Thomas The Tank Engine
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Thomas the Tank Engine is a fictional,
anthropomorphised Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics to ...
tank locomotive A tank locomotive is a steam locomotive which carries its water in one or more on-board water tanks, instead of a more traditional tender (rail), tender. Most tank engines also have Fuel bunker, bunkers (or fuel tanks) to hold fuel; in a #Tender ...
who originated from the British children's books ''
The Railway Series ''The Railway Series'' is a series of British books about a railway known as the North Western Railway, located on the fictional Sodor (fictional island), Island of Sodor. There are 42 books in the series, the first published in May 1945 by Wi ...
'', created and written by
Wilbert Awdry Wilbert Vere Awdry (15 June 1911 – 21 March 1997), often credited as Rev. W. Awdry, was an English Anglican minister, railway enthusiast, and children's author. He is best remembered as the creator of Thomas the Tank Engine and several other ...
with his son
Christopher Christopher is the English language, English version of a Europe-wide name derived from the Greek language, Greek name Χριστόφορος (''Christophoros'' or ''Christoforos''). The constituent parts are Χριστός (''Christós''), "Jesus ...
, first published in 1945. Thomas runs on
the Fat Controller The Fat Controller is a fictional character originating from ''The Railway Series'' books written by Wilbert Awdry, Reverend W. Awdry and his son, Christopher Awdry. In the first two books in the series (''List of books in The Railway Series# ...
's North Western Railway on the
Island of Sodor The Island of Sodor is a fictional island that is the primary setting for ''The Railway Series'' books by Wilbert Awdry and its television adaptation ''Thomas & Friends''. It lies in the Irish Sea between Cumbria and the Isle of Man. Inspirat ...
. He became the most popular character in the series, and is the titular
protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a ...
in the accompanying television series adaptation ''
Thomas & Friends ''Thomas & Friends'' is a British children's television series which aired from 9 October 1984 to 20 January 2021. Based on ''The Railway Series'' books by Wilbert Awdry and his son Christopher Awdry, Christopher, the series was developed for ...
'' and its reboot '' Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go''. Based on the
LB&SCR E2 class The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR) E2 class was a class of steam locomotives designed by Lawson Billinton, intended for shunting and short distance goods trains. Ten examples were built between 1913 and 1916. Some of these ...
,Sibley, Brian (1995). ''The Thomas the Tank Engine Man''. London: Heinemann. . Thomas debuted in the 1946 book ''
Thomas the Tank Engine Thomas the Tank Engine is a fictional, anthropomorphised tank locomotive who originated from the British children's books ''The Railway Series'', created and written by Wilbert Awdry with his son Christopher Awdry, Christopher, first publish ...
''—the second book in ''The Railway Series''—and was the focus of the four short stories featured within. In 1979, British writer and producer
Britt Allcroft Britt Allcroft (born Hilary Mary Allcroft Coote; 14 December 1943 - 25 December 2024) was an English screenwriter, producer, director, and voice actress. She adapted Wilbert Awdry's ''The Railway Series'' in the form of the children's television ...
came across the books, and arranged a deal to make the television series ''Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends'' (later rebranded as ''Thomas & Friends''). The programme became an award-winning hit around the world, with a range of spin-off commercial products. Since then, Thomas has become commonly-known in
popular culture Popular culture (also called pop culture or mass culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of cultural practice, practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as popular art
f. pop art F is the sixth letter of the Latin alphabet. F may also refer to: Science and technology Mathematics * F or f, the number 15 (number), 15 in hexadecimal and higher positional systems * ''p'F'q'', the hypergeometric function * F-distributi ...
or mass art, sometimes contraste ...
.


