The Railway Series

The Railway Series is a series of British books about a railway known as the North Western Railway, located on the fictional Island of Sodor. There are 42 books in the series, the first published in May 1945 by Wilbert Awdry. Awdry wrote 26 books; the final one being written in October 1972. His son, Christopher, wrote 16 more between September 1983 and July 2011. The series features many anthropomorphic vehicles. Thomas eventually became the most popular and famous character in the series and the titular character of the television series Thomas & Friends from 1984 to 2021. The children's television series originated as adaptations of these stories.

Nearly all of The Railway Series stories were based on real-life events. As a lifelong railway enthusiast, Awdry was keen that his stories should be as realistic as possible. The engine characters were mostly based upon real classes of locomotives, and some of the railways themselves were based upon real lines in the British Isles.

Audio adaptations of The Railway Series have been recorded at various times under the title The Railway Stories.