Henry and the Express is the thirty-seventh book of The Railway Series that was published in 1993. Here are the four stories:
- Out of Puff: The North Western Railway starts using a new type of coal, which creates more ashes and gives the engines indigestion. One day, Henry cannot make it past Wellsworth. Henry's crew discover his smokebox door is bent, so they make paper mache to fix the gap. Henry gets home safely, but Donald and Douglas tease him by making breathless noises in the shed that night.
- Overhaul: Henry is due for an overhaul, so the Fat Controller arranges for him to double-head the Express with James to Crovan's Gate. James is apprehensive but feels better after they make good time up Gordon's Hill - up to the point where things begin flying from Henry, hitting James and the coaches. No one is hurt, but the crews find that a steel rim from Henry's wheel has fallen off. James, trying to make light of the situation, jokes that Henry needs to be "retired".
- Sliding Scales: With Henry away, the others take turns at pulling The Flying Kipper. It's James' turn and he's in a bad mood. He grudgingly sets off to Tidmouth Harbour, but just before he starts, a forklift spills its load onto the rails and fish goes everywhere. It is picked up, but the oil from the fish makes James slip helplessly. It is not until men hose the rails and put sand on them that James can move again.
- Henry Sees Red: Henry is almost ready to return to work, but the workmen have to put an undercoat of red paint on him. Before they can put green on top, an emergency at Tidmouth forces Henry to take the Express. The brakes on Henry's last coach stop the train at Wellsworth, spoiling the chances of a good run at Gordon's Hill, and Henry has to uncouple it himself. Henry, however, is determined, and when he makes it to Barrow-in-Furness on time the Fat Controller rewards him with his normal green coat.
This book contains examples of:
- Acquired Situational Narcissism: According to the narration in "Out of Puff", this happens with Henry and James when they pull the express all too well, especially Henry.
- Black Comedy: In the end of "Out of Puff", Henry feels this way about Donald and Douglas making breathless noises to tease him.
- Continuity Nod: In "Out of Puff", Henry boasts to Donald about the time he pulled two trains and D199, and was called an Enterprising Engine. It also shows Henry's latest difficulties with coal.
- The Ghost: Though the engines do not appear in the text or illustrations, the catenary wire for the electrified Peel Godred branch appear in the background of the second-last illustration of "Overhaul" - the only reference made to their existence in the entire series.
- I Work Alone: James complains about the Fat Controller arranging him and Henry to double-head the Express, and says he doesn't need help pulling it.
- MacGyvering: Henry's driver and fireman plug the gap between his smokebox and bent smokebox door with papier mache made from old newspapers.
- Rule of Three: "The Flying Kipper" makes its third appearance in the series. This time James is on the receiving end of the train's run of bad luck, after a few crates of fish fall on the dockside tracks and leave the rails slippery.
- Time Marches On: Unlike his previous overhaul after his accident with "The Flying Kipper", Henry cannot go to the works at Crewe because they no longer service steam engines.
- Very Loosely Based on a True Story:
- "Out of Puff" is based on a real event that occurred on the Somerset and Dorset Joint Line.
- "Overhaul" is based on a real event from The Railway Magazine in November 1924 to a Glasgow-London express near Weedon, Daventry, Northamptonshire.
- "Sliding Scales" is based on a real event from the 1950's to an London North Eastern Railway 2-6-0 following a fish train on the gradient to Forth Bridge.
- Whole Episode Flashback: The events of the book took place in 1992.