Prototype and background

Awdry based Thomas on a wooden toy made for his son Christopher. This toy looked rather different from the character in the books and television series, and carried the letters NW on its side tanks, which stood for "No Where" according to Awdry. The first Thomas model was not based on a prototype.Awdry (2005), 29 After Awdry's wife encouraged him to publish the stories, the publisher of the second book ''Thomas the Tank Engine'' hired illustrator Reginald Payne. Awdry selected a real locomotive for Payne to work from to create authenticity: a Billinton designed E2 Class of the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway. This may have been chosen because Awdry had a photograph to hand. The models of Thomas used in the ''Thomas & Friends'' television series and produced by Hornby are based on the E2 locomotives fitted with an extension to the front of the water tanks. Awdry was unsatisfied with one detail of the illustration; the front end of his
running board A running board or footboard is a narrow step fitted under the side doors of a tram ( cable car, trolley, or streetcar in North America), car, or truck. It aids entry, especially into high vehicles, and is typical of vintage trams and cars, ...
sloped downward, which meant that his front and back buffers were at different heights. This was an illustrator's mistake that was perpetuated in subsequent books. The crash seen in '' Thomas Comes to Breakfast'' was partly devised as a means of correcting this. Payne was not credited for his illustrations at the time, and it is only since the publication of
Brian Sibley Brian David Sibley (born 14 July 1949) 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. Among his adaptations is the 1981 version o ...
's ''The Thomas the Tank Engine Man'' that he has received recognition. It had often been erroneously assumed that C. Reginald Dalby created the character, as he was responsible for illustrating books 3–11 and repainting the illustrations of the first two books. All of the prototype
LB&SCR E2 class The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR) E2 class was a class of steam locomotives designed by Lawson Billinton, intended for shunting and short distance goods trains. Ten examples were built between 1913 and 1916. Some of these ...
locomotives were scrapped between 1961 and 1963. Thomas locomotives used on
Day Out with Thomas Day Out with Thomas is a trade name, licensed by Mattel for tourist events that take place on heritage railways and feature one or more engines decorated to look like characters from the British children's television series ''Thomas & Friends''. ...
days on
heritage railways A heritage railway or heritage railroad (U.S. usage) is a railway operated as living history to re-create or preserve railway scenes of the past. Heritage railways are often old railway lines preserved in a state depicting a period (or periods ...
are either unpowered replicas or converted from other locomotives.


