For other uses, see Duke.

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 new Duke was only a child unaware 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

Locations

Trivia

• This book was published in the same year as The Railway Series' 25th anniversary.
• 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 the 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 thirty years, according by the Author's foreword message at the first page of the book.
• The last illustration of Granpuff is similar 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 January 1947. The events of Bulldog take place in 1904. The events of You Can't Win! also take place in 1928. The present-day events take place in 1969.
  • The final illustration of the former story takes place in the former half of 1952.
• 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 French Fairy Tale by Charles Perrault, "La Belle au Bois Dormant".
  • 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.
• The Book "Festiniog Pictorial series two" was used as reference for some illustrations.^[1]
• This is the only Railway Series book to have a title drop with each story.
• This book along with Tramway Engines are the only Railway Series books released in the 1970's.
• This book is Oliver's last appearance until Henry and the Express.
• The Platelayer who helps secure Duke in Bulldog would form the basis for Farmer Trotter's attire in the television series.
  • A passenger in a boater outfit seen in You Can't Win would form the basis of a passenger in the third series.

Goofs

• In the third illustration of Granpuff, Duke's face is slanted sideways.
• In Bulldog:
  • In the fourth illustration, Falcon's nameplate reads Falon.
  • In the third illustration of Bulldog, Duke's tender is missing the Mid-Sodor Railway crest.
  • In the second illustration, 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, who did not know about him beforehand, creating a continuity error. Furthermore, the story takes place in 1904, before Stanley's basis was built.
  • In the first illustration, 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. The same thing happens in the book's final illustration.
  • Throughout all of the story, Falcon has trailing wheels, which he did not receive until his rebuild in 1910.
  • While puffing through the tunnel, Falcon gains a headlamp.
• In You Can't Win!:
  • The text says that Duke "puffed and roared as though the whole train's weight was on his buffers", but Duke has no buffers.
  • Throughout most of the story, Duke's footplate is straight, but in the last illustration, it dips in the front and the rear.
• 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.

Quotes

In Other Languages

Language	Title
Japanese	きえた機関車
Korean	사라진 기관차, 듀크

References