The Railway Series

The Railway Series is a set of British children’s books about a railway system located on the fictional Island of Sodor. There are 42 books in the series, the first being published in 1945. Twenty-six were written by the Rev. Wilbert Awdry, up to 1972. A further 16 were written by his son, Christopher Awdry; 14 between 1983 and 1996, and two more in 2007 and 2011.

Nearly all of The Railway Series stories were based upon real-life events. As a lifelong railway enthusiast, Awdry was keen that his stories should be as realistic as possible. The engine characters were almost all based upon real classes of locomotive, and some of the railways themselves were directly based upon real lines in the British Isles.

Characters and stories from the books formed the basis of the children's television series Thomas & Friends. as well as the Thomas The Tank Engine franchise by DreamWorks Animation.

Books
Main article: List of Railway Series books

The following table lists the titles of all 42 books in The Railway Series.