This book is part of a book series called Thomas the Tank Engine .

This book was published 1996 by Random House USA Inc .

Reverend Wilbert Awry created Thomas the Tank Engine when his son Christopher became ill with measles. Christopher kept asking for more stories and Wilbert began writing them. The first of the railway series was published in 1945. Awdry wrote 26 Railway books in total before Christopher took over the series.