The Artists Behind the Railway Series: C. Reginald Dalby, John T. Kenney and Peter and Gunvor Edwards
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The Artists Behind the Railway Series: C. Reginald Dalby and Peter & Gunvor Edwards
When we think of the Railway Series books by the Rev. W. Awdry, it is usually the engines that come immediately to mind: Thomas, Edward, Henry, Gordon, Percy and Toby. Yet the world of Sodor was created as much by its illustrators as it was by Awdry’s words.
Before Thomas became a television star and a worldwide merchandising phenomenon, he existed in the small, beautifully produced books of the Railway Series. The appearance of the engines, the railway landscapes and even the atmosphere of Sodor were shaped by a succession of talented artists.
Of all those illustrators, two groups stand out in particular: C. Reginald Dalby, whose colourful and distinctive illustrations established the visual character of the early books, and Peter and Gunvor Edwards, whose more atmospheric and realistic artwork brought the later books of the Rev. Awdry’s authorship to life.
The beginning of the Railway Series
The Railway Series began with stories created by the Rev. Wilbert Awdry for his young son Christopher. The stories were originally told as bedtime entertainment, eventually becoming books published by Edmund Ward.
The first Railway Series book, The Three Railway Engines, appeared in 1945. The original illustrations were by William Middleton, but the artwork was subsequently replaced by illustrations from C. Reginald Dalby.
Awdry’s stories were unusual for children’s books. The locomotives were not simply toys with faces attached to them. They had personalities, rivalries, tempers and friendships, while the railways themselves were treated with considerable affection and attention to railway practice.
The illustrations therefore had an important job to do. They had to make the engines appealing to children while also convincing railway enthusiasts that these were real locomotives living and working on a railway.
C. Reginald Dalby
1904–1983
Clarence Reginald Dalby, although he rarely used his first name, was born in Leicester on 28 January 1904. He developed his artistic abilities at an early age and won a scholarship to Leicester College of Art in 1917.
Before becoming associated with the Railway Series, Dalby worked as a commercial artist and illustrator. His career was interrupted by the Second World War, during which he served as an intelligence officer with the Royal Air Force and MI9.
His wartime work involved escape and evasion techniques for Allied personnel. After the war he returned to civilian life and attempted to re-establish himself as a professional artist.
It was through the Leicester publishing world that Dalby became connected with Edmund Ward, the publisher of the Railway Series.
Dalby and the Railway Series
Dalby’s first Railway Series assignment was James the Red Engine, published in 1948. His work was sufficiently successful for him to become the principal illustrator of the series.
He subsequently illustrated or re-illustrated eleven of the early Railway Series books:
- 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
Dalby’s illustrations were immediately distinctive.
His engines were brightly coloured, strongly outlined and often appeared almost jewel-like against the landscapes. The pictures possessed an energy that made the locomotives appear larger than life.
It was Dalby who helped establish the familiar visual language of the early Railway Series.
Penguin Random House describes him as the third illustrator of the Railway Series and notes that he also produced his own book, Tales of Flitterwick Harbour, as well as designing the famous polar bear trademark for Fox’s Glacier Mints. (Penguin Random House)
Dalby’s Sodor
Dalby’s great strength was atmosphere.
His landscapes had a wonderful sense of colour and movement, and his engines possessed enormous personality. For generations of children, this was what Thomas and his friends looked like.
There was, however, a problem.
Wilbert Awdry was an enthusiastic railwayman as well as a children’s author. He cared enormously about the appearance and mechanical details of locomotives. Dalby was more interested in creating an attractive and lively picture than in reproducing every technical detail accurately.
This led to disagreements between author and illustrator.
Awdry was particularly unhappy with Dalby’s depiction of Percy. He felt that Percy had been made to look more like a caterpillar than a small steam locomotive. Their disagreement eventually contributed to Dalby’s departure from the Railway Series in 1956. (Wikipedia)
Despite their disagreements, Dalby’s contribution should not be underestimated.
He effectively set the visual style of the Railway Series.
His bright colours, bold outlines and expressive engines became the image of Thomas and his friends for an entire generation. Even today, original Dalby-illustrated editions are particularly sought after by collectors.
Dalby died in 1983, aged 79.
The Railway Series changes direction
After Dalby left, John T. Kenney became the illustrator. Kenney produced six books and brought a more technically accurate and realistic approach to the engines.
His work was admired by Awdry, but deteriorating eyesight eventually forced Kenney to leave the series.
This brought about one of the most interesting changes in the visual history of the Railway Series.
The next artists were a husband-and-wife team:
Peter and Gunvor Edwards.
Peter and Gunvor Edwards
1934–2017 and 1934–2014
Peter and Gunvor Edwards were Swedish-English artists who brought a markedly different atmosphere to the Railway Series.
Gunvor was born in Sweden in 1934. She studied art in Stockholm and later moved to London. She and Peter, who was also born in 1934, became husband and wife and worked together on a number of artistic projects.
Gunvor had experience as an illustrator in her own right, having worked on children’s books and other illustrated publications.
Their connection with the Railway Series came in the early 1960s.
Stepney arrives
Their first Railway Series book was Stepney the “Bluebell” Engine, published in 1963.
The circumstances surrounding the book are rather charming.
After John T. Kenney left the series, editor Eric Marriott approached Gunvor Edwards about illustrating the new volume.
Gunvor began working on the book but found the highly specific requirements of the Railway Series difficult to reproduce in the restricted format of the illustrations.
She turned to her husband Peter for assistance.
Peter became increasingly involved, and the two ultimately received joint credit for the book. (Wikipedia)
It proved to be the beginning of a ten-year association with the Railway Series.
