Thomas the Tank Engine
Encyclopedia
Thomas the Tank Engine is a fiction
al steam locomotive
in The Railway Series
books by the Reverend Wilbert Awdry and his son, Christopher
. He became the most popular character in the series, and the accompanying television spin-off series, Thomas and Friends.
Thomas is a tank engine
, painted blue with red lining, and displays the running number one. All of the locomotives in The Railway Series were based on prototypical engines; Thomas has origins in the E2 Class
designed by Lawson Billinton in 1913.
Thomas first appeared in 1946 in the second book in the series, Thomas the Tank Engine, and was the focus of the four short stories contained within.
In 1979, the British writer/producer Britt Allcroft
came across the books, and arranged a deal to bring the stories to life as Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends (later simplified to Thomas and Friends). The programme became an award-winning hit around the world, with a vast range of spin-off commercial products.
. This engine looked rather different from the character in the books and television series, and carried the letters NW on its side tanks. Awdry claimed that this stood for "No Where"; as the Railway Series and its back-story developed, the railway Thomas and his friends worked on became known as the North Western Railway
.
Thomas wasn't originally based on a prototype, rather, the initial stories were an accompaniment to the toy made for Christopher. After Awdry's wife encouraged him to publish the stories, the publisher of the second book in The Railway Series, Thomas the Tank Engine, hired an illustrator named Reginald Payne. Awdry selected a real locomotive for Payne to work from to create authenticity; a Billinton designed 0-6-0
E2 Class
of the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway
. This may have been chosen simply because Awdry had a photograph to hand. Thomas is one of half a dozen locomotives fitted with an extension to the front of the water tanks.
One detail of the illustration bothered Awdry. This was the fact that the front end of his footplate featured a downward slope, which meant that his front and back buffers were at different levels. This was an illustrator's mistake that was perpetuated in subsequent books. The accident, in "Thomas Comes to Breakfast" was partly devised as a means of correcting this.
Unfortunately, despite creating the visual image of such an iconic character, Payne did not receive any credit for his work, and it is only since the publication of Brian Sibley
's The Thomas the Tank Engine Man that he has started to receive major recognition. It had often been erroneously assumed that C. Reginald Dalby, responsible for illustrating books 3–11 and repainting the illustrations of book 1, was the character's creator.
Thomas arrived on Sodor in 1915, when The Fat Director
bought the locomotive for a nominal sum to be a pilot engine at Vicarstown. After rescuing James
in Thomas and the Breakdown Train, he became a "Really Useful Engine" and was rewarded being put in charge of the Ffarquhar branchline
. Although Thomas is seen today on various heritage railways, the last of the E2 Class was scrapped in 1950.
, Henry
and Gordon
).
Thomas was described in the opening to "Thomas and Gordon", the first story in book two, Thomas the Tank Engine, as
Thomas was used initially as a station pilot engine in the first three stories in book 2, but longed for more important jobs such as pulling the express train like Gordon; his inexperience prevented this. In the fourth story, "Thomas and the Breakdown Train", Thomas rescues James and is rewarded with his own branch line
. He has remained in charge of the Ffarquhar branch ever since, with his two coaches Annie and Clarabel
, and help from Percy
and Toby
. Thomas is generally depicted with a cheeky and even self-important personality. He believes that he should be more respected by the others, and he gets annoyed when he does not receive this respect. However, Percy and Toby are more than capable of standing up to him, and Annie and Clarabel often rebuke him.
He is aware of his fame in the real world, and following a visit to the National Railway Museum
at York
he became an honorary member of the National Collection, joining such legendary locomotives as Mallard
, City of Truro
and Rocket
.
Thomas has been the source of some friction between Christopher Awdry and his publishers, who repeatedly asked for more books centred around the character . Although Thomas was the most popular character in the books , both the Reverend Wilbert and Christopher Awdry had always treated the characters in the books as an ensemble, and so before the television series there had been only ten stories with Thomas named in the title, the four in each of Thomas the Tank Engine and Tank Engine Thomas Again, plus "Thomas in Trouble" (in Toby the Tram Engine) and "Thomas Comes to Breakfast (in Branch Line Engines). After the debut of the television series, there were five books explicitly named after Thomas: (More About Thomas the Tank Engine, Thomas and the Twins, Thomas and the Great Railway Show, Thomas Comes Home, Thomas and the Fat Controller's Engines). Some of these are rather tenuous in their links with the character: Thomas and the Fat Controller's Engines (the 50th anniversary volume, originally to be called The Fat Controller's Engines) has only one story out of the four centred on Thomas; in Thomas Comes Home, Thomas appears only on the last page, the rest of the book dealing with the other engines on his branch line while he was away at York.