Voice acting

Like the rest of the cast, Thomas did not initially have an individual voice in the English dub of the television series; the
voice acting Voice acting is the art of performing a character or providing information to an audience with one's voice. Performers are often called voice actors/actresses in addition to other names. Examples of voice work include animated, off-stage, off-sc ...
consisted entirely of
narration Narration is the use of a written or spoken commentary to convey a story to an audience. Narration is conveyed by a narrator: a specific person, or unspecified literary voice, developed by the creator of the story to deliver information to the ...
by various actors, including
Ringo Starr Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the group, us ...
and
Michael Angelis Nicolas Michael Angelis (29 April 1944 – 30 May 2020) was an English actor. He was best known for his television roles as Chrissie Todd in ''Boys from the Blackstuff'', Martin Niarchos in ''G.B.H. (TV series), G.B.H.'' and as the longest-run ...
. During production of the film adaptation ''
Thomas and the Magic Railroad ''Thomas and the Magic Railroad'' is a 2000 children's fantasy adventure film written and directed by Britt Allcroft and produced by Allcroft and Phil Fehrle; the cast includes Alec Baldwin, Peter Fonda, Mara Wilson, Didi Conn, Russell Mean ...
'' (2000), director and series creator
Britt Allcroft Britt Allcroft (born Hilary Mary Allcroft Coote; 14 December 1943 - 25 December 2024) was an English screenwriter, producer, director, and voice actress. She adapted Wilbert Awdry's ''The Railway Series'' in the form of the children's television ...
was impressed by the voice of John Bellis—a firefighter and part-time taxi driver—when he picked up Allcroft via taxi. Allcroft subsequently cast Bellis as the voice of Thomas, commenting to her colleagues that she "just heard the voice of Thomas" and that Bellis "is exactly how Thomas would sound". However, criticism from a
test screening A test screening, or test audience, is a preview screening of a film or television series before its general release to gauge audience reaction. Preview audiences are selected from a cross-section of the population and are usually asked to complet ...
resulted in Bellis being replaced with voice actor
Edward Glen Edward Glen, sometimes credited as Eddie Glen, is a Canadian actor. He has appeared in and provided voices in films, television shows and video games. He is best known for voicing Thomas the Tank Engine in the 2000 film '' Thomas and the Magic Ra ...
, credited under Eddie Glen. The television series would continue to be fully narrated until the release of the feature-length special '' Thomas & Friends: Hero of the Rails'' (2009), in which all of the characters had individual voice actors once more.
Martin Sherman Martin Sherman may refer to: * Martin Sherman (dramatist) (born 1938), American dramatist and screenwriter * Martin Sherman (actor) (born 1971), American actor, director, writer and inventor {{hndis, Sherman, Martin ...
was cast as Thomas in the American dub, with
Ben Small Ben Small may refer to: * Ben Small (actor), British voice actor * Ben Small (politician), Australian politician {{Human name disambiguation, Small, Ben ...
being cast in the
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
dub. These two would continue to voice Thomas in the television series and subsequent specials until '' Thomas & Friends: Tale of the Brave'' (2014), after which the former quit due to payment disputes with the film and TV series' production company
HIT Entertainment HIT Entertainment Limited (stylised as HiT) was a British-American entertainment company founded in 1982 as Henson International Television, the international distribution arm of The Jim Henson Company, by Jim Henson, Peter Orton, and Sophie Turn ...
. The role was relegated to
John Hasler John Hasler (born 21 April 1974) is an English actor who is best known for playing T-Shirt in the children's television series ''T-Bag'' from 1985 to 1992, and for voicing Thomas the Tank Engine, Thomas in the UK dub of the children's televisio ...
in the British dub and
Joseph May Joseph May is a British-born Canadian actor, who has appeared in television and film. He is best known for his role as Adam Moseby in '' Bugs'', Andy Button in the television series ''Episodes'', Paul who was the boyfriend of Sam Colloby, in '' ...
in the American dub. For the animated reboot '' Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go'', child actors were hired for the main cast including Meesha Contreras as Thomas. Contreras was later replaced by David Kohlsmith and later Kai Harris in later episodes. In the UK, Thomas was redubbed by Aaron Barashi, and later Shaun Jemmett.


Biography


''The Railway Series''

Despite becoming the most popular character in ''The Railway Series'', Thomas was not featured in the first book, '' The Three Railway Engines''. Thomas was described in the opening to "Thomas and Gordon", the first story in the book ''
Thomas the Tank Engine Thomas the Tank Engine is a fictional, anthropomorphised tank locomotive who originated from the British children's books ''The Railway Series'', created and written by Wilbert Awdry with his son Christopher Awdry, Christopher, first publish ...
'', as "a tank engine who lived at a big station. He had six small wheels, a short stumpy funnel, a short stumpy boiler and a short stumpy dome. He was a fussy little engine, always pulling coaches about. ..He was cheeky, too." Thomas arrived on Sodor shortly after he was built in 1915, when
The Fat Controller The Fat Controller is a fictional character originating from ''The Railway Series'' books written by Wilbert Awdry, Reverend W. Awdry and his son, Christopher Awdry. In the first two books in the series (''List of books in The Railway Series# ...
bought the locomotive for a nominal sum to be a pilot engine at Vicarstown. Thomas initially worked as a station pilot engine in the first three stories in the second book, but longed for more important jobs such as pulling the express train like
Gordon the Big Engine Started in 1945 and concluded in 2011, ''The Railway Series'' is a series of 42 British books written by Wilbert Awdry and his son Christopher Awdry. This is a list of all characters who appeared in the book series. Unless otherwise said on ...
; his inexperience prevented this. In the fourth story, "Thomas and the Breakdown Train", Thomas rescues James and is rewarded with his own
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. Branch lines may serve one or more industries, or a city or town not located ...
.


