Very Old Engines is the twentieth book of The Railway Series published in 1965. The book is focused on Skarloey and Rheneas recalling their early days and celebrating their 100th birthday.
- Crosspatch: Nancy is polishing Skarloey, but Skarloey calls her a fusspot. Nancy replies by calling him a crosspatch. Skarloey remembers he once was a crosspatch, and tells Nancy the story: Skarloey was built in 1864 and sent to Sodor on a ship the following year. After being lowered onto a lowloader using the ship's derricks, he was taken to Crovan's Gate by an ugly but kind engine named Neil. The people there weren't used to engines, and it was dark by the time he was on the rails. The next morning, he was told to take some trucks, but he wanted to pull coaches. The manager, Mr. Mack, and some workmen came and tried to make him steam, but he refused to do anything, day after day. Eventually, they got tired and covered him up with a tarpaulin. Nancy says it served Skarloey right, but a crowd which has come to listen tells him to go on...
- Bucking Bronco: At last, Mr. Mack came and Skarloey said sorry. Mr. Mack told him that Mr. Bobbie, an engineer who helped build Skarloey, had come, and Skarloey worked hard to finish the line before the inspector arrived. When Rheneas first arrived he was a sensible engine, unlike Skarloey, who was bouncy and excited. When Skarloey was told to pull the directors' train, Rheneas told him to be careful, but Skarloey scoffed at him and got the coaches. The coaches had never met him before, and didn't trust him. When Skarloey began to bounce, Mr. Mack, who was riding on Skarloey, closed the regulator too quickly and the coaches bumped into each other. They bumped him back, and Mr. Mack was knocked into a bush. He rode in Beatrice for the remainder of the journey. The directors were cross, and told Rheneas to pull the inspector's train instead. The inspector was satisfied, but told the directors to give Skarloey an extra set of wheels...
- Stick-in-the-Mud: Rheneas starts telling the rest of the story. When Skarloey returned with another pair of wheels and a cab, the coaches were impressed and Skarloey got conceited. When he told Rheneas he should get a cab, Rheneas disagreed. Skarloey called him a stick-in-the-mud, and the argument went on until the two fell out. Then, one morning, Skarloey was taking workmen to the quarry in the rain. When Rheneas was warming up, the guard arrived and told them Skarloey was stuck in a landslide. Rheneas refused to help at first, but went when reminded of the workmen and crew. Afterwards, Skarloey apologised, and they burst out laughing when they realized Skarloey was the stick-in-the-mud after all.
- Duck and Dukes: Duck tells Peter Sam that there are no Dukes, they having all been scrapped. Peter Sam, who remembers the Thin Controller said the Duke of Sodor was coming to Skarloey and Rheneas' hundredth birthday, is horrified, and when he tells the others, they argue over who is right. (Peter Sam may have been thinking of Duke from the Mid Sodor Railway, but we don't know Sir Handel's reaction.) But the next day, the engines are happy when they wake up, for it's Skarloey and Rheneas' birthday. Later, Peter Sam takes the television train and films Rheneas. After Skarloey returns, having taken the Duke round the loopline, the Duke makes a speech, during which Peter Sam interrupts and asks him if he is real. The Duke tells him he is, and Rheneas makes a speech asking everyone to visit his and Skarloey's respective twin brothers, Talyllyn and Dolgoch.
The book contains examples of:
- Acquired Situational Narcissism: This happens to Skarloey when he returns with a new pair of wheels and a cab.
- Bullying the Dragon: The trucks found out that playing tricks on Rheneas was a mistake.
- Feud Episode: Happened with Skarloey and Rheneas in "Stick-in-the-Mud".
- Foreshadowing: When Duck tells Peter Sam that all engine dukes were scrapped and Peter Sam freaks out about it, this foreshadows the key plot points in Duke The Lost Engine. It's a mystery as to why Sir Handel didn't freak out, considering he was just as close to Duke as Peter Sam was.
- Historical Domain Character: Mr. Bobbie was a real engineer who worked for Fletcher, Jennings & Co, the builder of Skarloey, Rheneas, Talyllyn, and Dolgoch.
- Laser-Guided Karma: Skarloey calls Rheneas a stick-in-the-mud, but later gets stuck in a landslide. He instead refers himself as a stick-in-the-mud.
- The Noodle Incident: "Who was late three times last week?"
- Origins Episode: The first three stories are this for Skarloey and Rheneas; the first two are from Skarloey's point of view, while Rheneas narrates the third.
- Red/Green Contrast: Skarloey and Rheneas have this with their mainland (and real-life) counterparts Talyllyn and Dolgoch; Skarloey and Rheneas are red, Talyllyn and Dolgoch are green.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: Skarloey and Rheneas respectively in the past.
- Refuse to Rescue the Disliked: Rheneas refused to rescue Skarloey from the landslide, but soon relented when he was reminded of the workmen and Skarloey's crew.
- Very Loosely Based on a True Story: The first three stories were inspired by events that actually happened on the Talyllyn Railway.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: How did Rheneas get his cab, exactly? And the subplot between Duck, Peter Sam and Sir Handel never gets resolved.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Rheneas’ driver calls out his engine for refusing to help Skarloey, reminding him of Mr. Bobbie and the quarry crew.
- Whole Episode Flashback: The first three stories revolve around Skarloey and Rheneas' early days, with "Crosspatch" and "Bucking Bronco" taking place in 1865 and "Stick-In-The-Mud" taking place in 1867.
