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Duke the Lost Engine

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This article is about the book. You may be looking for the narrow gauge engine.


“Engines come and engines go; Granpuff 'goes on' forever!"
"You impertinent scallywags! Whatever are young engines coming to nowadays?"
"Never mind, Granpuff. We're only young once."
"Well, you'd better mind! Unless you want to end up like No. 2...”
― Falcon, Stuart and Duke, Granpuff

Duke the Lost Engine is the twenty-fifth book of The Railway Series.

Foreword

Dear Friends,
An engine lost in the South American jungle was found after 30 years. A tree had grown through its chimney and hornets nested in its firebox. When mended it gave good service for 30 more years.

"The Duke" was lost too; not in the jungle, but in his own shed which a landslide had buried. Not long ago he was dug out and mended. His own railway had been pulled up, so he is now at the Thin Controller's.
The Author

Stories

Granpuff

Duke, Falcon and Stuart were three engines who lived on the Mid Sodor Railway. Named after His Grace the Duke of Sodor, Duke was wise, but Falcon and Stuart were young and cheeky and often made fun of "Granpuff", as they affectionately called him. This went on until Duke told them the story of a reckless engine named Stanley, otherwise known as "No. 2", who was rough and often derailed and was punished by being turned into a pumping engine. The three had many adventures together until their line closed. Falcon and Stuart were purchased and in due course wind up on the Skarloey Railway, where they are painted red and re-named "Sir Handel" and "Peter Sam" respectively, but Duke was not wanted and was sheltered in the Arlesdale shed. Duke, unaware that His Grace was killed in the war and that the current Duke is only a child who does not know of his existence, went to sleep...

Bulldog

In the old days of the Mid Sodor Railway, when Sir Handel was blue and named "Falcon", the Manager arranged for him to double-head with Duke to learn the mountain road. Falcon ignored Duke's warnings and when they reached a sharp part of the line, he derailed and hung dangerously over the edge. Duke held back but was in need of more water to build up more steam. With the help of the passengers gathering water from a cottage, he gathered enough strength to pull Falcon back. Falcon was grateful, but Duke was modest and said he only did what he did because he did not want Falcon's paint spoilt if he rolled down the mountain.

You Can't Win

Duke was old and Stuart jokes he may had to be kept in order. Duke merely laughed, but later his valves began leaking, and Falcon and Stuart came to the rescue. The cavalcade split up at Marthwaite, as Falcon took Duke's passengers to catch their boat at Arlesburgh, while Stuart took Falcon's train with Duke coupled behind. Duke and his driver, hearing Stuart's triumphant chortles, made a plan, and gave a great effort on the last hill. At Arlesdale, a boy inquired as to why there were two engines, to which his father replied that Stuart needed assistance, and so Duke came to help.

Sleeping Beauty

His Grace finally learns of Duke from the engines and staff of the Skarloey Railway, and he in turn informs the Small Controller, whose railway is built on remnants from the Mid Sodor Railway. The Small Controller organises a search party, consisting of himself and both the Thin and Fat Clergymen, and they enlist Rex, Bert and Mike to help them find Duke, promising to include them in the book if they are well-behaved. After a long, initially fruitless search, the Fat Clergyman crashes into Duke's shed, landing on his boiler. Duke is apprehensive, but cheers up when he told that the Duke is being brought to meet him. Duke, to his dismay, is sent to Arlesburgh by lorry, but is happier to discover he is still popular, and Donald carries him to the Skarloey Railway on a flatbed, where he is greeted by a large crowd of admirers. Sir Handel and Peter Sam find him beside the shed and tease him by saying they can now keep him in order. Duke plays along and falls asleep happily in the sunshine.

Characters

Full Book

Characters Introduced

Granpuff

Bulldog

  • Skarloey
  • Falcon / Sir Handel
  • Peter Sam
  • Duncan
  • Duke
  • The Mid Sodor Railway Manager
  • Rheneas (does not speak)
  • Stanley (cameo)
  • Duck (mentioned)
  • The Dukes (mentioned)

You Can't Win

Sleeping Beauty

Locations

Full Book

Granpuff

Bulldog

You Can't Win

Sleeping Beauty

Trivia

  • Stanley is only referred to as 'No. 2' in Granpuff.
  • The story of Stanley converted into a pumping engine comes from the real-life event when Ffestiniog locomotive Palmerston was spared as a stationary boiler up until 1993.
  • Bulldog is based on what happened on the Ffestiniog Railway when Duke's counterpart Prince double-headed with an 0-4-0 tank engine (now a 2-4-0 tender engine) named Linda who derailed at what is now known as Linda's Leap.
  • Sleeping Beauty is based on a true story about the locomotive Coronel Church discovered in the Amazon Rainforest, where it had been left abandoned for 30 years.
  • The last illustration of Granpuff is identical to the one C. Reginald Dalby drew for the first illustration of Sir Handel in Four Little Engines.
  • The map held by the Fat Clergyman in the first illustration of Sleeping Beauty appears to be based on the map of Sodor drawn by John T. Kenney in 1958.
  • The title of Bulldog is a reference to the symbolic animal of the United Kingdom.
  • In Bulldog, the sequence of the passengers creating a chain from the cottage to Duke to give him water was based on an event which occurred on the Talyllyn Railway.
  • The events of "Granpuff" take place in 1928 and 1947 (the final illustration takes place in 1952). The events of Bulldog take place in 1904 (there is an error here, as Stanley is pictured in the shed, but was not built until World War I and acquired by the MSR after the war). The events of You Can't Win! take place in the late 1920s. The present-day events (the beginning of Bulldog and all of Sleeping Beauty) take place in 1969.
  • In the second story Bulldog, the quote 'Stood firm like a bulldog and wouldn't let go' comes from the stereotype of the type of dogs called bull breeds in which they are said to not let go of something they bite.
  • Duke's nickname "Granpuff" was the endearment given to Rev. W. Awdry by his grandchildren because the smoke from his pipe looked similar to a steam engine.
  • The last story's name, Sleeping Beauty, is most likely named after the Fairy Tale of the same name.
    • Also, the second to last illustration is based on a photograph of Ffestiniog Railway's newly-purchased Linda being loaded onto a well-wagon at Port Penrhyn in July 1962.
  • A copy of this book appeared in the BBC's Great Railway Journeys of the World episode "Confessions of a Train Spotter".
  • The rescue of the Cadeby Light Railway's Pixie by Teddy Boston inspired the story of Duke's rediscovery in Sleeping Beauty.
  • According to an article in the 2nd May, 1970 Evening Post, the book was originally planned to be released in September.

