subject: Thomas The Tank Engine - Videos, Toys and Games [print this page] Thomas The Tank Engine - Videos, Toys and Games
Thomas the Tank Engine was just one of the characters in a story about trains and railways for a father's son. Who would have thought that a little story about a train started in 1945, would turn into such a huge world of entertainment for the children of today? What the Rev. Wilbert Awdry wrote in a story book for his son Christopher, has now become one of the biggest children's story lines on the planet.
Thomas the Tank Engine, also known as Thomas & Friends in the USA, has been entertaining children and adults of all ages since 1945, when the Rev. Awdry started his story books called 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 41 books in the series, the first one published in 1945. Another twenty-six were written by the Rev. Wilbert Awdry by 1972 and another 15 were written by his son, Christopher Awdry. 14 of those were written between 1983 and 1996 with the last book being written in 2007. However there is another book is due for release in 2011.
The Railway Series stories were based upon real-life events in and around the railways of Europe. The Rev. Awdry, a lifelong railway enthusiast, knew his stories should be as realistic as possible. The train engine characters were almost all based upon real classes of locomotives, and some of the railways themselves were directly based on the real lines in the British Isles.
The characters and stories from The Railway Series books formed the basis of the children's television series Thomas & Friends. Today, Thomas the Tank Engine or Thomas & Friends is present in almost every aspect of children's lives, from Cartoons to DVD Movies to Bedroom Sets shaped like Thomas the Tank Engine to Thomas the Train Birthday Party Themes and much more. There are countless numbers of Thomas & Friends cartoon movies now and children love the movies and series shows.
If you're a big kid, you will too, especially if you are into trains or train sets. The first seasons of the Thomas & Friends series were shot on 35mm film and used scaled model versions of real life train engines. The attention to detail was amazing.
Even for adults who are into model trains, Thomas the Tank Engine, and the Thomas & Friends shows, hold a special place in their hearts. If you ever watch one of the older shows of Thomas & Friends, you will see why too. Thomas the Tank Engine is a very Likable and Usual Engine.
