Enterprising Engines is the twenty-third book of The Railway Series. It was published in 1968, the year British Railways ended steam traction, something the book reflects quite strongly. Here are the four stories:
- Tenders for Henry: The engines wrongly attribute Gordon's surly mood to boiler sludge from a dodgy water tower on the mainland, and matters are made worse when Gordon finds only one of his brothers is left in existence. The Fat Controller feels sorry for Gordon and arranges for his brother, Flying Scotsman, to visit, but Henry is jealous of "Flying Scotsman's" two tenders and claims he deserves another. Duck offers Henry six tenders. Henry is delighted and accepts but is made to look like a fool when it is revealed they are full of boiler sludge!
- Super Rescue: Two diesels, 7101 and 199, arrive. 7101 is friendly, but 199 is rude, saying diesels are more reliable than steam engines. Later, Henry is riding home tender-first, his regulator jammed, and meets 199 with a train of oil-tankers at a signal box. 199, ironically, has failed, and so does 7101 after his ejector leaks and he is unable to pull his passenger train. Henry, with some help from 7101, still able to move, bravely takes 199, the oil-tankers and the passengers to the next station. "Flying Scotsman", to the delight of the passengers, takes the passenger train, while Donald takes the goods. 199 is sent away in disgrace and Henry helps 7101 to the shed.
- Escape: Douglas has taken the "Midnight Goods" to the Other Railway and is preparing to return when a stranded steam engine, Oliver, asks for help. Douglas buffers up, and the two crews scribble "Scrap" over Oliver. However, a diesel shouts out a warning, and the foreman stops them. They manage to coax their way past, and eventually reach the Works. A friendly watchman shows them where to hide Oliver, his autocoach Isabel and his break van Toad.
- Little Western: Douglas arrives in time to see Flying Scotsman off and tells the other engines his news. The Fat Controller overhears, and he asks about the fuss. Duck tells him they need another steam engine, but the Fat Controller gravely tells them they are rare to find. Douglas is about to interrupt when the Fat Controller reveals Oliver is being mended. In the end, 7101 stays and is renamed "Bear" after the growling noises he sometimes makes; Oliver, Isabel, and Toad are repainted, three new Great Western autocoaches are rescued from scrapping and given to Oliver and Duck, and the Fat Controller re-opens the Arlesburgh branch and asks Duck and Oliver to run it.
The book contains examples of:
- Both Sides Have a Point: D199 and Duck engage in Fantastic Racism, labelling steam engines and diesels respectively as unreliable. While D199 is taken down a peg after breaking down (and acting exactly as Duck insinuated), both Henry and D7101 push forward with their trains despite their own engine troubles, vindicating both sides.
- Break the Haughty: While the otherwise self-important Gordon was already unhappy at the start of "Tenders for Henry", when the Fat Controller tells him the fates of his Doncaster brothers, this made him even more depressed.
- Later, D199 breaks down after boasting about being reliable.
- Cut His Heart Out with a Spoon: The signalman who calls D199 "Spamcan" threatens to tear him apart with a tin-opener and is illustrated in the book with said kitchen instrument.
- Darker and Edgier: The book is considered the darkest of the series, revealing that steam had been rendered redundant and all but one of Gordon's Doncaster brothers were scrapped. The Fat Controller in fact sadly answers a yes to Gordon's question. And don't get started on the third story of the book...
- Defector from Decadence: Bear. Though, as indicated on the Trivia page, the Hymeks were not long for this world by the time of the book's publication.
- Determinator:
- Henry, already "failed" in his own right with a jammed regulator, bringing two dead diesels and their trains to the next station.
- This trope is discussed by Duck earlier in the same story; see "The Reason You Suck" Speech for what he says to D199 on the issue. D7101 to his credit does his best to help Henry, disproving that all diesels lack this trope.
- Embarrassing Nickname: A signalman insults D199 with the name "Spamcan" after he annoys him with his moaning. Subverted with D7101, who gets labelled "Bear" for his roaring engine, though he considers it an Affectionate Nickname.
- Fantastic Racism: D199 strongly expresses his disdain towards the steam engines. Averted with D7101, who kept telling D199 off for his prejudice.
- Foreshadowing: Played with. In "Super Rescue", Duck retaliates to the snobby D199 that diesels simply moan for a fitter whenever they break down. Later on, he breaks down and according to the signalman, he did just that. D7101 meanwhile, who had done nothing to earn Duck's scolding, also breaks down but still makes an effort to pull his train.