. The first series of 26 stories premièred in September 1984 on the ITV Network in the UK, with Ringo Starr
as storyteller.
Thomas' personality was originally faithful to the character of the books. In the eighth series, modifications were made. He no longer appears to be limited to his branch line and seemed to work all over Sodor. These changes in his personality and duties are a result of his "star" status. He is the most popular character in the series, and therefore he has the largest number of appearances, appearing in all of the DVD specials and the movie Thomas and the Magic Railroad
.
From Hero of the Rails
onward, Thomas is voiced by Ben Small
(UK) and Martin Sherman
(US).
, in a toy for a small child. A wooden push-along toy from the early 1940s, predating Learning Curve by many decades, is the original Thomas made by the Reverend Awdry out of a piece of broomstick for his son Christopher. However, the Reverend was happy to endorse Payne's account that the locomotive was an LBSC E2
, although the first Thomas on the Awdry's model railway, from Stuart Reidpath, lacked extended tanks. In the 1979 Thomas Annual, Awdry wrote:
"I bought Thomas in 1948 when I was writing "Tank Engine Thomas Again", and wanted to start modeling once more after a lapse of some twenty years. Thomas was one of Stewart Reidpath's standard models with a heavy, cast white metal body, and was fitted with his "Essar" chassis and motor. Stewart Reidpath is now dead, and his motors, let alone spare parts for them, have been unobtainable for years; but Thomas still keeps going! He is, as you might expect from his age, a temperamental old gentleman, and has to be driven very carefully indeed."
After Hornby produced the LBSC E2 tank in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Awdry gladly adapted one to take the role of Thomas on his layout, the Ffarquhar branch.
Despite Awdry's requests for models, to which Lines Brothers (later Triang-Hornby) responded with Meccano Percy in 1967, Hornby eventually adapted the tool to be Thomas when they started Railway Series models in the 1980s.
With the popularity of the Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends
TV series among children, Thomas-based merchandise has proven very lucrative. At least five different categories of trains and tracks exist: "Take Along Thomas" with grey tracks; Trackmaster battery-operated engines with brown tracks (previously Tomy with blue track); Brio-type wooden engines with wooden rails and roads (by ELC
and others); electric model railway (produced in HO/OO gauge by Hornby
and Bachmann
, N gauge by Tomix
, O gauge by Lionel
, and (from 2010) G-scale from Bachmann); and Lego
engines and tracks; along with complementary videos, DVDs, books, games, puzzles, stationery, clothing and household items.
, which acquired Gullane Entertainment
, formerly the Britt Allcroft Company, licenses "Day out with Thomas
" events all over the world, at which visitors to heritage railway
s can meet and ride on a train hauled by a replica "Thomas".
As none of the E2 Class survive, various other classes have been adapted to resemble Thomas. Replicas are sometimes based on alternative 0-6-0 format engines such as Hunslet
Austerity 0-6-0ST
number 3781, which was converted from a saddle-tank to a side-tank design by engineers on the Mid-Hants Railway to create No. 1 "Thomas" in 1994.
Due to the increasing licensing fees and many other restrictions imposed by HiT Entertainment, including the need for "Sir Topham Hatts" to have auditions and the requirement for intensive CRB checking, many heritage railways in the UK and overseas have reluctantly decided to withdraw from running "Thomas" days, thus reducing the income stream to these organisations.
An international tour featuring Thomas and his driver was completed in 2005 in honour of the 60th anniversary of the original stories. Former US President George H.W. Bush dedicated the Presidential Train during a ceremony in 2005.
A "real" Thomas was used in a special play, The Queen's Handbag, staged to celebrate the 80th birthday of Queen Elizabeth II
, starring well-loved characters from children's literature
. In the play the near life-sized Thomas carried Sophie Dahl
to the stage to meet Sir Topham Hatt (Jonathan Ross
) at the beginning of the show.
