The Railway Stories

The Railway Stories are a series of audio adaptations of The Railway Series books by the Rev. W Awdry and his son Christopher.

Nearly all of the 40 books in the series has been recorded by one of five different narrators: Johnny Morris, William Rushton, Ted Robbins, Michael Angelis, and even the Rev. Awdry himself.

Rev. W. Awdry recordings

The very first known audio adaptation was a 7" (33⅓rpm) EP narrated by the Rev. Awdry himself (see photo), with "background effects taken from real engines".

This record, released in 1957 by Chiltern Records of Princes Risborough, contained two stories - Edward's Day Out and Edward and Gordon - from the first book in the Railway Series: The Three Railway Engines.

Examples of this recording are extremely rare.

Johnny Morris recordings

The first widely-available recordings were narrated by Johnny Morris and released in the early 1960's by the Delysé Recording Company. Each 7" (45rpm) vinyl record contained two stories, taken from the first eight books of The Railway Series. The recordings were released in mono.

The front of the record sleeve showed an original illustration from the story in the original book. While on the back, there was a list of the other recordings in "The Railway Engine Series" [sic], together with an introduction from the Rev. Awdry:

“

My father was a railway enthusiast and brought me up accordingly. Our home at Box, Wiltshire, was near the Great Western main line and listening to heavy freights clawing up the grade it was not hard to imagine train engine and banker talking to each other, and for me, steam engines developed personality. So when my son caught measles at the age of three I told him these stories to amuse him. They were not written down at first, I made them up as I went along. But I had to tell them so often, carefully using the same words, that both he and I soon knew them by heart. It was only later, at my wife's suggestion, that I wrote them down, so that other children besides our own might have pleasure from them too. - Rev. W. Awdry

”

The label on the record was also quite distinctive, showing a smiling red engine on a blue/white background. The label was carefully designed so that the record player spindle fitted through the engine's 'nose'! No attempt had been made to make the engine look like one of those from the stories.

Record Details

Stories from Book 1 - The Three Railway Engines:

• DEL101 (196x) - 1. Edward's Day Out, 2. Edward and Gordon
• DEL102 (196x) - 1. The Sad Story of Henry, 2. Edward, Gordon and Henry

Stories from Book 2 - Thomas the Tank Engine:

• DEL103 (1961) - 1. Thomas and Gordon, 2. Thomas's Train
• DEL104 (196x) - 1. Thomas and the Trucks, 2. Thomas and the Breakdown Train

Stories from Book 3 - James the Red Engine:

• DEL114 (196x) - 1. James and the Top Hat, 2. James and the Bootlace
• DEL115 (196x) - 1. Troublesome Trucks, 2. James and the Express

Stories from Book 4 - Tank Engine Thomas Again:

• DEL137 (1964) - 1. Thomas and the Guard, 2. Thomas Goes Fishing
• DEL138 (196x) - 1. Thomas, Terence and the Snow, 2. Thomas and Bertie

Stories from Book 5 - Troublesome Engines :

• DEL142 (196x) - 1. Henry and the Elephant, 2. Tenders and Turntables
• DEL143 (196x) - 1. Trouble in the Shed, 2. Percy Runs Away

Stories from Book 6 - Henry the Green Engine:

• DEL150 (196x) - 1. Coal, 2. The Flying Kipper
• DEL151 (1966) - 1. Gordon's Whistle, 2. Henry's Sneeze

Stories from Book 7 - Toby the Tram Engine:

• DEL152 (196x) - 1. Toby and the Stout Gentleman, 2. Thomas in Trouble
• DEL153 (196x) - 1. Dirty Objects, 2. Mrs Kindley's Christmas

Stories from Book 8 - Gordon the Big Engine:

• DEL154 (196x) - 1. Off the Rails, 2. Leaves
• DEL155 (1966) - 1. Down the Mine, 2. Paint Pots and Queens

Decca and Argo recordings

In the 1970s the stories were released on 12" (33⅓rpm) vinyl albums by Decca Records as part of their "World of Children's Stories" series. Each record contained the stories from two complete books, one book on each side. The sleeve notes included the same quote from Rev. Awdry (see Delysé recordings, above). The sleeve illustrations were taken directly from the artwork of the original books.

The first eight books were again narrated by Johnny Morris. It is fairly safe to assume that the original Delysé recordings were re-used: Delysé is mentioned on the record label, and the copyright date matches the original singles from the 1960s.

Decca was also the owner of the Argo label, renowned for its audiobooks and other non-music recordings. It was therefore a natural progression to extend the series on this label. New recordings were made for six further books from The Railway Series, starting with Edward the Blue Engine. These stories were narrated by Willie Rushton and the gaps between the tracks included atmospheric (if not always accurate) steam or diesel sound effects.

The albums were later released on audio cassette under the same labels. Recordings were produced by Peter Johnson ('Peter John Productions'); with Kaye & Ward Ltd and Third Man Music being identified as owners of the works.

Subsequently, Willie Rushton also recorded the remaining books (up to no. 26 Tramway Engines) on the Argo label. These recordings were never released on vinyl, only on audio cassette.

