David
I remember the Little Engine that could, and let me tell you, no RED train was ever the little engine. Let's not rewrite history. You have the decade right for the most popular version (the 1954 version by Platt & Munk published The Little Engine That Could, with slightly revised language and new, more colorful illustrations by George and Doris Hauman. BUT THE LITTLE ENGINE THAT COULD HAS ALWAYS BEEN [/color]BLUE[color:#000099]not red.
I dug up my beat up old copy to verify it, but here is a link to the Wikipedia page which has the cover in pristine condition
Little BLUE engine that could I can't vouch for any of the other info in this article only the cover of the 1954 book.
Still, a great quote and certainly more inspirational than the cynical one mentioned in Wiki footnotes:
[quote]Shel Silverstein wrote a poem called "The Little Blue Engine" that referenced this story, except in the end the engine almost reached the top of the hill but then very quickly slid back down and crashed on the rocks below, and the poem ended with the memorable line "If the track is tough and the hill is rough, THINKING you can just ain't enough![/quote]"
Charm