Television series

Thomas's on-screen appearance in the television series was developed by
Britt Allcroft Britt Allcroft (born Hilary Mary Allcroft Coote; 14 December 1943 - 25 December 2024) was an English screenwriter, producer, director, and voice actress. She adapted Wilbert Awdry's ''The Railway Series'' in the form of the children's television ...
. The first series of twenty-six episodes premiered in October 1984 on ITV in the United Kingdom. The stories appeared as segments in ''
Shining Time Station ''Shining Time Station'' is a children's television series jointly created by British television producer Britt Allcroft and American television producer Rick Siggelkow. The series was produced by Quality Family Entertainment (the American bran ...
'' in the United States beginning in 1989. In 1996, the ''Thomas'' stories were a segment of ''Mr. Conductor's Thomas Tales''. The franchise's first theatrical film, ''
Thomas and the Magic Railroad ''Thomas and the Magic Railroad'' is a 2000 children's fantasy adventure film written and directed by Britt Allcroft and produced by Allcroft and Phil Fehrle; the cast includes Alec Baldwin, Peter Fonda, Mara Wilson, Didi Conn, Russell Mean ...
'' was released in 2000. In '' Thomas & Friends: The Adventure Begins'', a retelling of many of the first episodes of
series 1 The IBM Series/1 is a 16-bit minicomputer, introduced in 1976, that in many respects competed with other minicomputers of the time, such as the PDP-11 from Digital Equipment Corporation and similar offerings from Data General and HP. The Seri ...
, Thomas is painted green when he arrives on Sodor, and his tanks are lettered "LBSC" (for the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway) with the number 70 on his bunker.


Models

In the early 1940s, Wilbert Awdry built a wooden push-along model of Thomas from a broomstick for his son Christopher. This model was significantly different from the character in the books and television series, and was based on an LNER Class J50, with small side tanks and splashers. It was painted blue with yellow lining and carried the letters NW on the side tanks. Christopher lost this model, which was recreated for the 70th anniversary. Awdry happily endorsed Payne's account that the locomotive was an LBSC E2, although the first Thomas on Awdry's model railway lacked extended tanks. In the 1979 ''Thomas the Tank Engine'' annual, he wrote the following: The first Thomas model was retired with its passenger coaches in 1979. A second model had been produced the previous year, using a Tri-ang 'Jinty' 3F . After
Hornby Railways Hornby Hobbies Limited is a British-owned scale model manufacturing company which has been focused on rail transport modelling, model railways. Its roots date back to 1901 in Liverpool, when founder Frank Hornby received a patent for his Meccan ...
produced the LBSC E2 tank engine, Awdry adapted one in 1980 as the third Thomas model on his layout of the Ffarquhar branch. In 1967
Meccano Ltd Meccano Ltd was a British toy manufacturing company, established in 1908 by Frank Hornby in Liverpool, England, to manufacture and distribute Meccano and other model toys and kits created by the company. During the 1920s and 1930s it became the ...
, built models of Percy and wagons in 1967. Hornby launched their
OO gauge OO gauge or OO scale (also, 00 gauge and 00 scale) is the most popular standard gauge model railway standard in the United Kingdom, outside of which it is virtually unknown. OO gauge is one of several 4 mm-scale standards (4 mm to , or 1: ...
"The World of Thomas the Tank Engine" range in 1985. They produced the range for the next 30 years. When designing their Thomas model, Hornby reused their 1979 model of a LB&SCR model of a class E2 tank engine, which they altered with a face and extended tanks. Many of the other characters in the ''Railway Series'' were also modelled by Hornby, including characters added for the television series. Hornby also supplied coaches, wagons and lineside buildings.


