Thomas the Tank Engine - Evergreen Favorite

Born in 1911, Wilbert Vere Awdry was ordained as a priest in the Church of England in 1936. In 1943 his young son, Christopher, was sick with measles and Awdry made up a story to keep his mind off feeling bad. Like all young children, that wasn't enough. He wanted a model so the Rev. Awdry managed to make a tank engine for him. Christopher called it Thomas and so the famous tank engine was born leading to the first books being published - The Three Railway Engines in 1945 and then Thomas the Tank Engine in 1946.

At the front of Thomas the Tank Engine, a letter was printed from the Rev. Awdry to his son. It said:

"Dear Christopher,

Here is your friend Thomas, the Tank Engine. He wanted to come out of his station-yard and see the world. These stories tell you how he did it. I hope you will like them because you helped me to make them.

Your Loving Daddy"

Isn't that sweet?

The reason he chose to tell his little boy a story about a railway engine is because he was a real enthusiast. He'd been brought up in a country rectory, where his father was the vicar, just 200 yards from the Bath to Chippenham, Great Western Railway line - in southern England, about 100 to 130 miles west of London. He'd imagined, as a child, that the hoots and whistles of the engines was them talking to each other. He learned about the railways and engines from many of his father's parishioners who were railwaymen and their families.

During the whole of the period he wrote about Thomas the Tank Engine and his friends, he was a dedicated parish priest and his duty to his parishioners always came first.

The Rev. Awdry's enthusiam for railways led to him being awarded the honour of an OBE (Order of the British Empire), in the Queen's New Year Honour List 1996, for his services to the preservation of the country's steam railway heritage as well as his books.

The following year, 1997, he died on March 21, at the age of 85.

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The Island of Sodor, location of Thomas the Tank Engine's branch line and Engine Shed
Copyright © Amos Wolfe used under Creative Commons Licence.

The branch line and engine shed where Thomas and his friends work and live is located on the island of Sodor. There is no real Sodor but it takes its name from the title Bishop of Sodor and Man, ie the Isle of Man off the north west coast of England. Sodor is said to be a corruption of the ancient name of the southern Scottish islands.

The Rev. Awdry needed to have a clear idea of the geography of his make-believe island if he was to make the stories consistent.

The map above was made by Amos Wolfe according to information in the books and can also be seen on the Sodar - Wikipedia page.

Thomas the Tank Engine Art Print
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Thomas the Tank Engine of course, is the star of the books, who has two built-in tanks container water, instead of pulling one behind, making it suitable for short distance work.
Edward the Blue Engine is a major character in the series who pulls either freight or passenger cars. He has a number 2 painted on his tender.
Henry the Green Engine is the number 3 engine and was prone to sickness in the early stories until he was cured.
Gordon the Big Engine is strong and the fastest of the engines in the series. He is very proud of his speed and this gets him into trouble in one of the stories. He pulls the express.
James the Red Engine can be a naughty engine getting him into trouble. When Gordon can't pull the express train, James does.
Percy the Small Engine is one of Thomas' best friends. He originally only did shunting work but was eventually promoted to goods (freight) train.
Toby the Tram Engine has a cow catcher on front and panels covering his wheels so he looks quite different to the other engines. He's the peacemaker in the engine shed.
Duck the Great Western Engine wears Great Western colours. He was bought from the 'Other Railway' and his real name is Montague.
Donald and Douglas the Scottish twins arrived together at the train shed even though the Fat Controller had ordered only one engine.
Trevor the Traction Engine, unlike all but one of the other engines, is an agricultural machine but he helps out but lives in the Vicarage garden.
George the Steamroller is the other road steam engine like Trevor, although George hates the railway engines. He says, "Railways are no good, pull them up, turn them into roads!"
Oliver the Western Engine made a daring escape from the 'Other Railway' before he was scrapped by its controller.
Daisy the Diesel Rail-Car was a late addition and she thought herself superior to the engines, forgetting that pride comes before a fall.
BoCo the Diesel Engine is a diesel electric locomotive. He's a happy, jolly character and is eventually accepted by all the other engines.
Mavis the Quarry Diesel is a diesel-mechanical shunting engine belonging to the quarry company although she does help with work on the branch line.
Bill and Ben the Tank Engine Twins are another set of twins although they work for the china clay company.
Annie and Clarabel are Thomas' coaches, with Annie being the main passenger coach, just behind Thomas, while Clarabel is positioned at the back carrying the guard, luggage and any extra passengers.
The Fat Controller, as he's always called, has a real name: Sir Topham Hatt. He is the boss and is always shown wearing a top hat and morning suit.

Thomas Counting Art Print
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