", recognised alongside 98 real-life adults and a therapy dog
for making Britain a better and happier place.
where he was voiced by Ringo Starr
, who narrated the first two series of Thomas and Friends. He also appeared as a guest star in Kids for Character in 1996
In the U.S., Thomas was spoofed on the "Brown History Month" episode of The Cleveland Show
, where Rallo says to Cleveland, "You're worse than Uncle Thomas the Tank Engine." Then it cuts away to where Uncle Thomas (voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson
) is going to take a spoof of The Fat Controller somewhere. The controller then says to Thomas that he is a "clean, articulate train". He was also referenced briefly in the episode From Bed to Worse when Rallo asks Donna if she can read him a book about him.
In Postcards from the Wedge
, an episode of The Simpsons
, Bart and Milhouse find an abandoned subway car. Bart says, "Wow, it's just like a Thomas the Tank Engine you can ride in!" To which Milhouse replies, "Yeah! And without Sir Topham Hatt telling you what to do!"
In Harry Hill's Whopping Great Joke Book, Harry makes a reference to Thomas the Tank Engine with a joke 'What is Thomas the Tank Engine's favourite railway station?' with the answer 'Tooting!'
In the British comedy show Bobby Davro Show, a spoof was created titled "Thomas The Tanked Up Engine" involving Jeremy, the pink engine. Bobby Davro provided the narration by impersonating the original Narrator, Ringo Starr
.
In Cartoon Network's MAD
, Thomas the Tank Engine appears in "Thomas the Unstoppable Tank Engine," a crossover between Thomas the Tank Engine and Unstoppable
.
In The Seven Family Comic Series, parodies of Thomas the Tank Engine, Percy the Small Engine, Harold the Helicopter and Sir Topham Hatt will be appearing. Thomas (Sid), Percy (Harry), Harold (Hover) and Sir Topham Hatt (Sir Tophat Fat)
Fiction
Fiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...
al steam locomotive
Steam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...
in The Railway Series
The Railway Series
The Railway Series is a set of story books about a railway system located on the fictional Island of Sodor. There are 42 books in the series, the first being published in 1945. Twenty-six were written by the Rev. W. Awdry, up to 1972. A further 16 were written by his son, Christopher Awdry; 14...
books by the Reverend Wilbert Awdry and his son, Christopher
Christopher Awdry
Christopher Awdry is an English author best known for his contributions to The Railway Series of books featuring Thomas the Tank Engine, which was started by his father, the Rev. W. Awdry. He has also produced children's books based on a number of other railways, as well as non-fiction articles...
. He became the most popular character in the series, and the accompanying television spin-off series, Thomas and Friends.
Thomas is a tank engine
Tank locomotive
A tank locomotive or tank engine is a steam locomotive that carries its water in one or more on-board water tanks, instead of pulling it behind it in a tender. It will most likely also have some kind of bunker to hold the fuel. There are several different types of tank locomotive dependent upon...
, painted blue with red lining, and displays the running number one. All of the locomotives in The Railway Series were based on prototypical engines; Thomas has origins in the E2 Class
LB&SCR E2 Class
The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway E2 Class was a class of 0-6-0T steam locomotives designed by Lawson Billinton, intended for shunting and short distance freight trains...
designed by Lawson Billinton in 1913.
Thomas first appeared in 1946 in the second book in the series, Thomas the Tank Engine, and was the focus of the four short stories contained within.
In 1979, the British writer/producer Britt Allcroft
Britt Allcroft
Britt Allcroft is the multi- award-winning creator of a trio of children's entertainment produced in the 1980s and 1990s: "Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends", , "Shining Time Station" and "Britt Allcroft's Magic Adventures of Mumfie".She was born Hilary Mary Allcroft, in Worthing, England and, at...
came across the books, and arranged a deal to bring the stories to life as Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends (later simplified to Thomas and Friends). The programme became an award-winning hit around the world, with a vast range of spin-off commercial products.
Prototype and back-story
When Awdry created Thomas, the engine existed only as a wooden toy made for his son, ChristopherChristopher Awdry
Christopher Awdry is an English author best known for his contributions to The Railway Series of books featuring Thomas the Tank Engine, which was started by his father, the Rev. W. Awdry. He has also produced children's books based on a number of other railways, as well as non-fiction articles...
