Dear friends of Edward, Gordon, Henry and Thomas,
Thank you for your kind letters. Here is the new book for which you asked.
James, who crashed in the story of Thomas the Tank Engine, settles down and becomes a Useful Engine.
We are nationalised now, but the same engines still work the Region. I am glad, too, to tell you that the Fat Director, who understands our friends' ways, is still in charge, but is now the Fat Controller.
I hope you will enjoy this book, too.
The Author.
Thank you for your kind letters. Here is the new book for which you asked.
James, who crashed in the story of Thomas the Tank Engine, settles down and becomes a Useful Engine.
We are nationalised now, but the same engines still work the Region. I am glad, too, to tell you that the Fat Director, who understands our friends' ways, is still in charge, but is now the Fat Controller.
I hope you will enjoy this book, too.
The Author.
— Foreword
James the Red Engine is the third book of The Railway Series, published in 1948, and the first to be completely illustrated by C. Reginald Dalby. Here is the list of stories:
- James and the Top Hat: James is to take a passenger train with Edward. At the platform, he accidentally showers water over the Fat Controller's new top-hat, and James, afraid of the consequences, starts off. He then proceeds to almost forget to drop off his passengers, and to top everything off he disturbs an old lady with his hiccups after hearing about the time Edward had to help Gordon up the hill. That night, James is scared of what the Fat Controller will say.
- James and the Bootlace: James is furious after being threatened with blue paint and having to fetch his own coaches. It takes the biscuit when no one comes near him at the platform, and James is so determined to pay everyone out that he doesn't take care with his coaches and causes a leak in the brake-pipe. The crew determines that they need newspaper and leather bootlaces to fix it until they get home, and after a great amount of persuasion a man named Jeremiah Jobling hands his bootlaces over and the train gets home.
- Troublesome Trucks: James is shut up for several days, but when the Fat Controller comes to see him James apologizes and is let out to take a goods train. The trucks play tricks on James and break away on Gordon's Hill, but James tries again and, with some support from Edward, gets the train home. The Fat Controller is pleased, and allows James to keep his red paint.
- James and the Express: Gordon brags that he knows the right line by "instinct", but is proven wrong when he is switched off the main line onto the loop. The Fat Controller asks James to take the Express, and after a successful run and the promise of being allowed to take the Express, James returns to see Gordon shunting. The two become friends, and Gordon refrains from teasing James about the bootlace incident.
The book contains examples of:
- Anachronism Stew: The introduction refers to the creation of British Railways earlier that year, but the official canon indicates that the stories are set in 1925.
- Berserk Button: James being threatened to be painted blue.
- Chew-Out Fake-Out: James thought that after the breakaway with half of the trucks, The Fat Controller was sure to be angry with him again, but thankfully, he wasn't.
- Determinator: James didn't let the trucks stop him from going up the hill.
- Earn Your Happy Ending: In "Troublesome Trucks". After successfully pulling the goods train, James regains the approval of The Fat Controller, and is allowed to keep his red paint.
- Hannibal Lecture:The Trucks: "Give up! Give up! You can't pull us! You can't! You can't!"
- Shut Up, Hannibal!:James: "I can and I will. I can and I will."
- Shut Up, Hannibal!:
- Humble Pie: Despite his humiliation, Gordon is pleased to see James pulling the Express well, and is said not to talk about bootlaces anymore.
- Jerkasses: The trucks, as the name implies, spend the entire episode insulting James and trying to sabotage the journey.Trucks: Oohoohooh! We want a proper engine, not a red monster!
- My God, What Have I Done?: James felt remorseful and even cried about causing trouble with the coaches as well as upsetting the Fat Controller.
- Once Done, Never Forgotten: In "Troublesome Trucks", James is reminded of the bootlace incident by the unnamed tank engine, and then by Gordon and Henry at the beginning of "James and the Express".
- Real Life Writes the Plot: As mentioned in The Author's introduction, the railway is now nationalized as part of British Railways, so the Fat Director has become the Fat Controller.
- So Proud of You: In spite of all the trouble James has caused with the coaches, The Fat Controller applauds him for making the most troublesome trucks on the line to behave and allows him to keep his red paint.
- Tears of Remorse: James shows these regarding the bootlace incident.
- This Is Something He's Got to Do Himself: Edward offers to be James' banker for his train, but James politely declines. Edward understands this and encourages James not to let the trucks stop him for the second time.
- A Tragedy of Impulsiveness: James causes a lot of mishaps in the first two stories.
- Very Loosely Based on a True Story: "James and the Bootlace" is based off a snippet in The Railway Gazette.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: The Little Blue Tank Engine who teased James for the bootlace incident never made an appearance again after "Troublesome Trucks".
- What the Hell, Hero?: The Fat Controller lectures James about his bad behavior. After he still causes trouble, the passengers are very vocal about it to him, his crewmen, and Jeremiah Jobling who was unwilling to hand over his bootlace to fix the mess.
- Whole Episode Flashback: The events of this book are set in 1925.