Reception


Awards

Thomas was the only fictional character included in ''
The Independent on Sunday ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publishe ...
'' 2009 "
Happy 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." In 2017, the list was reduced and has featured 50 people since then. It was published annually in ...
", recognised alongside 98 real-life adults and a
therapy dog A therapy dog is a dog that is trained to provide affection, comfort and support to people, often in settings such as hospitals, retirement homes, nursing homes, schools, libraries, hospices, or disaster areas. In contrast to assistance dogs, ...
for making Britain a better and happier place. In 2011, Thomas the Tank Engine featured on a series of 1st class UK postage stamps issued by the
Royal Mail Royal Mail Group Limited, trading as Royal Mail, is a British postal service and courier company. It is owned by International Distribution Services. It operates the brands Royal Mail (letters and parcels) and Parcelforce Worldwide (parcels) ...
to mark the centenary of the birth of its creator, Reverend Wilbert Awdry.


Legacy

Japanese Ōigawa Railway's locomotives include five characters from the ''Thomas & Friends'' series: Thomas, Hiro, Percy,
James James may refer to: People * James (given name) * James (surname) * James (musician), aka Faruq Mahfuz Anam James, (born 1964), Bollywood musician * James, brother of Jesus * King James (disambiguation), various kings named James * Prince Ja ...
, and Rusty. The locomotives are based at Shin-Kanaya Station. Thomas runs between Shin-Kanaya Station and Kawaneonsen-Sasamado Station. Thomas has been referenced, featured and parodied in popular culture. In 1988, he was parodied on ITV's ''
Spitting Image ''Spitting Image'' is a British satirical television puppet show, created by Peter Fluck, Roger Law and Martin Lambie-Nairn. First broadcast in 1984, the series was produced by 'Spitting Image Productions' for Central Independent Television ...
'' where he was portrayed as a drunk who "went completely off the rails." In 2009, he appeared in "
The Official BBC Children in Need Medley "The Official BBC Children in Need Medley" is a 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 ...
" where he was voiced by
Ringo Starr Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the group, us ...
, who narrated the first two series of ''Thomas & Friends''. In the British comedy show ''Bobby Davro's TV Weekly'', a spoof was created titled "Thomas the Tanked Up Engine" involving Jeremy, a pink recolour of James.
Bobby Davro Robert Christopher Nankeville, known professionally as Bobby Davro (born 13 September 1958), is an English actor and comedian. He made his television debut in 1981 followed by breakthrough in ''Live from Her Majesty's'' (1983); this was follo ...
provided the narration by impersonating
Ringo Starr Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the group, us ...
. In
Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (CN) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the Cartoon Network, Inc., a sub-division of the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks division of Warner Bros. Discovery. It launched on ...
's '' MAD'', Thomas the Tank Engine appears in "Thomas the Unstoppable Tank Engine", a crossover between ''Thomas & Friends'' and ''
Unstoppable Unstoppable may refer to: Film and television * Unstoppable (2004 film), ''Unstoppable'' (2004 film), an American film directed by David Carson * ''Unstoppable: Conversation with Melvin Van Peebles, Gordon Parks, and Ossie Davis'', a 2005 America ...
''. A parody of ''Thomas & Friends'' was in ''
Robot Chicken ''Robot Chicken'' is an American adult animation, adult stop motion, stop-motion animated sketch comedy television series created by Seth Green and Matthew Senreich for Cartoon Network's nighttime programming block Adult Swim. The twelve-minute ...
'', entitled "Blow Some Steam". In the skit, Thomas was voiced by
Daniel Radcliffe Daniel Jacob Radcliffe (born 23 July 1989) is an English actor. Radcliffe rose to fame at age twelve for portraying the title character in the ''Harry Potter'' film series. He starred in all eight films in the series, from '' Harry Potter a ...
. The 2015
Marvel Marvel may refer to: Business * Marvel Entertainment, an American entertainment company ** Marvel Comics, the primary imprint of Marvel Entertainment ** Marvel Universe, a fictional shared universe ** Marvel Music, an imprint of Marvel Comics ...