. This engine looked rather different from the character in the books and television series, and carried the letters NW on its side tanks. Awdry claimed that this stood for "No Where"; as the Railway Series and its back-story developed, the railway Thomas and his friends worked on became known as the North Western Railway
North Western Railway (fictional)
The North Western Railway is the main railway company featured in The Railway Series of children's books by the Rev. W. Awdry. Although the company's name has never been specifically stated in the books, it was mentioned as such in tie-in books such as The Island of Sodor: Its People, History and...
.
Thomas wasn't originally based on a prototype, rather, the initial stories were an accompaniment to the toy made for Christopher. After Awdry's wife encouraged him to publish the stories, the publisher of the second book in The Railway Series, Thomas the Tank Engine, hired an illustrator named Reginald Payne. Awdry selected a real locomotive for Payne to work from to create authenticity; a Billinton designed 0-6-0
0-6-0
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 0-6-0 represents the wheel arrangement of no leading wheels, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles, and no trailing wheels...
E2 Class
LB&SCR E2 Class
The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway E2 Class was a class of 0-6-0T steam locomotives designed by Lawson Billinton, intended for shunting and short distance freight trains...
of the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway
London, Brighton and South Coast Railway
The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1846 to 1922. Its territory formed a rough triangle, with London at its apex, practically the whole coastline of Sussex as its base, and a large part of Surrey...
. This may have been chosen simply because Awdry had a photograph to hand. Thomas is one of half a dozen locomotives fitted with an extension to the front of the water tanks.
One detail of the illustration bothered Awdry. This was the fact that the front end of his footplate featured a downward slope, which meant that his front and back buffers were at different levels. This was an illustrator's mistake that was perpetuated in subsequent books. The accident, in "Thomas Comes to Breakfast" was partly devised as a means of correcting this.
Unfortunately, despite creating the visual image of such an iconic character, Payne did not receive any credit for his work, and it is only since the publication of Brian Sibley
Brian Sibley
Brian Sibley is an English writer. He is author of over 100 hours of radio drama and has written and presented hundreds of radio documentaries, features and weekly programmes.- Early life :...
's The Thomas the Tank Engine Man that he has started to receive major recognition. It had often been erroneously assumed that C. Reginald Dalby, responsible for illustrating books 3–11 and repainting the illustrations of book 1, was the character's creator.
Thomas arrived on Sodor in 1915, when The Fat Director
The Fat Controller
The Fat Controller is the head of the railway in The Railway Series of books written by the Rev. W. V. Awdry. In the first two books in the series he is known as The Fat Director...
bought the locomotive for a nominal sum to be a pilot engine at Vicarstown. After rescuing James
James the Red Engine
James the Red Engine is a fictional anthropomorphic tender locomotive from The Railway Series children's books by the Rev. W. Awdry, and the spin-off TV series Thomas and Friends. James is a mixed-traffic engine, which means he is just as capable of pulling coaches as trucks...
in Thomas and the Breakdown Train, he became a "Really Useful Engine" and was rewarded being put in charge of the Ffarquhar branchline
Ffarquhar
Ffarquhar is a fictional town or village on the equally fictional Island of Sodor in the Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends children's TV series and in Reverend W. Awdry's The Railway Series books on which the TV series was based....
. Although Thomas is seen today on various heritage railways, the last of the E2 Class was scrapped in 1950.
Thomas in The Railway Series
Despite becoming the most popular character in The Railway Series, Thomas did not actually feature in the first book, The Three Railway Engines (namely EdwardEdward the Blue Engine
Edward the Blue Engine is a fictional anthropomorphic steam locomotive from The Railway Series children's books by the Rev W. Awdry, and the related TV Series Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends. He is a blue 4-4-0 tender engine with red stripes, about the same size as James the Red Engine, and has...
, Henry
Henry the Green Engine
Henry the Green Engine is a fictional anthropomorphic 4-6-0 steam locomotive from The Railway Series books written by the Reverend Wilbert Vere Awdry and his son, Christopher Awdry, and the spin-off children's television series, Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends.Henry lives on the fictitious...
and Gordon
Gordon the Big Engine
Gordon the Big Engine is a fictional anthropomorphic tender locomotive in The Railway Series books by Rev. W. Awdry. Gordon is painted blue and carries the number 4. Gordon views himself as the most important engine because he is the biggest and he pulls the Express...
).
