the notion is so natural that there's not much to think about.

People really get on Awdry's case for not having thought through the implications of his sapient engines but I feel like we gotta cut the man a break. He clearly never had any interest in worldbuilding. It's not like he had some wild oddball idea that he just then neglected to nurture to maturity. Almost everybody has imagined smokeboxes to be the face of a steam engine (and the grill and headlights to be the face of a car, etc.)

No idea if that answered anything. Anyway!

What isn't my favorite RWS book?

Honestly it changes every week or two. At one point or another it’s been: 

Thomas the Tank Engine - the structure is so simple yet so sound. this is some Joseph Campbell bullshit right here (positive)

Tank Engine Thomas Again - simply a classic from the moment it was penned. not my personal favorite (i think the ffarquhar line is just a bit too twee as a setting for my tastes?), but you can't beat these stories or this character. objectively, the best stand-alone book in the series. you don't have to know anything about anything to read this and to fall in love and to sense at once that it's an indispensable part of classic childhood literature.

Toby the Tram Engine - this kicked off the era of somewhat darker themes of obsolesce as well as new characters having really great introductory arcs/backstories❤️ points off for the last story tbh—but points on for seeing the Fat Controller and his fam on holiday as well as the parts dunking on busybody cops

Gordon the Big Engine - another one that just has really good structure—plus some underrated character moments in this—plus stories 1 and 3 are hilarious

Edward the Blue Engine - the vibes are impeccable

Eight Famous Engines - altogether, just a really good ensemble romp

Duck and the Diesel Engine - I N T R I G U E

The Little Old Engine - another just-really-good ensemble romp

The Twin Engines - I N T R I G U E, also irony; it's just very ambitious, grow-the-beard stuff

Very Old Engines - the sheer layers going on. also i'm a sucker for prequels.

Main Line Engines - just very classic Golden Age rws stuff, witty and warm, nothing to criticize, all clover. it feels like home.

Enterprising Engines - hooooooooooly crap, it's so good. some bits are shaky or pudgy, i kinda wish i had been the editor for this one, but you have to forgive the nitpicky stuff in the face of all the wealth. a triumph.

Oliver the Western Engine - the books just kept getting better in this era? wtf????? 

Duke the Lost Engine and Tramway Engines - i could write ESSAYS on both these books. i SHOULD. like at this point you can start doing high-grade LITERARY ANALYSIS (enthusiastic)

Christopher Awdry's stuff is alllll on a lower tier than the above but while i'm on a roll i gotta give some props here too:

Jock the New Engine - i don't know how to defend it, it just makes the mini railway feel very real to me in a way that their first book (funny though it was) didn't

Gordon the High Speed Engine - it's overrated by certain Thomas bros, who to my eye seem to be deliberately obtuse when they insist that it's every bit as good as any Wilbert book (WHAT??), but it is enjoyable, thoughtful, and certainly the most consistently high-quality Christopher book

Henry and the Express - i'm here purely for the arc and the book's ending. as a final word on Henry's character development, the last couple of pages are unmatched and give him a new and hard-won layer that even Enterprising Engines didn't quite get him to

Thomas and the Twins - the interactions between Thomas, Edward, Bill and Ben are delicious. even if the Trevor story is pretty lame, i'm still soooo glad this book exists, i can't believe it, it feels like someone wrote a self-indulgent fanfic... and i am Here For It

#chatter #the railway series #what even are engine faces #thomas the tank engine (rws) #tank engine thomas again (rws) #toby the tram engine (rws) #gordon the big engine (rws) #edward the blue engine (rws) #the little old engine (rws) #the twin engines (rws) #very old engines (rws) #main line engines (rws) #enterprising engines (rws) #oliver the western engine (rws) #duke the lost engine (rws) #tramway engines (rws) #christopher awdry #the fact that thomas and toby originally bonded over heckling a policeman is amazing 🙏 we stan