Thomas the Tank Engine

Thomas is a little blue train engine that can best be characterized as the most famous train engine in the world! The fictional creation of Rev. Wilbert Awdry, a pastor and steam railway enthusiast from the British countryside, Thomas was first imagined at the bedside of his son, as one of the many characters of the bedtime stories made up from his experiences. As the stories grew in detail from retelling, Rev. Awdry began to write them down, and, eventually, the Railway Series was born. Published in small volumes containing a few short stories each, with beautiful artwork, beginning in the 1940's, the series was accepted as one of the most popular fictional storylines for little kids. Many a child has bonded with family over the fables of Thomas the Tank Engine and the many train friends that populate the stories.
Here are a few of the most important product lines featuring Thomas the Tank Engine and his coaches, Henrietta and Clarabel:

Thomas the Tank Engine was not the first train that Rev. Awdry wrote about, but he soon became the symbol of the Railway Series and its main character. As a little engine, Thomas does not generally get the biggest jobs to perform. He usually works short routes, or within the train depots, shunting cars around and helping wherever required. When he does work regular passenger routes, he usually pulls his two coaches, Henrietta and Clarabel, and they very much enjoy taking people around the lovely countryside of the Island of Sodor. Although Thomas does have occasional lapses when things go wrong, he usually enjoys his work and is proud to be a really useful engine.

Of course, Thomas and his two coaches are only a small part of Sodor's railways. His friends include many other train engines and railway characters. In fact, the complete original railway series of stories had about 100 stories, and introduced about that many other characters, many of which have become very familiar to the children of the world, through books, videos, tv shows, toys and bedtime stories. The number of products based on Thomas the Tank Engine and his friends have expanded to the point that it is a full time job to keep track of them all, a task we've taken on (we believe we were the first to try!)