Thomas was described in the opening to "Thomas and Gordon", the first story in book two, Thomas the Tank Engine, as
Thomas was used initially as a station pilot engine in the first three stories in book 2, but longed for more important jobs such as pulling the express train like Gordon; his inexperience prevented this. In the fourth story, "Thomas and the Breakdown Train", Thomas rescues James and is rewarded with his own branch line
Branch line
A branch line is a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line...
. He has remained in charge of the Ffarquhar branch ever since, with his two coaches Annie and Clarabel
Annie and Clarabel
Annie and Clarabel are fictional characters from The Railway Series of children's books by the Rev. W. Awdry and the related Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends television series...
, and help from Percy
Percy the Small Engine
Percy the Small Engine is a fictional anthropomorphic steam engine from The Railway Series of children's books written by the Reverend Wilbert Vere Awdry and his son, Christopher Awdry...
and Toby
Toby the Tram Engine
Toby the Tram Engine is a fictional anthropomorphic tram engine in The Railway Series by the Rev. W. Awdry and his son, Christopher; he also appears in the spin-off television series Thomas and Friends...
. Thomas is generally depicted with a cheeky and even self-important personality. He believes that he should be more respected by the others, and he gets annoyed when he does not receive this respect. However, Percy and Toby are more than capable of standing up to him, and Annie and Clarabel often rebuke him.
He is aware of his fame in the real world, and following a visit to the National Railway Museum
National Railway Museum
The National Railway Museum is a museum in York forming part of the British National Museum of Science and Industry and telling the story of rail transport in Britain and its impact on society. It has won many awards, including the European Museum of the Year Award in 2001...
at York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
he became an honorary member of the National Collection, joining such legendary locomotives as Mallard
LNER Class A4 4468 Mallard
Number 4468 Mallard is a London and North Eastern Railway Class A4 4-6-2 Pacific steam locomotive built at Doncaster, England in 1938. While in other respects a relatively typical member of its class, it is historically significant for being the holder of the official world speed record for steam...
, City of Truro
GWR 3700 Class 3440 City of Truro
Number 3440 City Of Truro is a Great Western Railway 3700 Class 4-4-0 locomotive, designed by George Jackson Churchward and built at the GWR Swindon Works in 1903. . It is one of the contenders for the first steam locomotive to travel in excess of...
and Rocket
Stephenson's Rocket
Stephenson's Rocket was an early steam locomotive of 0-2-2 wheel arrangement, built in Newcastle Upon Tyne at the Forth Street Works of Robert Stephenson and Company in 1829.- Design innovations :...
.
Thomas has been the source of some friction between Christopher Awdry and his publishers, who repeatedly asked for more books centred around the character . Although Thomas was the most popular character in the books , both the Reverend Wilbert and Christopher Awdry had always treated the characters in the books as an ensemble, and so before the television series there had been only ten stories with Thomas named in the title, the four in each of Thomas the Tank Engine and Tank Engine Thomas Again, plus "Thomas in Trouble" (in Toby the Tram Engine) and "Thomas Comes to Breakfast (in Branch Line Engines). After the debut of the television series, there were five books explicitly named after Thomas: (More About Thomas the Tank Engine, Thomas and the Twins, Thomas and the Great Railway Show, Thomas Comes Home, Thomas and the Fat Controller's Engines). Some of these are rather tenuous in their links with the character: Thomas and the Fat Controller's Engines (the 50th anniversary volume, originally to be called The Fat Controller's Engines) has only one story out of the four centred on Thomas; in Thomas Comes Home, Thomas appears only on the last page, the rest of the book dealing with the other engines on his branch line while he was away at York.
TV series
Thomas's on-screen appearances in the TV series Thomas and Friends were created by Britt AllcroftBritt Allcroft
Britt Allcroft is the multi- award-winning creator of a trio of children's entertainment produced in the 1980s and 1990s: "Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends", , "Shining Time Station" and "Britt Allcroft's Magic Adventures of Mumfie".She was born Hilary Mary Allcroft, in Worthing, England and, at...
. The first series of 26 stories premièred in September 1984 on the ITV Network in the UK, with Ringo Starr
Ringo Starr
Richard Starkey, MBE better known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an English musician and actor who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for The Beatles. When the band formed in 1960, Starr was a member of another Liverpool band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. He became The Beatles' drummer in...
as storyteller.
