No Doubting Thomas

Craig Amess celebrates 80 years of The Railway Series books featuring Thomas the Tank Engine and his friends

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This year sees major celebrations in the UK to celebrate the 200th anniversary (27 September) of the birth of modern railways. Over the past 200 years, we have seen many locomotives such as Puffing Billy (the world’s oldest surviving locomotive), Rocket, Flying Scotsman, Mallard and more become world famous but, 80 years ago, on 12 May 1945, the world was introduced to The Railway Series.

In 1942, two-year-old Christopher Awdry caught measles and was confined to a darkened room. His father, the Rev Wilbert Awdry, comforted him by telling him rhymes and stories which led to characters that became the basis for The Railway Series books. Christopher would constantly ask for the stories to be retold, even after he recovered. To ensure consistency, Wilbert wrote them down on the back of old church circulars.

Margaret Awdry also liked the stories and told her husband to get them published, as she felt they were better than most children’s books in circulation. Awdry was reluctant, but Margaret persisted and mentioned the stories in a letter to Wilbert’s mother, Lucy, who replied that she knew the author Michael Barsley and asked the stories to be sent to her so she could forward them. At Margaret's insistence, Wilbert did so.

Barsley's attempts to find a publisher were unsuccessful, so he showed the stories to his agent, Edith Ray Gregorson, who liked them and agreed to pursue the matter further. Her attempts to find a publisher struggled, as most were suffering paper shortages due to the war but, in September 1943, Edmund Ward agreed to publish them.