Diamond Jubilee Engines Part 2: Memories of a Blue Engine

*Diamond Jubilee Engines Part 2: Beginnings of a Blue Engine* is the fifth volume in the North-Western Railway Series, the second and final volume of the *Diamond Jubilee Engines* story arc, and the final volume of the NWRS' first series. It was first published on Sodor Island Forums on May 12th 2020, and debuted on YouTube from September 9th - October 3rd of that same year. It is set in both the late 19th-early 20th centuries, and in the year 2020.

## Synopsis

A little engine arrives at Barrow-in-Furness, and swiftly finds he has much to learn. Eventually, over the course of several misadventures, he becomes a wise, kindly little engine, under the tutelage of a little tank engine called Ned, and even earns a name... Edward. But tragic circumstances threaten to tear them apart. And they will leave a devastating impact for years to come...

## Characters

* Edward
* Ned (debut)
* The Barrow-in-Furness Stationmaster (sole appearance)
* The Telegraph Officer (sole appearance)
* Mr Mack
* Diesel
* The Fat Controller
* Eagle
* Neil
* Jim
* Bertie
* Duck
* Skarloey
* BoCo
* Thomas
* Bear
* Flying Scotsman
* City of Truro
* Stepney
* Beyer
* Denise
* The Vicarstown Railway Museum engines
* Christopher Awdry (debut)
* 98462 (fantasy)
* 87546 (fantasy)
* Mars (fantasy)
* Sidney Hever (fantasy)
* Henry (appears non-speaking in real life; speaks only in fantasy)
* Gordon (appears non-speaking in real life; speaks only in fantasy)
* James (appears non-speaking in real life; speaks only in fantasy)
* Percy (appears non-speaking in real life; speaks only in fantasy)
* Toby (does not speak)
* Donald and Douglas (do not speak)
* Oliver (does not speak)
* Annie and Clarabel (do not speak)
* Henrietta (does not speak)
* Victoria (does not speak)
* Elsie (does not speak)
* 7102 (does not speak)
* Spamcan (unnamed; does not speak)
* Bill and Ben (mentioned)
* The Culdee Fell Engines (mentioned)
* The Peel Godred Engines (mentioned)

## Trivia

* Due to personal reasons, the author has decided not to cover the COVID-19 pandemic in this volume.
* This book was one of two stories written to celebrate the 75th anniversary of The Railway Series.
	+ As such, not only does it feature the brief returns of Mr Mack from the RWS volume *Very Old Engines*, as well as Edward's former driver, Sidney Hever (in both the past and a fantasy sequence respectively) but it also features a special one-off cameo appearance by Christopher Awdry, who authored 16 further RWS volumes.
	+ The foreword to this volume also referenced the first foreword ever written in the RWS, in the second book, *Thomas the Tank Engine*. Whereas the original was written by the Reverend Awdry to his son, this was written by TARDIS9 as a letter to them both.
	+ Ned explains that 'Edward' was the first name that 'came into [his] smokebox', a reference to how it also was the first name that Awdry came up with when asked by his son,
* This book was originally going to be the final volume in the *North-Western Railway Series*, while the author focused on his MA degree. It even featured a special farewell message from the author to the viewers at the end of the final story.
	+ However, due to an increase in ideas and to celebrate the centenary of the LNER A1/3s in 2023, the author has extended the series to several additional volumes.
* The song used for Ned's theme is *Any Dream Will Do* from Andrew Lloyd Webber's popular musical, *Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat*