Oliver the Western Engine

Railway Series #24

by W. Awdry

A collection of four stories chronicling the adventures of several railway engines.

Genres: Childrens, Fiction, Picture Books

72 pages, Hardcover

First published November 15, 1969

About the author

Wilbert Vere Awdry, OBE, better known as the Rev. W. Awdry, was an English clergyman, railway enthusiast and children's author, and creator of Thomas the Tank Engine, who starred in Awdry's acclaimed Railway Series.

The characters that would make Awdry famous, and the first stories featuring them, were invented in 1943 to amuse his son Christopher during a bout of measles. The first book (The Three Railway Engines) was published in 1945, and by the time Awdry stopped writing in 1972, The Railway Series numbered 26 books. Christopher subsequently added further books to the series.

Reviews

[Andy Dainty · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is as much Duck in this book as there is Oliver; in the intro Rev Awdry says he had intended to call the book Little Western Engines. As Duck is one of my favourites, I really enjoyed this collection.

[Jordan Maitlen · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best ones!

Although it feels weird reading a Railway book where one of the characters doesn’t get a happy ending… I seem to remember him getting a fairly happy ending in the t.v. series. I’m that the show runners went that direction. I’m not sure what kids would learn from reading that story… Don’t be a compulsive liar or you’ll end up alone?

The other three stories were all great though. The first tone with the duck was super cute, the second one basically says “Don’t be prideful” which is nice, and the third story was just kind of satisfying and funny.

A good read overall.

[Ciaran]

Oliver kills someone

[Meowcats TV · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid book with Duck and Oliver.