Choo-Choo Charles.
Choo-Choo Charles was a book purchased by Jake Chambers at The Manhattan Restaurant of the Mind. It tells the story of Choo-Choo Charles and Engineer Bob. In the book, Charles is very mean and not dependable, yet Charles's smile is often described as being even creepier and untrustworthy. Charles bears many similarities to Thomas the tank engine.
Author[]
In Jake's world, the author of the book was Beryl Evans. In another version of Earth that Jake travels to later, the author listed is Claudia y Inez Bachman. This name holds special significance. It has 19 letters, a special number in The Dark Tower Series. Also, Claudia y Inez Bachman is the wife of Stephen King's pseudonym, Richard Bachman.
Role in the Dark Tower Series[]
When Roland and his ka-tet passed through Topeka, they stumbled upon Gage Park. Inside the park, there was a train that looked exactly like Charles. Jake was the first one to see it and almost fainted. As they were walking away, Jake swore that he saw the train's lights flash at him.
Gage Park and Choo-Choo Charles are both seen in Stephen King's novel Cell.