2005 saw the 60th Anniversary of the publication of The Three Railway Engines, the first book in the Railway Series. To mark the occasion we have produced a reference work to try and answer the many questions we are asked about the series and the Island of Sodor.
Much of this material was covered either by Brian Sibley in his biography of the Rev. W. Awdry, The Thomas the Tank Engine Man, or by Wilbert & George Awdry in their book The Island of Sodor: Its People, History and Railways, published in 1987. Neither of these books has ever been reprinted despite repeated requests. We have offered to buy the copyright to The Island of Sodor so that we could reprint it ourselves, but this too has been refused.
Judging by the high prices asked on the second-hand market for these books, there is plenty of demand for the background information to the Railway Series, and Christopher aims to satisfy some of that in this new book.