Mountain Engines

"You be thankful, Sir Handel, that we're not a mountain railway."​ "A mountain railway! What's that?" "A railway that climbs mountains, of course." "But it can't! Its engine's wheels would slip!"

- Rheneas and Sir Handel arguing about mountain railways

Mountain Engines is the nineteenth book in The Railway Series. It is notable for containing the only appearance of the Culdee Fell Railway, the single major railway in The Railway Series to not have any stories adapted for television.

Foreword
Dear Friends, A Rack Railway climbs the mountain called Culdee Fell. Lord Harry Barrane is Chairman of the railway company. Lots of people travel on it in the summer.

Mr Walter Richards, the Manager, does not have an easy time. There are seven engines, one of whom, No. 5, is still away being mended. Another, No. 6, was named Lord Harry. This was a mistake. It made him conceited and... But you must read the stories for yourselves.

I hope you will enjoy this book about a different kind of railway. The Author

Mountain Engine
Sir Handel is grumpy and complains about the coaches causing trouble for him. Rheneas tells him that he should be grateful that he does not work on a mountain railway. Sir Handel does not believe such a thing exists, and an argument ensues until Donald arrives with Culdee, a mountain engine. When Culdee wakes up, he tells the little engines about his line, and an adventure he had on his first day when he learned how to use his automatic brakes during a thrilling journey down a mountain.

Bad Look-Out
Duncan is in a bad mood because the Thin Controller says he kept a bad look out, so Skarloey and Rheneas change the subject of the conversation by asking Culdee about his coaches. The discussion soon drifts to Culdee's automatic brakes, and the story of Godred, an engine who held too much faith in his automatic brakes. Despite frequent discipline and investigation into his behaviour, Godred continued in his way. Eventually, Godred fell off the tracks and down the mountainside. Since the manager had no money to repair Godred, he was sent to the back of the shed, where over time the drivers dismantled Godred for spare parts to mend Culdee and the other engines. Sir Handel and Duncan are mortified and remain silent, while Skarloey and Rheneas do not mention that the tale was made up.

Danger Points
Donald brings Culdee home, where he discovers that three new engines have arrived: Alaric, Eric and Lord Harry, the latter of whom is loud and impulsive. The next day, Culdee makes fun of Lord Harry's "super-heat" and Lord Harry determines to pay him out. Instead, he derails at the summit, preventing Wilfred from taking his "down" train. Lord Harry is subsequently rescued and sent to the back of the shed in disgrace.

"Devil's Back"
Lord Harry gets his name taken away as punishment, now being referred to by his #6, and, after hearing Culdee's story of Godred, asks the Manager to be let out. The Manager agrees, but forbids him from pushing passenger trains, so #6 is assigned to taking supplies and workmen up to Summit Hotel. One day, he is preparing to continue up Devil's Back, a difficult part of the line, after a message arrives about a group of injured climbers. Despite the strong wind, #6 perseveres and the leader of the climbers asks the Manager to rename #6 after a friend who helped him when he was injured. Nowadays, #6 is renamed Patrick and only takes risks when absolutely necessary.

Mountain Engine

 * Donald
 * Skarloey
 * Rheneas
 * Sir Handel
 * Culdee
 * Agnes, Ruth, Lucy, Jemima and Beatrice
 * Alaric

Bad Look-Out

 * Skarloey
 * Rheneas
 * Sir Handel
 * Duncan
 * Godred
 * Culdee
 * Walter Richards
 * Catherine
 * Mr. Peter Sam

Danger Points

 * Ernest
 * Wilfred
 * Culdee
 * Lord Harry
 * Catherine
 * Walter Richards
 * Donald
 * Alaric
 * Eric

"Devil's Back"

 * Wilfred
 * Culdee
 * Lord Harry/No. 6/Patrick
 * Catherine
 * Walter Richards
 * The Rockclimbers
 * The "Truck"
 * Godred

Locations

 * Island of Sodor
 * Skarloey Engine Sheds
 * Kirk Machan
 * Culdee Fell Railway Engine Sheds
 * Culdee Fell
 * Culdee Fell Summit
 * Skarloey Road Viaduct
 * Devil's Back
 * Culdee Fell Railway Engine Sheds
 * Wellsworth Hospital
 * The Mainland

Trivia

 * This is the first book of The Railway Series not to have any of its stories televised.
 * This was the first and only appearance of the Culdee Fell Railway and its locomotives. The railway would not be mentioned in the series again until the final book, Thomas and his Friends in 2011.
 * Christopher Awdry has stated that the reason there are no more books about the Culdee Fell Railway is due to the safety precautions and limited traffic - meaning no more story opportunities.
 * According to an interview, one of the reasons this book did not have any episodes for the television series based on it was because the Culdee Fell Engines were not very merchandisable because of the railway's climbing rack track, the engines and Catherine's strange angled bodies and also their limited storylines. This is despite the fact that the Ertl Company and Wooden Railway have both released toys of the Culdee Fell Engines.
 * The story "Mountain Engine" is based on Moel Siabod making an inspection with two coaches before the Snowdon Mountain Railway opened to the public.
 * The story "Bad Look Out" is based on the Snowdon Mountain Railway's opening day accident with their first engine, L.A.D.A.S.
 * The story of Godred is diagetically stated to be fiction. However, The Island of Sodor: Its People, History and Railways shows that Godred indeed crashed and was then dismantled. This is because Awdry amended this story for "Mountain Engines" to give it a child-friendly ending.
 * Although Godred's accident resulted in no injuries, the accident that happened to L.A.D.A.S. involved the death of one person.
 * The Reverend acknowledged the help given by members of management and staff of the Snowdon Mountain Railway Ltd. in the preparation of this book.
 * The present day events of this book take place in 1963. The flashback events take place in 1900.
 * In the Korean versions of this book, the faces on the rears of the mountain engines were removed and along with this, Godred's name in the Korean version of the book was changed to Loui for unknown reasons.
 * Alaric is first seen in one illustration of Mountain Engine, but is not given a proper introduction until Danger Points.

Goofs

 * In "Mountain Engine":
 * In the first illustration, Sir Handel's cab roof is white.
 * Skarloey has a numberplate on the back of his cab in the third illustration.
 * In "Danger Points":
 * The catenary-power lines are missing.
 * Donald has his twin's tender (No. 10) in the first illustration.

In Other Languages
Locomotoras de Montaña קטרי ההר 山にのぼる機関車 Lokomotywy ze Wzgórz Горные паровозики