Gordon the Big Engine

"Gordon was spotless, and his brass shone. Like Edward, he was decorated with flags, but on his buffer beam he proudly carried the Royal Arms."

- Describing Gordon when he pulls the Queen's train.

Gordon the Big Engine is the eighth book of The Railway Series.

Foreword
Dear Ian, You asked for a book about Gordon. Here it is. Gordon has been naughty, and the Fat Controller was stern with him.

Gordon has now learned his lesson and is a Really Useful Engine again. The Author

Off the Rails
Gordon is grumpy after being told to take a goods train and his fire is slow, so Edward pushes him to the turntable. Gordon attempts to "jam" the table, but instead breaks through a fence and slides into a ditch. Edward takes the special instead and Gordon is left in the ditch until nightfall when Henry and James finally pull him out.

Leaves
After a long washdown, Gordon is forbidden to pull coaches and told to shunt trucks until he behaves, and he begins to order the trucks about. Later, he tries to warn James that the hill is slippery from leaves. James simply laughs, but soon regrets it when the coaches drag him down the hill. Gordon takes pity and helps James up again.

Down the Mine
Thomas teases Gordon for falling into a ditch, and carries on even after Annie and Clarabel rebuke him. Thomas then goes to the Lead Mines to shunt trucks. Thomas concocts a plan to go past a "danger" board and falls through a weak spot in the ground. Gordon, who laughs when he finds out, comes to the rescue and on the way home, the two form an alliance.

Paint Pots and Queens
Elizabeth II is coming to Sodor. Henry hopes that he will be chosen to take the Royal Train, but these plans are put to rest when a paint pot falls onto him. Meanwhile, Thomas and Gordon apologise to the Fat Controller for being silly and Gordon is allowed to pull the Royal Train. On the big day, Thomas gets the coaches ready and Edward clears the line in front. The Queen meets all the engines and talks personally to Thomas, Edward and Gordon, but the latter feels proudest of all.

Off the Rails

 * Edward
 * Henry
 * Gordon
 * Sir Topham Hatt I
 * The Little Boys
 * Percy
 * James
 * Troublesome Trucks

Leaves

 * Gordon
 * James
 * Troublesome Trucks
 * Sir Topham Hatt I
 * Bert and Alf

Down the Mine

 * Thomas
 * Gordon
 * Annie and Clarabel
 * Sir Topham Hatt I
 * Troublesome Trucks

Paint Pots and Queens

 * Thomas
 * Edward
 * Henry
 * Gordon
 * James
 * Percy
 * Toby
 * Sir Topham Hatt I
 * Elizabeth II
 * The Painter
 * Henrietta

Off the Rails

 * Vicarstown Yards
 * Sir Topham Hatt's Office

Leaves

 * Vicarstown Yards
 * Gordon's Hill
 * Bincombe Tunnel

Down the Mine

 * Knapford
 * Rail Under Road Bridge and Signalbox
 * The Lead Mines

Paint Pots and Queens

 * Tidmouth
 * Tidmouth Sheds

Trivia

 * One of the illustrations from Paint Pots and Queens was painted by Clive Spong for the 1983 Island of Sodor Map.
 * Down the Mine is based on a real event that took place at Lindal-in-Furness in 1892. Though in this particular event, the collapsing mine hole was so deep all that was recovered of the Furness Railway engine, number 115, was its tender.
 * Off the Rails is based on a real event that took place at Lynn on 8 August, 1952, when an LMS Ivatt Class 4 tender engine, No. 43142 fell into a muddy ditch from the turntable.
 * Paint Pots and Queens is based on two events, one where a station painter fell at Preston in 1906 and the other where HM Queen Elizabeth II arrived on a train at Llandrindod Wells in 1952, the year she took the throne, is very reminiscent of the scenes in Sodor the following year, after her Coronation in 1953.
 * The events of the first three stories took place in the latter half of 1952. The events of Paint Pots and Queens took place in the former half of 1953.
 * The events of Paint Pots and Queens were later mentioned by Gordon in the eighteenth series episode of the television series, Emily Saves the World.
 * It was also mentioned by Gordon again in the twenty-fourth series episode, Thomas and the Royal Engine.
 * This book was published five days after the BBC's adaptation of The Sad Story of Henry was broadcast.
 * In the second illustration, there is a shop with a sign reading "C. R. DALBY," referring to the artist.
 * Leaves is based on a real event where a train slipped on actual leaves at Bincombe Tunnel. This event was mentioned by James' fireman on illustration six, where he says that he was the fireman of said train.
 * Although advertisements for the books were seen in some illustrations from previous stories, this is the first time in the books that The Railway Series was directly mentioned.
 * The boys' song "Silly Old Gordon Fell In A Ditch" in Off the Rails is omitted in John Gielgud's recording.
 * This book was published in the same year that Pierce Brosnan, who narrated The Great Discovery, was born.

Goofs

 * In Off the Rails:
 * In the third illustration, James' wheels are red.
 * In the sixth illustration, Gordon's wheels and wheel splashers appear to be too large.
 * In the final illustration, Gordon, Henry and James' faces disappear.
 * In the seventh illustration of Leaves, James has six coaches and a headlamp on top of his smokebox which is the headcode for local passenger trains instead of express ones, but in the next picture he is pulling five coaches and two headlamps on his left and right lamp irons which are meant for express passenger trains.
 * In the first two illustrations of Down the Mine, Thomas looks like he is reversing instead of going forwards.
 * In the first illustration of Paint Pots and Queens, James is portrayed with a 4-6-0 wheel configuration and the shed support pillar is out of place as it stands in front of Henry’s right buffer. Also in the final illustration, Percy's dome and tank lid are missing.
 * In the original first copy of this book, Wilbert Awdry claimed that the publishers had luckily managed to fix the typo made in Down the Mine. The text read: Thomas squealed crossly at the sound of his brakes were applied. The changes had been fixed in later copies.

Merchandise
Wedgwood China

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