Thomas' personality was originally faithful to the character of the books. In the eighth series, modifications were made. He no longer appears to be limited to his branch line and seemed to work all over Sodor. These changes in his personality and duties are a result of his "star" status. He is the most popular character in the series, and therefore he has the largest number of appearances, appearing in all of the DVD specials and the movie Thomas and the Magic Railroad
Thomas and the Magic Railroad
Thomas and the Magic Railroad is a 2000 British/American film based on the well-known TV series Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends and the United States TV series Shining Time Station. The film was co-produced by Gullane Entertainment and the Isle of Man Film Commission. It was written, produced...
.
From Hero of the Rails
Hero of the Rails
Hero of the Rails is a 2009 animated film and feature spin-off of the TV series, Thomas and Friends. The film is a follow up, not a direct sequel to Thomas and the Magic Railroad and a sequel to Calling All Engines! and The Great Discovery...
onward, Thomas is voiced by Ben Small
Ben Small
Benjamin Small , is a British character actor and voice actor.Small provided the voice of Thomas in the later episodes of the children's television series Thomas and Friends....
(UK) and Martin Sherman
Martin Sherman (actor)
Martin Sherman is an American actor, who has starred in several films as well as many video games.-Film:*Hooligans *The Tiger and the Snow *Incubus *Hero of the Rails...
(US).
Models
Thomas had his genesis, like Winnie-the-PoohWinnie-the-Pooh
Winnie-the-Pooh, also called Pooh Bear, is a fictional anthropomorphic bear created by A. A. Milne. The first collection of stories about the character was the book Winnie-the-Pooh , and this was followed by The House at Pooh Corner...
, in a toy for a small child. A wooden push-along toy from the early 1940s, predating Learning Curve by many decades, is the original Thomas made by the Reverend Awdry out of a piece of broomstick for his son Christopher. However, the Reverend was happy to endorse Payne's account that the locomotive was an LBSC E2
LB&SCR E2 Class
The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway E2 Class was a class of 0-6-0T steam locomotives designed by Lawson Billinton, intended for shunting and short distance freight trains...
, although the first Thomas on the Awdry's model railway, from Stuart Reidpath, lacked extended tanks. In the 1979 Thomas Annual, Awdry wrote:
"I bought Thomas in 1948 when I was writing "Tank Engine Thomas Again", and wanted to start modeling once more after a lapse of some twenty years. Thomas was one of Stewart Reidpath's standard models with a heavy, cast white metal body, and was fitted with his "Essar" chassis and motor. Stewart Reidpath is now dead, and his motors, let alone spare parts for them, have been unobtainable for years; but Thomas still keeps going! He is, as you might expect from his age, a temperamental old gentleman, and has to be driven very carefully indeed."
After Hornby produced the LBSC E2 tank in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Awdry gladly adapted one to take the role of Thomas on his layout, the Ffarquhar branch.
Despite Awdry's requests for models, to which Lines Brothers (later Triang-Hornby) responded with Meccano Percy in 1967, Hornby eventually adapted the tool to be Thomas when they started Railway Series models in the 1980s.
Toys
With the popularity of the Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends
Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends
Thomas and Friends is a British children's television series, first broadcast on the ITV network in September 1984. Until 2003, it was named Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends. This series was shot on 35mm film...
TV series among children, Thomas-based merchandise has proven very lucrative. At least five different categories of trains and tracks exist: "Take Along Thomas" with grey tracks; Trackmaster battery-operated engines with brown tracks (previously Tomy with blue track); Brio-type wooden engines with wooden rails and roads (by ELC
Early Learning Centre
The Early Learning Centre is a British chain of shops selling toys for very young children.-History:Originally set up as a mail order company in 1974 and was always based near Swindon; by 1980 it had ten shops; and it has grown to include 215 shops in the UK and over 80 in 19 other countries such...
and others); electric model railway (produced in HO/OO gauge by Hornby
Hornby Railways
Hornby Railways is the leading brand of model railway in the United Kingdom. Its roots date back to 1901, when founder Frank Hornby received a patent for his Meccano construction toy. The first clockwork train was produced in 1920. In 1938, Hornby launched its first 00 gauge train...
and Bachmann
Bachmann Industries
Bachmann Industries is a Bermuda registered Chinese owned company, globally head quartered in Hong Kong; specializing in model railroading....
, N gauge by Tomix
Tomix
Tomix is model railway brand of the Japanese company Tomytec, a subsidiary of toy manufacturer Takara Tomy .-Product outline:...