Goofs

  • While puffing through the tunnel, Falcon gains a headlamp.
  • The text from You Can't Win! says that Duke "puffed and roared as though the whole train's weight was on his buffers", but Duke has no buffers.
  • In the second illustration of Bulldog, Stanley can be seen in the back of the shed, despite the fact that he was said to have come to the railway before Falcon and that Falcon did not know him beforehand, creating a continuity error. Furthermore, the story takes place in 1904, before Stanley's basis was built.
  • In the first illustration of Sleeping Beauty, the map on the wall spells Ulfstead as "Ulfsted" and the present site of Arlesdale station is labelled as Cas-ny-Hawin.
  • In the third illustration of Granpuff, Duke's face is slanted sideways.
  • In the fourth illustration of Bulldog, Falcon's nameplate reads Falon.
  • In the third illustration of Bulldog, Duke's tender is missing the Mid-Sodor Railway crest.
  • Throughout most of You Can't Win, Duke's footplate is straight, but in the last illustration, it dips in the front and rear.
  • Throughout all of Bulldog, Falcon has trailing wheels, which he doesn't get until his rebuild in 1910.
  • In the first illustration of Bulldog and the final illustration of Sleeping Beauty, Skarloey's shed is depicted with open sides, contrary to the description in The Island of Sodor: Its People, History and Railways which states that it was given a proper wall in 1961.

Quotes

“Engines come and engines go; Granpuff 'goes on' for ever!"”
― Falcon and Stuart
“Excuse me, are you a Vandal? Driver told me Vandals break in and smash things.”
― Duke
“Listen, Bud, in the States we don't care a dime for a few spills!”
― Stanley

In Other Languages

Language Title
Japanese きえた機関車 (romanji: Kieta kikansha)
Korean 사라진 기관차, 듀크 (romanji: salajin gigwancha dyukeu)
Writers Wilbert Awdry | Christopher Awdry | George Awdry | Brian Sibley
Illustrators William Middleton | Reginald Payne | C. Reginald Dalby | John T. Kenney | Gunvor and Peter Edwards | Clive Spong | Stephen Lings
Publishers Edmund Ward | Kaye & Ward | William Heinemann | Egmont Publishing | Random House Books
Narrators Wilbert Awdry | Johnny Morris | Willie Rushton | Ted Robbins | John Gielgud | Andrew Sachs | Michael Angelis
Characters Railway Series characters | Railway Series-exclusive characters | Awdry-created characters
Other The Sad Story of Henry (1953) | The Railway Stories | Eric Marriott
Books W.A. The Three Railway Engines | Thomas the Tank Engine | James the Red Engine | Tank Engine Thomas Again | Troublesome Engines | Henry the Green Engine | Toby the Tram Engine | Gordon the Big Engine | Edward the Blue Engine | Four Little Engines | Percy the Small Engine | The Eight Famous Engines | Duck and the Diesel Engine | The Little Old Engine | The Twin Engines | Branch Line Engines | Gallant Old Engine | Stepney the "Bluebell" Engine | Mountain Engines | Very Old Engines | Main Line Engines | Small Railway Engines | Enterprising Engines | Oliver the Western Engine | Duke the Lost Engine | Tramway Engines
C.A. Really Useful Engines | James and the Diesel Engines | Great Little Engines | More About Thomas the Tank Engine | Gordon the High-Speed Engine | Toby, Trucks and Trouble | Thomas and the Twins | Jock the New Engine | Thomas and the Great Railway Show | Thomas Comes Home | Henry and the Express | Wilbert the Forest Engine | Thomas and the Fat Controller's Engines | New Little Engine | Thomas and Victoria | Thomas and his Friends | Barry the Rescue Engine
Other Thomas's Christmas Party | Thomas Comes to Breakfast | Thomas and the Missing Christmas Tree | Thomas and the Evil Diesel | Thomas and Gordon Off the Rails | Thomas and the Hurricane | Thomas the Tank Engine: The Complete Collection | Thomas the Tank Engine: The New Collection | Annuals | Mini Books | Pop-up Books
Companion Twelve Happy Engines | The Railway Series: Surprise Packet | Railway Map of the Island of Sodor | The Island of Sodor: Its People, History and Railways | The Thomas the Tank Engine Man | Sodor: Reading Between the Lines
Lectures Narrow Gauge Rails in Sodor | Railways of Sodor
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