The Edwards books
Peter and Gunvor Edwards illustrated nine of the Railway Series books written by Wilbert Awdry:
- Stepney the “Bluebell” Engine — 1963
- Mountain Engines — 1964
- Very Old Engines — 1965
- Main Line Engines — 1966
- Small Railway Engines — 1967
- Enterprising Engines — 1968
- Oliver the Western Engine — 1969
- Duke the Lost Engine — 1970
- Tramway Engines — 1972
Their work therefore covers the final period of Wilbert Awdry’s original run of Railway Series books. (Awdry’s Railway Series)
Tramway Engines, published in 1972, was the final Railway Series book written by Wilbert Awdry.
A different Sodor
The difference between Dalby and the Edwards couple is striking.
Dalby’s Sodor is bright, colourful and almost fantastical. His engines have enormous presence and his landscapes are often wonderfully vivid.
The Edwards illustrations are different.
They are more atmospheric, more impressionistic and often more grounded in the physical reality of Britain’s railways.
There is a particular reason for this.
Peter Edwards was keen to observe real locomotives and railway environments. He travelled to locations to sketch and study engines, railway buildings and landscapes rather than simply relying on imagination. His approach gave the illustrations a strong sense of authenticity. (Wikipedia)
This was especially appropriate for the period in which the books appeared.
Britain’s railway system was changing dramatically during the 1960s. Steam locomotives were disappearing, dieselisation was taking place and many traditional railway scenes were vanishing.
The Edwards illustrations captured something of that changing railway landscape.
There is often a slightly darker, more atmospheric quality to their pictures: smoke hangs around railway yards, locomotives appear weathered and working, and the landscapes have a sense of depth and realism.
The illustrations therefore reflect not only the fictional Island of Sodor but also the real British railway world that was disappearing around them.
Real engines behind the pictures
One of the fascinating characteristics of the Edwards period is the extent to which real railway preservation and real locomotives influenced the stories.
Stepney the “Bluebell” Engine was particularly significant because Stepney was a real locomotive belonging to the Bluebell Railway.
The book helped introduce many young readers to the railway preservation movement at a time when Britain’s steam railways were disappearing.
The Edwards artwork was particularly well suited to this approach. Their engines look like working machines rather than brightly coloured toys.
This realism became increasingly important as Awdry’s stories incorporated real railway history and locomotives.
Peter’s interest in drawing from life was something Awdry appreciated. Although the Edwards style was considerably more impressionistic than Dalby’s, Awdry recognised that Peter clearly had affection for the engines and treated them as real machines. (Wikipedia)
Peter Edwards beyond Thomas
Peter Edwards’ career extended far beyond the Railway Series.
He worked as an illustrator and sculptor, including work for Britain’s Central Office of Information. Later in his career he became involved in museum and exhibition design and worked with designer Neal Potter on projects including the British Pavilion at Expo ‘85 in Japan, London’s Museum of the Moving Image and work connected with the Royal Horticultural Society.
So although collectors naturally associate his name with Thomas, Peter Edwards was a much broader artist whose career encompassed illustration, sculpture, exhibition design and commercial art. (Google Groups)
Gunvor also had an independent career as an illustrator and worked on a variety of children’s books.
Together, however, their names became permanently associated with the final decade of Wilbert Awdry’s Railway Series.
Gunvor died in 2014, aged 80.
Peter died in 2017, aged 83.
Two very different visions of Thomas
For collectors, comparing Dalby with the Edwards is particularly fascinating.
Dalby created the classic early image of the Railway Series.
His Thomas, Percy, Gordon and the others are instantly recognisable. The colours are strong, the outlines bold and the expressions memorable.
The Edwards brought a different maturity to the books.
Their engines appear heavier and more mechanical. Their landscapes have greater atmosphere, and their illustrations often convey the grime, smoke and changing character of Britain’s railway system during the 1960s.
Neither approach is necessarily “better”.
They represent two distinct periods in the history of the Railway Series.
Dalby gave the books their early visual identity.
The Edwards gave the later books a sense of realism and atmosphere that reflected the changing railway world around them.
Why the illustrators matter to collectors
For anyone collecting the original Railway Series, the illustrator can be almost as important as the edition itself.
A Dalby-illustrated copy belongs to the formative years of Thomas and the Railway Series. The artwork is immediately recognisable and has become an important part of the visual history of children’s publishing.
The Edwards books, meanwhile, represent the mature period of Wilbert Awdry’s writing and the final decade of his original Railway Series.
The illustrations also provide a fascinating record of Britain’s railway heritage.
In Dalby’s pictures we see a bright, almost magical interpretation of the railway.
In the Edwards illustrations we see something closer to the real railway world: steam, smoke, weather, machinery and locomotives that look as though they genuinely belong on the rails.
And that is perhaps why the Railway Series remains so collectible.
The books were never simply stories about engines.
They were a meeting point between children’s literature, railway history, illustration and nostalgia.
C. Reginald Dalby, Peter Edwards and Gunvor Edwards each played an important part in creating that world.
Without their pictures, Thomas and the Island of Sodor would be very different places indeed.
A note for collectors
The original Railway Series consisted of 26 books written by Wilbert Awdry. Dalby illustrated eleven of them, John T. Kenney six, and Peter and Gunvor Edwards nine. The later books written by Christopher Awdry were illustrated by Clive Spong. (Awdry’s Railway Series)
For collectors of vintage children’s books, identifying the illustrator can therefore be an excellent way of understanding where a particular Railway Series volume sits within the history of the series.