Henry the Green Engine

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For other uses, see Henry (disambiguation).

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> Henry liked being at Crewe, but was glad to come home. A crowd of people waited to see him arrive in his new shape. He looked so splendid and strong that they gave him three cheers.
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***Henry the Green Engine*** is the sixth book of *The Railway Series*.

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Dear Friends,

Here is more news from the Region. All the engines now have numbers as well as names; you will see them in the pictures. They are as follows: Thomas 1, Edward 2, Henry 3, Gordon 4, James 5, Percy 6.

I expect you were sorry for Henry, who was often ill and unable to work. He gave Sir Topham Hatt (who is, of course, our Fat Controller) a lot of worry. Now Henry has a new shape and is ready for anything. These stories tell you all about it.

The Author

### *Coal*

Henry is feeling ill and the Fat Controller fears that he will have to be replaced if they cannot find a cure. Henry's fireman tells the Fat Controller that Henry's firebox is too small and cannot make enough steam. The Fat Controller decides to have Henry use Welsh coal instead, which helps Henry to run better.

### *The Flying Kipper*

It is Henry's turn to take The Flying Kipper, a special train that takes fish from the harbour into town. Henry makes good time, but accidentally gets diverted into a siding and crashes into another train, leaving him badly damaged. After the crash, Henry is sent away to Crewe to be rebuilt and comes back feeling better than ever, no longer needing special coal.

### *Gordon's Whistle*

Gordon is jealous that Henry now gets to pull the Express and complains that Henry whistles too much. Shortly after, while Gordon is pulling a train, his whistle jams and keeps emitting a loud drone which sends many people into a panic. Gordon leaves his train behind and two fitters knock his whistle valve into place, silencing the noise. That night, Henry teases Gordon about his mishap.

### *Percy and the Trousers*

One cold morning, Percy complains that he wants a scarf and Henry rebuffs him. When he goes to shunt some coaches, he runs over a trolley near the platform, scattering luggage everywhere and leaving him with a pair of trousers wrapped around his funnel. The Fat Controller grabs his top-hat off Percy's lamp iron and Percy goes back to the Yard, having changed his mind about scarves.

### *Henry's Sneeze*

Henry is enjoying himself in the countryside when some silly boys drop stones on him from a bridge, breaking the coaches' windows and hitting his fireman on the head. His driver devises a plan to get back at them, and the next time they pass the bridge, Henry sprays soot and ashes all over the boys. Although Henry has never sneezed again, there have been no more boys with stones.

* Thomas
* Edward
* Henry
* Gordon
* James
* Percy
* Sir Topham Hatt I
* Annie and Clarabel (*do not speak*)
* The Fire Brigade (*do not speak*)
* The Stone-dropping Boys (*do not speak*)
* The Blue Tender Engine (*cameo*)
* A Foreign Engine (*mentioned*)

* Tidmouth
	+ Tidmouth Sheds
	+ Tidmouth Yards
	+ Tidmouth Harbour
* Wellsworth
* Knapford
* Crosby
	+ Crosby Road Bridge
* Reagh
* Crewe (*mentioned*)

* This is the only book in *The Railway Series* to feature five stories instead of the usual four.
* In early editions of this book, the story *Henry's Sneeze* contained a racial slur, being used to describe the boys covered in ash. This caused a controversy so great that it was reported in *The National Press* in 1972. Wilbert Awdry later apologised for this offensive remark and changed it for later publications.
	+ The story itself was inspired by a tale from the 1950s near London.
* *The Flying Kipper* is based on two real accidents: one that occurred at Abbot's Ripton in Huntingdonshire in 1876, and the other at Lichfield Trent Valley Railway Station in 1946.
* *Percy and the Trousers* was adapted from a story in *The Trains We Loved* by C. Hamilton Ellis.
* Awdry originally considered writing Henry out of the series, but decided against it due to Henry's popularity among readers (he had received many letters from children expressing their concern for Henry). The main reason for Henry's rebuild was so that C. Reginald Dalby would be more consistent with his design when illustrating him.
* In the fifth illustration for *Coal*, advertisements for *The Three Railway Engines* and *James the Red Engine* are visible.
* In the third illustration for *Percy and the Trousers*, a blue double-decker bus with a sign advertising the book *Troublesome Engines* can be seen in the background.
* This is the first book in which all of the engines carry numbers. Thomas was the only one to carry a number previously.
* The events of *The Flying Kipper* take place in 1935.
* Loraine Marshall recreated most of the illustrations in *The Flying Kipper* and *Percy and the Trousers* for the Mr. Perkins segments on the Santa's Little Engine and The Christmas EnginesDVDs.
* An illustration from *Coal* was painted by Clive Spong for the 1983 Island of Sodor map.

* In the 70th anniversary Railway Series box set, the cover and spine feature illustrations from *The Three Railway Engines*.
* In *Coal*:
	+ In the second and third illustrations, Henry's head lamps are missing.
	+ In the fourth illustration, Edward's funnel is too short.
	+ In the sixth and final one, Henry and Thomas are facing opposite directions.
* In the first illustration for *Gordon's Whistle*, Henry appears to be bigger than Gordon and Percy's front wheels appear to be bogey wheels.
* *Henry's Sneeze*:
	+ It was said that some of the stones fell on Henry and scratched his paint, but no scratches can be seen.
	+ In the fifth illustration, James' wheels are red, and the front of Henry's buffer beam is grey. The former could possibly be the other red engine, though.

 **Welsh** | Helyntion Henri

**Wedgwood China**

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***The Railway Series***