Thomas the Tank Engine

[Eddie Edwards]

On the account that this forum evolves around children's entertainment, here I have is a generic thread on Thomas the Tank Engine. This is what spawned my interest in railways generally but in order to get the ball rolling, I have a brief history on this immortal creation:

1945: First Railway Series book, The Three Railway Engines published.
1946: Thomas, the main character, makes his debut in the second Railway Series book.
1949: Sodor, Thomas's island, 'discovered'.
1951: Rev. Awdry, Thomas's creator, joins the Talyllyn Railway, the world's first preserved railway, as a volunteer guard. Note: The Talyllyn Railway was the basis for the Skarloey Railway.
1972: Rev. Awdry's last Railway Series book, Tramway Engines published.
1979: First Thomas Annual published.
1980s: City of Birmingham bans The Railway Series from its libraries due to accusations of sexism.
1983: Christopher Awdry's first Railway Series book, Really Useful Engines published.
1984: Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends (later Thomas & Friends), the TV adaptation of The Railway Series introduced.
1997: Rev. Awdry dies aged 85.
2000: Thomas and the Magic Railroad, the first full-length feature film to be based around Thomas, produced.
2011: Thomas and The Fat Controller's Engines, Christopher Awdry's most recent Railway Series book published.

[Ant]

My little boy loves Thomas.

[Eddie Edwards]

My little boy loves Thomas.

Aww, that's so sweet! What's his favourite character?

[twisting_mad]

Mr. Conductor was my favorite. George Carlin my he R.I.P.

[Eddie Edwards]

How did Duck get his name? - You may ask. In the 1950s, the Rev. Awdry bought a locomotive for his model railway. When he found out that it waddled when it moved(!), his family named it Duck. Even it had been rectified some time later, the name still sticks to this day.

[Eddie Edwards]

In case nobody knows, the original Thomas stories were inspired by real-life goings-on (railway-based, of course) e.g. the basis for Steam Roller, one of the stories in Gallant Old Engine (RWS Vol. 17) as well as Series 4 (TV), came from an incident in Ireland where a steam roller crashed into the side of a train where the road and the railway ran parallel. For more information, I suggest clicking on the following link: http://www.pegnsean.net/~railwayseries/database.htm