List of recordings

Individual books

The Johnny Morris albums were identified as 'Volume 1' to 'Volume 4'; while the Willie Rushton recordings omitted any 'Volume' identity on the front cover. For clarity, the recording details below have been identified by volume numbers, regardless of whether these were shown on the sleeve.

Volume 1: DECCA MONO LP - PA 270 (1972), Cassette - KCPA 270 (19xx)

• Narrator: Johnny Morris

Side 1 (from Book 1: The Three Railway Engines)

1. Edward's Day Out
2. Edward and Gordon
3. The Sad Story of Henry
4. Edward, Gordon and Henry

Side 2 (from Book 2: Thomas the Tank Engine)

1. Thomas and Gordon
2. Thomas's Train
3. Thomas and the Trucks
4. Thomas and the Breakdown Train

Volume 2: DECCA MONO LP - PA 271 (1972), Cassette - KCPA 271 (19xx)

• Narrator: Johnny Morris

Side 1 (from Book 3: James the Red Engine)

1. James and the Top Hat
2. James and the Bootlace
3. Troublesome Trucks
4. James and the Express

Side 2 (from Book 4: Tank Engine Thomas Again)

1. Thomas and the Guard
2. Thomas Goes Fishing
3. Thomas, Terence and the Snow
4. Thomas and Bertie

Volume 3: DECCA MONO LP - PA 272 (1972), Cassette - KCPA 272 (19xx)

• Narrator: Johnny Morris

Side 1 (from Book 5: Troublesome Engines)

1. Henry and the Elephant
2. Tenders and Turntables
3. Trouble in the Shed
4. Percy Runs Away

Side 2 (from Book 6: Henry the Green Engine)

1. Coal
2. The Flying Kipper
3. Gordon’s Whistle
4. Henry’s Sneeze

(The book Henry the Green Engine was unique in the series by having five stories rather than four.
For the recording, it was the fourth story "Percy and the Trousers" which was omitted.)

Volume 4: DECCA MONO LP - PA 273 (1972), Cassette - KCPA 273 (19xx)

• Narrator: Johnny Morris

Side 1 (from Book 7: Toby the Tram Engine)

1. Toby and the Stout Gentleman
2. Thomas in Trouble
3. Dirty Objects
4. Mrs Kindley's Christmas

Side 2 (from Book 8: Gordon the Big Engine)

1. Off the Rails
2. Leaves
3. Down the Mine
4. Paint Pots and Queens

Volume 5: ARGO STEREO LP - SPA 559 (19xx), Cassette - KCSP 559 (1979)

• Narrator: William Rushton

Side 1 (from Book 9: Edward the Blue Engine)

1. Cows
2. Bertie's Chase
3. Saved from Scrap
4. Old Iron

Side 2 (from Book 10: Four Little Engines)

1. Skarloey Remembers
2. Sir Handel
3. Peter Sam & The Refreshment Lady
4. Old Faithful

Volume 6: ARGO STEREO LP - SPA 560 (19xx), Cassette - KCSP 560 (1979)

• Narrator: William Rushton

Side 1 (from Book 11: Percy the Small Engine)

1. Percy and the Signal
2. Duck Takes Charge
3. Percy and Harold
4. Percy’s Promise

Side 2 (from Book 12: The Eight Famous Engines)

1. Percy Takes the Plunge
2. Gordon Goes Foreign
3. Double Header
4. The Fat Controller’s Engines

Volume 7: ARGO STEREO LP - SPA 561 (1972), Cassette - KCSP 561 (1979)

• Narrator: Willie Rushton

Side 1 (from Book 13: Duck and the Diesel Engine)

1. Domeless Engines
2. Pop Goes The Diesel
3. Dirty Work
4. A Close Shave

Side 2 (from Book 14: The Little Old Engine)

1. Trucks
2. Home At Last
3. Rock 'n' Roll
4. Little Old Twins

The case insert for the cassette version lists the story titles as being on 'Side 1' and 'Side 2', but the labels on the cassette itself are marked '5' and '6'. By comparison, the label on cassette KCSP 559 identifies the sides conventionally ('1' and '2').

Compilations

In addition to the individual releases, the recordings were re-released together as compilations on the Argo label. The first compilations were released on two pairs of individually-cased cassettes: one pair for the Johnny Morris stories, one pair for Willie Rushton's.

The Willie Rushton compilation was released again after Decca's acquisition by PolyGram in 1980, this time as a twin boxed set. The recordings were distributed exclusively by EMI, which was somewhat ironic as EMI was Decca's main competitor for several decades. In addition to the 'new' Argo logo, the EMI logo was displayed on the spine of the case sleeve.

The sleeve artwork was a heavilly-cropped portion of the illustration from the earlier compilation. The picture was based on one from the original books, the artist being credited as "Quick on the Draw". Decca was shown as copyright holder; Kaye & Ward Ltd and Third Man Music were no longer mentioned in the sleeve notes

First release:
The Railway Stories - ARGO - SAY 87/1 - two mono cassettes - (date unknown)

• Narrator: Johnny Morris

• Side 1 - The Three Railway Engines
• Side 2 - Thomas the Tank Engine
• Side 3 - James the Red Engine:
• Side 4 - Tank Engine Thomas Again

These tapes were marked as 'a Delesé Production.'

