The Railway Series - Cameo Appearances

Cameo Appearances

The Awdrys both wrote about Sodor as if it were a real place that they visited, and that the stories were obtained first-hand from the engines and Controllers. This was often "documented" in the foreword to each book. However, in some of the W. Awdry's later books, he made appearances as an actual character. The character was known as the Thin Clergyman and was described as a writer, though his real name and connections to the series were never made explicit.

He was invariably accompanied by the Fat Clergyman, the Rev. "Teddy" Boston, who was a fellow railway enthusiast and close friend. The two Clergymen were portrayed as railway enthusiasts, and were responsible for annoying the Small Engines and discovering Duke the Lost Engine. They were often figures of fun, liable to be splashed with water or to fall through a roof.

Awdry also appeared in a number of illustrations, usually as a joke on the part of the illustrator. In one illustration by John T. Kenney in Duck and the Diesel Engine he appears with a figure who bears a strong resemblance to C. Reginald Dalby, which Brian Sibley has suggested might be a dig at Dalby's inaccurate rendition of the character of Duck.

A vicar appears in Edward the Blue Engine and other volumes as the owner of Trevor the Traction Engine. This may be a reference to Teddy Boston, who had himself saved a traction engine from scrap.

Reginald Dalby illustrated the entire Awdry family – Wilbert, Margaret, Christopher, Veronica and Hilary – watching Percy pass through a station ("Percy runs away" in Troublesome Engines (p53)). Otherwise, Christopher Awdry never appeared in the books, but would often describe meetings with the engines in the book forewords, usually with some degree of humour.

Other people associated with the Railway Series were also referenced. In Dalby's books, he made allusions to himself twice on store signs (Seen in Off the Rails and Saved from Scrap) and a reference to E.T.L. Marriott, who edited the Railway Series, in Percy Takes the Plunge on a 'Ship Chandlers' company sign. Peter Edwards also notes that he based Gordon's face on Eric Marriot's.

The Fat Controller (originally The Fat Director in the earliest books which pre-dated the nationalisation of Britain's railways in 1948) was a fictional character, although Mr Gerard Fiennes, one of the highest-regarded managers on British Railways, published his autobiography "I tried to run a Railway" on his retirement in 1968, and says that he originally wanted to call the book "The Fat Controller" but the publishers would not permit this.

The Thin Controller, in charge of the narrow-gauge trains in the books which are based on the Talyllyn Railway in Wales, was based on Mr Edward Thomas, the manager of the Talyllyn Railway in its last years before enthusiasts took it over in 1951.

A number of the stories are based on articles (often quite brief mentions) which appeared in railway enthusiast publications of the period. There were very few of these publications compared to modern times, but the monthly Railway Magazine was a long-running enthusiasts' companion and the origins of several stories can be recognised, as also the railway books and histories written by Mr Hamilton Ellis, one of the early railway book writers.