, O gauge by Lionel
Lionel, LLC
Lionel, LLC is a designer and importer of toy trains and model railroads, based in Chesterfield Township, Michigan. Its roots lie in the 1969 purchase of the Lionel product line by cereal conglomerate General Mills....
, and (from 2010) G-scale from Bachmann); and Lego
Lego
Lego is a line of construction toys manufactured by the Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. The company's flagship product, Lego, consists of colorful interlocking plastic bricks and an accompanying array of gears, minifigures and various other parts...
engines and tracks; along with complementary videos, DVDs, books, games, puzzles, stationery, clothing and household items.
Heritage railways
HiT EntertainmentHIT Entertainment
Hit Entertainment is a British-American entertainment distribution company established in 1989, and originally the international distribution arm of Jim Henson Productions called Henson International Television...
, which acquired Gullane Entertainment
Gullane Entertainment
Gullane Entertainment was the name of the company that replaced that of The Britt Allcroft Company in 2000, when Britt Allcroft herself left the company she had originally co-founded with her then-husband Angus Wright....
, formerly the Britt Allcroft Company, licenses "Day out with Thomas
Day out with Thomas
Day Out With Thomas is a trade name, licensed by HiT Entertainment, for tourist events that take place on heritage railways and feature one or more trains decorated to look like characters from the children's TV series, Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends....
" events all over the world, at which visitors to heritage railway
Heritage railway
thumb|right|the Historical [[Khyber train safari|Khyber Railway]] goes through the [[Khyber Pass]], [[Pakistan]]A heritage railway , preserved railway , tourist railway , or tourist railroad is a railway that is run as a tourist attraction, in some cases by volunteers, and...
s can meet and ride on a train hauled by a replica "Thomas".
As none of the E2 Class survive, various other classes have been adapted to resemble Thomas. Replicas are sometimes based on alternative 0-6-0 format engines such as Hunslet
Hunslet Engine Company
The Hunslet Engine Company is a British locomotive-building company founded in 1864 at Jack Lane, Hunslet, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England by John Towlerton Leather, a civil engineering contractor, who appointed James Campbell as his Works Manager.In 1871, James Campbell bought the company for...
Austerity 0-6-0ST
Hunslet Austerity 0-6-0ST
The Hunslet Engine Company Austerity 0-6-0ST is a steam locomotive designed for shunting. The class became the standard British shunting locomotive during the Second World War, and production continued until 1964 at various locomotive manufacturers....
number 3781, which was converted from a saddle-tank to a side-tank design by engineers on the Mid-Hants Railway to create No. 1 "Thomas" in 1994.
Due to the increasing licensing fees and many other restrictions imposed by HiT Entertainment, including the need for "Sir Topham Hatts" to have auditions and the requirement for intensive CRB checking, many heritage railways in the UK and overseas have reluctantly decided to withdraw from running "Thomas" days, thus reducing the income stream to these organisations.
An international tour featuring Thomas and his driver was completed in 2005 in honour of the 60th anniversary of the original stories. Former US President George H.W. Bush dedicated the Presidential Train during a ceremony in 2005.
A "real" Thomas was used in a special play, The Queen's Handbag, staged to celebrate the 80th birthday of Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
, starring well-loved characters from children's literature
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
. In the play the near life-sized Thomas carried Sophie Dahl
Sophie Dahl
Sophie Dahl , born Sophie Holloway, is an English author and former model. She was born in London, the daughter of actor Julian Holloway and writer Tessa Dahl. Her maternal grandparents were author Roald Dahl and actress Patricia Neal. Her paternal grandparents were actor Stanley Holloway and...
to the stage to meet Sir Topham Hatt (Jonathan Ross
Jonathan Ross
Jonathan Ross may refer to:* Jonathan Ross , English television and radio personality* Jonathan Ross , United States Senator, Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court* Jonathon Ross , former Australian rules footballer...
) at the beginning of the show.
Awards
Thomas was the only fictional character included in the Independent on Sunday's 2009 "Happy ListHappy List
The Happy List is a list of 100 people in the United Kingdom "who give back, volunteer, and who make Britain a better balanced, happier country." It has been published annually in April by the Independent on Sunday, a British national Sunday newspaper, since 2008.The BBC welcomed the first Happy...
