Who is Thomas the Tank Engine?
Are you a Thomas the Tank Engine fan? We all have treasured
memories from childhood; memories of our favourite toys and favourite characters
from books. One of these fictional characters that remains a perennial
favourite with kids is the lovable blue railway engine Thomas the Tank Engine. This
popular character was the creation of the Reverend W Awdry in the 1940s who
started inventing the stories about railway engines with human faces and human
personalities to entertain his son Christopher while he was recovering from
scarlet fever. Christopher apparently begged to have these stories retold so
many times that the Reverend Awdry started writing them down on scraps of paper
and started to sketch pictures of the
various locomotive characters with their different faces and expressions. The Reverend Awdry’s wife convinced him that
his railway engine tales deserved to be read by a wider audience, so he sent
them to a distant relative who was a publisher. The result was that his first
book ‘The Three Railway Engines’ containing three different stories and
illustrations was published in 1945.
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| Thomas the Tank Engine |
However, the iconic Thomas the Tank Engine did not appear on
the scene until the second book was published in 1946. These gentle tales of the life and trials of
the railway engines and their friends were so popular that a new book was
published every year. The original
illustrations in the early books were all executed by C. Reginald Dalby who
adapted the Reverend Awdry’s hastily scribbled drawings into the locomotive
characters and based them on real designs of British steam engines of the
time. The railway engine used for the
character of Thomas was a little known 0-6-0T Class E2 shunting engine from
Victorian times, while the illustrations of Gordon were based on the engine
class that contained the altogether more dashing ‘Flying Scotsman’. The family
of railway engines grew over time as more characters were added, forever trundling
over the railway tracks of the mythical Island of Sodor and being overseen by
the imposing Fat Controller.
Thomas the Tank Engine Books
The Rev. W Awdry continued to write books about the
adventures of Thomas the Tank Engine and his friends in his Railway Series
until 1972. All of these books were
beautifully illustrated and designed so that they could comfortably fit into
small children’s hands, be easy to read and be simple to turn the pages
over. The Rev. Awdry’s son Christopher
took over from his father and started writing new tales in 1983. To add to
these children’s books there are now Thomas the Tank Engine Annuals published
yearly and other Thomas and Friends picture and pop-up books that have been
published. This lovable train even
features in his very own comic. The
books are just as popular with kids today as they were in the 1940s and 50s and
one of the easiest ways to find them is online. There are collections of the
Thomas the Tank Engine stories, the individual railway tales, special
anniversary editions, ABC books and many more.
These kids books make great gifts and if you know a child who is collecting
them, why not get them the next one in the series for their birthday or
Christmas present? Also, little girls
love Thomas the Tank Engine as much as the boys do, so one of these books makes
the perfect stocking filler for your daughters and young relatives.
Thomas the Tank Engine on TV and Thomas & Friends DVDs
As the fame and popularity of Thomas the Tank Engine grew,
it was almost inevitable that he would end up starring in his very own TV show.
Originally called Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends, this new TV show for
kids was first aired in Britain on ITV in 1984. The name of the TV show was
changed for Series 7 in 2003 to Thomas & Friends. The TV show also proved popular in the United
States, and both in the US and in the UK has attracted some high profile
celebrity narrators including Ringo Starr, Alec Baldwin, Michael Angelis and
Pierce Brosnan. He also starred on the big screen when his movie ‘Thomas and
the Magic Railroad’ was released in 2000.
Inevitably, Thomas’s adventures on screen have migrated onto video and
DVD and you can now watch the tales of Thomas and Friends with your kids at
home. These DVDs make great gifts and if
your kids get bored in the school holidays or on long journeys, why not get some
to while away the time? Online is a good place to look for, so have a browse
today and find your child’s favourite story on DVD.
Thomas & Friends Toys, Games and Puzzles
The huge popularity of the books and the Thomas &
Friends TV showed, led to an explosion in merchandise of all kinds. For kids there is now literally hundreds of toys,
games and puzzles featuring your favourite train that you can buy. One of the
best selling toys is the Thomas the Tank Engine Wooden Railway. This is a toy that is especially recommended
for very young children as it is very easy to put together and the wooden
railway engine moves smoothly round the tracks. It is also sturdily built, so
it is not easy to break. You can get all
of the railway locomotive characters separately, including Thomas, Percy,
Salty, Gordon and Toby the Tram Engine and also wooden train tracks and
accessories packs. Everything you need, in fact, to have your very own Thomas
the Tank Engine railway network. As for
other toys, you can get play vehicles, Sit and Rides, jigsaw puzzles,
backpacks, stuffed toys, games, fork and spoon sets and even tents. If your child has been nagging you for a
Thomas the Tank Engine themed bedroom it could not be simpler, as you can buy
bedding, drapes, pictures and rugs on online. Your kids can even dress-up as
Thomas the Tank Engine this Halloween, if they are looking for a more unusual
dress-up costume.
So if your kids love Thomas the Tank Engine, you will be
able to find them everything that they could want online. You will find a huge selection of books, DVDs
and merchandise, so have a look today and ensure that you order everything
Thomas that you want for upcoming birthdays and Christmas presents.
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