- Friend on the Force: When Oliver tells his story, he mentions several British Railways employees who would help hide them on abandoned sidings. When they arrive back on North Western rails, a watchman helps Douglas' driver and fireman conceal them until they can speak to the Fat Controller.
- Good Costume Switch: Bear was painted in the same light blue livery as D199 when the two diesels first came to Sodor. When Sir Topham Hatt gives Bear a second chance and lets him stay on Sodor, Bear gets painted dark green.
- Great Escape: "Escape" almost reads more like a WW2 refugee or POW story than a children's tale of the railway.
- Green-Eyed Monster: Henry towards Flying Scotsman.
- Guilt by Association Gag: After D199 is rude to the steam engines in spite of D7101's interjections, earning both of them a "The Reason You Suck" Speech towards the diesel line's reliability from Duck. Justified as the steam engines were still cagey about diesels replacing them. Henry and the Fat Controller are much more sympathetic towards D7101.
- Halfway Plot Switch: "Tenders for Henry" is an inversion. Despite its title, the story actually starts with Gordon depressed over diesels taking over and that his Doncaster brothers are scrapped until the Fat Controller brings The Flying Scotsman to Sodor to cheer him up. The story then switches to Henry becoming jealous over The Flying Scotsman for having two tenders, and then asks Duck for 6 tenders, which turned out to be dirty.
- The same can be said for the book in general. After the Gordon and Scotsman plot switches to Henry, the tenders and a strange triple header, we switch again in the third and fourth stories to Douglas being a hero and saving Oliver, Isabel and Toad as well as focusing on Duck's branch line for a point. Possibly subverted in that the theme throughout the book is the North Western engines' response to the consequences dieselization on the Other Railway.
- Historical Domain Character: Flying Scotsman.
- I Owe You My Life: After being rescued by him, Toad asks to be Douglas' designated brakevan.
- Irony: Henry attributes Gordon's unhappy mood to boiler sludge. Later, Henry is carrying 6 tenders filled with boiler sludge.
- Ironic Echo: Henry says to Gordon, "Have a good washdown! You'll feel a different engine". In the ending, Henry is carrying 6 tenders filled with boiler sludge, Henry hears someone say the same thing to him, which he presumes is Gordon.
- Jerkass: D199. Even his fellow diesel D7101 tells him to shut up.
- Laser-Guided Karma: D199 receives this when he broke down pulling a train of tankers.
- Last of His Kind: Gordon and Flying Scotsman.
- The Load: D199 in "Super Rescue". Despite all three engines having troubles moving, Henry and D7101 do their best to get to the next station. D199 however just sulks and moans for his fitter.
- Master Forger: Douglas' crew forges a manifest to make it look as if they were meant to pick up Oliver, Toad, and Isabel for the scrappers.
- Noble Fugitive: Oliver.
- No Sympathy: The nearby signalman gets tired of hearing D199's moaning after he breaks down. The signalman labels D199 a "Spamcan" and threatens him with a tin opener if the diesel complains again.
- Paying It Forward: Douglas rescuing Oliver, Toad, and Isabel is this, his brother Donald having rescued him by having him come along to Sodor with him.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Duck gives one response to D199's disdain for steam engines:D199: Steam engines spoil our image!Duck: Of course we do! We show you what frauds you are! Call yourselves engines? If anything happens, you care nothing for your train! You just moan for a fitter! We bring it home, if only on one cylinder!
- The Stool Pigeon: An offscreen diesel exposes Oliver to the railway porter to prevent him escaping.
- Toilet Humour: The second half of "Tenders for Henry" involves Duck tricking Henry into pulling six tenders filled to the brim with boiler sludge. It’s heavily implied that boiler sludge is the locomotive equivalent to excrement!
- Very Loosely Based on a True Story:
- "Super Rescue" is based on a real event which happened at Waterloo in April 1967, as acknowledged by Awdry in the introduction, where he states that photographs depicting the incident sent by the mother of a boy named Richard were used as inspiration for at least two of the story's illustrations. As a result, this, and The Little Old Engine, are the only books that admit that the stories and characters of The Railway Series are fictional.
- The "Little Western" branch is inspired in part by the opening of the Dart Valley Railway (now South Devon Railway), a heritage railway operated mainly with Great Western tank engines that was then in the process of being opened.
- Wanting Is Better Than Having: Henry wishes he didn't ask Duck for 6 dirty tenders.
- Wham Line: The Fat Controller's answer to Gordon's question about the fates of his Doncaster brothers:The Fat Controller: All gone, except one.
- Whole Episode Flashback: The events of this episode take place in the later half of 1967.