The Railway Stories - ARGO - SAY 29 - two stereo cassettes - (date unknown)

• Narrator: William Rushton
• Tape content is the same as for the 'second release' tapes.

The cassette label and case insert showed the title as "The Railway Stories", and named the narrator and original author. Apart from this, and the usual copyright data, they were completely devoid of any indication as to the content of the recordings or the people behind them. It is not known whether the cassettes were originally supplied in some form of additional outer case that better described their content.

Second release:
The Railway Stories - ARGO 1058 - Double stereo cassette - (1982)

• Narrator: William Rushton

Sides One & Two - (tape 1 - individually labelled ARGO 1059):

• Book 9: Edward the Blue Engine
• Book 10: Four Little Engines
• Book 11: Percy the Small Engine

Sides Three & Four - (tape 2 - individually labelled ARGO 1060):

• Book 12: The Eight Famous Engines
• Book 13: Duck and the Diesel Engine
• Book 14: The Little Old Engine

More Railway Stories - ARGO xxxx - Double stereo cassette - (19xx)

• Narrator: Willie Rushton
• Cover picture: Peter Sam

Sides One & Two - (tape 1 - individually labelled ARGO xxxx):

• Book 15: The Twin Engines
• Book 16: Branch Line Engines
• Book 17: Gallant Old Engine

Sides Three & Four - (tape 2 - individually labelled ARGO xxxx):

• Book 18: Stepney the "Bluebell" Engine
• Book 19: Mountain Engines
• Book 20: Very Old Engines

Further Railway Stories - ARGO xxxx - Double stereo cassette - (19xx)

• Narrator: Willie Rushton
• Cover picture: Henry, from "Super Rescue"

Sides One & Two - (tape 1 - individually labelled ARGO xxxx):

• Book 21: Main Line Engines
• Book 22: Small Railway Engines
• Book 23: Enterprising Engines

Sides Three & Four - (tape 2 - individually labelled ARGO xxxx):

• Book 24: Oliver the Western Engine
• Book 25: Duke the Lost Engine
• Book 26: Tramway Engines

Ted Robbins recordings

In association with Reed-Tempo Publishing, Ted Robbins recorded most of the stories written by Christopher Awdry. These were released in the 1990s by Egmont Books, on a series of four audio cassettes. In each case, the 'middle' book was split across the two sides of the cassette:

Thomas and the Twins and other stories (1994) (Cat no. 21000, ISBN 1860210007)

• Book 33: Thomas and the Twins
• Book 32: Toby, Trucks and Trouble
• Book 30: More About Thomas the Tank Engine

Gordon the High Speed Engine and other stories (1994) (Cat no. 21001, ISBN 1860210015)

• Book 31: Gordon the High Speed Engine
• Book 36: Thomas Comes Home
• Book 37: Henry and the Express

Really Useful Engines and other stories (1995) (Cat no. 210136, ISBN 1860210139)

• Book 27: Really Useful Engines
• Book 29: Great Little Engines
• Book 38: Wilbert the Forest Engine

James and the Diesel Engine and other stories (1995) (Cat no. 210211, ISBN 186021021X)

• Book 28: James and the Diesel Engines
• Book 34: Jock the New Engine
• Book 35: Thomas and the Great Railway Show

It has been suggested by one contributor that a fifth tape could be produced, now that Thomas & Victoria has been published. However, there is no evidence that the publishers have any intention of making this happen. If it were to be published, it would contain the following books, not necessarily in this order:

Thomas and the Fat Controller's Engines and Other Stories (2008 -- existence not confirmed)

• Book 39: Thomas and the Fat Controller's Engines
• Book 40: New Little Engine
• Book 41: Thomas and Victoria

A selection of the stories were later released for the Early Learning Centre, under the title Storytime with Thomas the Tank Engine: "10 classic railway stories with music and sound effects". There were two cassettes released, both using the same Ken Stott-style illustration, the second being labelled 'Volume 2'.

Michael Angelis recordings

A new Railway Stories recording was released on CD by BBC Audiobooks in March 2006. It contained adaptations of the first three Railway Series books, and was narrated by Michael Angelis. The cover artwork featured a picture of Thomas from the Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends TV series.

Other Recordings

There have been other audiobooks containing stories from The Railway Series, although most of these are based on stories re-written for the Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends TV series.

Translations

At least one set of stories has been released in Welsh (Tomos A'r Goeden Nadolig). Published by Cyhoeddiadau Mei in September 1998, it is ISBN 0905775139, but no more is known about this recording.

External links

• 'Awdryania' - Description of the merchandise spawned from The Railway Series before the advent of the TV series. Includes pictures of The Railway Stories vinyl singles and albums.
• Profile of the narrators of the TV series and audio recordings