superhero film ''
Ant-Man Ant-Man is the name of several superheroes appearing in books published by Marvel Comics. Publication history Created by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber and Jack Kirby, his first appearance was in '' Tales to Astonish'' #27 (January 1962) as Dr. Henry ...
'' features a
Bachmann Bachmann is a surname of Switzerland and Germany. It originates as a description of the bearer as dwelling near a brook (''Bach''), such as a farm "Hofstatt am Bach" also called "Bachmanns Hofstatt" near Hinwil or Dürnten (recorded 1387), or the " ...
HO scale HO or H0 is a rail transport modelling scale using a 1:87 scale (3.5 mm to 1 foot). It is the most popular scale of model railway in the world. The rails are spaced apart for modelling standard gauge tracks and trains in HO. The ...
model of Thomas. In the film's climactic battle,
Ant-Man Ant-Man is the name of several superheroes appearing in books published by Marvel Comics. Publication history Created by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber and Jack Kirby, his first appearance was in '' Tales to Astonish'' #27 (January 1962) as Dr. Henry ...
and
Yellowjacket Yellowjacket or yellowjacket is the common name in North America for predatory social wasps of the genus, genera ''Vespula'' and ''Dolichovespula''. Members of these genera are known simply as "wasps" in other English-speaking countries. Most of ...
fight atop a
model train Railway modelling (UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland) or model railroading (US and Canada) is a hobby in which rail transport systems are modelled at a reduced scale. The scale models include locomotives, rolling stock, streetcars, ...
pulled by the Thomas model while in their insect sizes, until Yellowjacket derails the model train and throws Thomas at Ant-Man, who knocks him onto a windowsill. An accident during the fight results in Thomas suddenly growing to the size of a real train and demolishing a large portion of Ant-Man's daughter's house before landing on top of a police car. Video game players have frequently modified released games to include Thomas and other characters, typically by replacing a
boss Boss may refer to: Occupations * Supervisor, often referred to as boss * Air boss, more formally, air officer, the person in charge of aircraft operations on an aircraft carrier * Crime boss, the head of a criminal organization * Fire boss, ...
character with Thomas and using sounds and music from the show. One of the first popular efforts was replacing dragons with engines and trucks in the game '' The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim'' in 2013, and Thomas has since been incorporated into other games like ''
Grand Theft Auto V ''Grand Theft Auto V'' is a 2013 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the seventh main entry in the Grand Theft Auto, ''Grand Theft Auto'' series, following 2008's ''Grand Theft Auto IV'', and ...
'', ''
Sonic the Hedgehog is a video game series and media franchise created by the Japanese developers Yuji Naka, Naoto Ohshima, and Hirokazu Yasuhara for Sega. The franchise follows Sonic the Hedgehog (character), Sonic, an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who battle ...
'' and the 2019 ''
Resident Evil 2 ''Resident Evil 2'' is a 1998 survival horror video game developed and published by Capcom for the PlayStation (console), PlayStation. The player controls rookie cop Leon S. Kennedy and college student Claire Redfield, who must escape Raccoon ...
''
remake A remake is a film, television series, video game, song or similar form of entertainment that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film". A remake tells the same s ...
.


See also

* List of characters in ''The Railway Series'' * List of ''Thomas & Friends'' characters *''
The Little Engine That Could ''The Little Engine That Could'' is an American folktale existing in the form of several illustrated children's books and films. The story originated and evolved in the early 20th century, but became widely known in the United States after publi ...
''


References


Further reading

* * * *


External links

* {{Portal bar, Books, Children's literature, England, Isle of Man, Lancashire and Cumbria, Television, Toys, Trains, United Kingdom 0-6-0T locomotives Anthropomorphic vehicles Fictional locomotives Literary characters introduced in 1946 The Railway Series characters Thomas & Friends characters