Tramway Engines was first published in 1972. It was written by the Reverend W. Awdry and illustrated by Gunvor and Peter Edwards.
Stories
Ghost Train
Percy claims his driver saw a "ghost train" the previous night, but Thomas doesn’t believe him. When Percy tells his driver the next day, he replies it was on television. On his way home that night, Percy crashes into a cart of lime that had stuck at a crossing and is covered in white lime. When the signalman remarks Percy looks like a ghost, he makes a plan, and, with some help from Toby, convinces Thomas he has crashed and returned as a ghost, scaring Thomas out of the shed. Thomas is embarrassed, and tries to cover it up, but runs away from Percy when he hears his ghostly whistle next morning!
Woolly Bear
Thomas is still annoyed at Percy, and when Percy is continuously delayed picking up trucks of hay, he says Percy is crawling in the hay. Percy, furious, resolves to be quick, but is stopped at the harbour when a crate of treacle falls on him. They wipe the worst off, but as he returns home, a gale whips up and Percy is covered in hay. Thomas finds out and tells Toby, and the joke turns to Percy.
Mavis
Mavis is a stuck-up diesel working at the quarry who loves playing with trucks. This creates confusion and Toby is cross. When Mavis sees Daisy, she tells her that diesels are better than steam engines, making Mavis prouder than ever. One day, outside Ffarquhar, the trucks hold back on a slope and Toby has to help her down.
Toby’s Tightrope
Mavis is restricted to the quarry after her incident. After a frost comes and goes, work increases and Mavis manages to convince the manager to let her go as far as the crossing. She formulates a plan to go down the line further, asking the trucks to push her at the crossing, but when Toby comes, they decide to do it to him and he ends up suspended over a raging torrent on a pair of dangling rails. Mavis rescues him and, even though it was her fault, is forgiven and allowed to go down the line.
Featured Characters
Trivia
- The Reverend W. Awdry said Percy looked like "a green caterpillar with red stripes" in the book Percy the Small Engine, which led to C. Reginald Dalby refusing to do any more illustrations for the series. This was later referenced in "Woolly Bear".
- In the TV episodes "Ghost Train" and "Mavis", Daisy is replaced by Diesel.