The Little Engine That Could is an American folktale and story to teach children the value of optimism and hard work. It is best known for its signature motif: "I think I can!"
The story originated in the early 20th century being retold by various authors, including Mary C. Jacobs. It was first referred to as its well known title in a 1920 edition published within the My Book House series. The most widely known version by Arnold "Watty Piper" Munk was published in 1930 by Platt & Munk. The 1930 version entered the American public domain on January 1, 2026.
Plot
In the tale, a long train must be pulled over a high mountain after its locomotive breaks down. Larger locomotives, treated anthropomorphically, are asked to pull the train; for various reasons, they refuse because they think they are too important. The request is sent to a small engine, who agrees to try. Despite the steep climb and heavy load, the engine slowly succeeds in pulling the train over the mountain while repeating the motto: "I think I can".
The story's signature phrases such as "I think I can" first occurred in print in a 1902 article in a Swedish journal.[1] An early published version of the story, "Story of the Engine That Thought It Could", appeared in the New-York Tribune on April 8, 1906, as part of a sermon by the Rev. Charles S. Wing.[1]
A brief version of the tale appeared under the title "Thinking One Can" in 1906, in Wellspring for Young People, a Sunday school publication.[1] This version reappeared in a 1910 book, Foundation Stones of Success.[1]
Another version was published under the name "The Pony Engine" in the Kindergarten Review in 1910, written by Mary C. Jacobs.[1] A different version with the same title appeared in a magazine for children in 1916 under the name of Mabel C. Bragg, a teacher.[2] She introduced new events to the story, such as the train's kid-friendly cargo, but she "took no credit for originating the story".[1][2]
The first version with the title "The Little Engine That Could" appeared in 1920 in the U.S., in Volume 1 of My Book House, a set of books sold door-to-door.[1] This version began: "Once there was a Train-of-Cars; she was flying across the country with a load of Christmas toys for the children who lived on the other side of the mountain".[1] The story was labeled, as told by Olive Beaupré Miller, that the first edition gave credit to Bragg, but subsequent editions did not as Miller subsequently concluded that "the story belonged to the realm of folk literature".[1] Miller was the founding editor and publisher of The Book House for Children, a company based in Chicago.
The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper (1930)
The best known incarnation of The Little Engine That Could was published in 1930 by "Watty Piper", pen name of Arnold Munk, who was the owner of the publishing firm Platt & Munk.[2] The title page stated: "Retold by Watty Piper from The Pony Engine by Mabel C. Bragg's copyrighted by George H. Doran and Co."[1] Munk used the name Watty Piper as both an author of children's books and as the editor of many of the books that Platt & Munk published. He personally hired Lois Lenski to illustrate the book.
In 1954, Platt & Munk published another version of The Little Engine That Could with slightly revised language and new, more colorful illustrations by George and Doris Hauman. Although there had been many previous editions of this classic story, "it was the work of George and Doris Hauman that earned The Little Engine the title of being worthy to sit on the same shelf as Alice's Adventures in Wonderland". A 1976 reworking that featured art by Ruth Sanderson[3] received a lot of attention at the time of its release, in part because it prompted a discussion of gender stereotypes.
Later versions would revamp the story to have a more specific appeal for children – the stranded train is recast as a tank engine pulling good food and anthropomorphic toys for the children across the mountain, thus in saving the train the little engine seems to be working for the benefit of the child reader, making the successful deed all the more triumphant.
In these versions, another character appeared and remained a key part of the story hereafter – the clown ringleader of the toys who attempts to find help with several locomotives but is rebuffed. The number of engines in the story also eventually became standard across the telling: the happy locomotive on the toy train who breaks down and cannot go on, the pompous passenger engine who considers himself too grand for the task and the powerful freight engine who views himself as too important. At least one version includes an old-time engine that says he is 'too tired' to help. The little blue engine always appears last and, although perhaps reluctant (some editions have the engine clarify her role as a switcher not suited for excursions), always rises to the occasion and saves the day for the children over the mountain.
Each engine is defined by its appearance or function and is not given a name or personality beyond its role on the railroad. It is only in the 1991 film adaption that the engines' personalities are expanded on, including the granting of names: Farnsworth (the express engine), Pete (the freight engine), Jebediah (the old-time engine), Georgia (the friendly engine of the toy train), and Tillie, the titular "little engine that could". The clown was also named "Rollo" and a sixth engine character, Doc, appeared briefly to recover the broken-down Georgia and thus tie up the hanging story-thread of what happened to the failed engine of the toy train, which all other versions leave unaddressed. The 2011 adaptation expanded the storyline, this time with the little engine now working in Dreamland with Rusty (an old steam engine) alongside other Dream Haulers, trains that carried dreams to the real world while the original personalities of the previous locomotives are absent from this version.
Films
The 1963 film, The Little Engine That Could, by Coronet Films was the first adaption of the story. The story was adapted for a second time in January 1991 as a 30-minute animated film produced in the United Kingdom and co-financed in the United Kingdom and the United States. The film named the engine Tillie and expanded the narrative into a larger story of self-discovery.[citation needed]
From 2005 to 2008, a full-size replica of the Little Engine That Could made an annual circuit around the United States. Arranged through Rail Events, Inc., a number of tourist and museum railroad operations hosted the "I Think I Can" Rail Tour.[5] The replica was constructed in 2005 by the Strasburg Rail Road in southeast Pennsylvania who also constructed the Thomas the Tank Engine replicas that tour the United States.[6] The last tour was in 2008.[7] In 2009, the replica only appeared at the Texas State Railroad.[8] In 2011, the website for the tour said that there would be dates announced for that year,[9] but dates were never posted and the message was still present in 2012 until it went offline.[10] The last time the train ever operated was on September 16, 2012.[11] As of 2015, the replica is owned by the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad, and has since been repainted to remove all references to the Little Engine That Could. It is currently displayed at the depot.[12]
List of other Little Engine That Could books
The Little Engine That Could and the Big Chase[13]