", recognised alongside 98 real-life adults and a therapy dog
Therapy dog
A therapy dog is a dog trained to provide affection and comfort to people in hospitals, retirement homes, nursing homes, schools, people with learning difficulties, and stressful situations, such as disaster areas....
for making Britain a better and happier place.
In popular culture
Thomas has been referenced, featured and parodied many times in popular culture. In 2009, he appeared in The Official BBC Children in Need MedleyThe Official BBC Children in Need Medley
"The Official BBC Children in Need Medley" is a cross-over single by Peter Kay's Animated All Star Band. It is the official Children in Need Single for 2009, and was released on 21 November 2009. The song was shown for the first time on Children in Need 2009. The cover art is a parody of the cover...
where he was voiced by Ringo Starr
Ringo Starr
Richard Starkey, MBE better known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an English musician and actor who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for The Beatles. When the band formed in 1960, Starr was a member of another Liverpool band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. He became The Beatles' drummer in...
, who narrated the first two series of Thomas and Friends. He also appeared as a guest star in Kids for Character in 1996
In the U.S., Thomas was spoofed on the "Brown History Month" episode of The Cleveland Show
The Cleveland Show
The Cleveland Show is an American animated television series that premiered on September 27, 2009, as a part of the "Animation Domination" lineup on Fox in the United States...
, where Rallo says to Cleveland, "You're worse than Uncle Thomas the Tank Engine." Then it cuts away to where Uncle Thomas (voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson
Kevin Michael Richardson
Kevin Michael Richardson is an American actor and voice actor who currently stars as Cleveland Brown, Jr. in The Cleveland Show...
) is going to take a spoof of The Fat Controller somewhere. The controller then says to Thomas that he is a "clean, articulate train". He was also referenced briefly in the episode From Bed to Worse when Rallo asks Donna if she can read him a book about him.
In Postcards from the Wedge
Postcards from the Wedge
"Postcards from the Wedge" is the fourteenth episode of The Simpsons twenty-first season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on March 14, 2010. In the episode, Homer and Marge once again try to discipline Bart after Mrs...
, an episode of The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
, Bart and Milhouse find an abandoned subway car. Bart says, "Wow, it's just like a Thomas the Tank Engine you can ride in!" To which Milhouse replies, "Yeah! And without Sir Topham Hatt telling you what to do!"
In Harry Hill's Whopping Great Joke Book, Harry makes a reference to Thomas the Tank Engine with a joke 'What is Thomas the Tank Engine's favourite railway station?' with the answer 'Tooting!'
In the British comedy show Bobby Davro Show, a spoof was created titled "Thomas The Tanked Up Engine" involving Jeremy, the pink engine. Bobby Davro provided the narration by impersonating the original Narrator, Ringo Starr
Ringo Starr
Richard Starkey, MBE better known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an English musician and actor who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for The Beatles. When the band formed in 1960, Starr was a member of another Liverpool band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. He became The Beatles' drummer in...
.
In Cartoon Network's MAD
Mad (TV series)
MAD is an American animated sketch comedy series created by Kevin Shinick and produced by Warner Bros. Animation. Based upon the magazine of the same name, each episode is a collection of short animated parodies of television shows, movies, games, celebrities and other media using various types of...
, Thomas the Tank Engine appears in "Thomas the Unstoppable Tank Engine," a crossover between Thomas the Tank Engine and Unstoppable
Unstoppable (2010 film)
Unstoppable is a 2010 American action thriller film directed by Tony Scott, written by Mark Bomback, and starring Denzel Washington and Chris Pine. The film tells the story of a runaway freight train, and the two men who attempt to stop it.The film was released in the United States and Canada on...
.
In The Seven Family Comic Series, parodies of Thomas the Tank Engine, Percy the Small Engine, Harold the Helicopter and Sir Topham Hatt will be appearing. Thomas (Sid), Percy (Harry), Harold (Hover) and Sir Topham Hatt (Sir Tophat Fat)
External links
- Thomas the Tank Engine.com – Official website
- www.telegraph.co.uk – Refers to Thomas's inspiration of Starlight ExpressStarlight ExpressStarlight Express is a rock musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber , Richard Stilgoe and Arlene Phillips , with later revisions by Don Black and David Yazbek . The story follows a child's dream in which his toy train set comes to life; famously the actors perform wearing roller skates...
- Thomas and Friends profile and history