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THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE AND FRIENDS
Thomas first appeared in 1946 in the second book in the series,
Thomas the Tank Engine, and was the focus of the four short stories contained within.
Thomas arrived on Sodor in 1915, when
The Fat Director bought the locomotive for a nominal sum to be a pilot engine at
Vicarstown. After rescuing
James in “
Thomas and the Breakdown Train”, he became a "Really Useful Engine" and was rewarded being put in charge of the
Ffarquhar branchline. Although Thomas is seen today on various heritage branchlines, the last of the E2 Class was scrapped in 1950.
Thomas was used initially as a station pilot engine in the first three stories in book 2, but longed for more important jobs such as pulling the express train like Gordon; his inexperience prevented this. In the fourth story, "Thomas and the Breakdown Train", Thomas rescues James and is rewarded with his own
branch line. He has remained in charge of the Ffarquhar branch ever since, with his two coaches
Annie and Clarabel, and help from
Percy and
Toby. Thomas is generally depicted with a cheeky and even self-important personality.
He believes that he should be more respected by the others, and he gets annoyed when he does not receive this respect. However, Percy and Toby are more than capable of standing up to him, and Annie and Clarabel often rebuke him.
THOMAS AND FRIENDS
Thomas and Friends is a British children's television series, first broadcast on the ITV network in September 1984. Until 2003, it was named Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends. This series was shot on 35mm film. The first 12 Series were filmed at Shepperton Studios, England between 1984 and 2008, with production now in CGI at Nitrogen Studios in Canada from 2009 onward.
THOMAS WOODEN RAILWAY
The majority of characters from the TV Series, both major and minor, plus some of the Railway Series characters, have appeared in the range. They have been accompanied by a comprehensive range of track, buildings and accessories. Also, in 2010 Learning Curve released a small range called Early Engineers, featuring some of the main characters. These models are less 'realistic' (compared to the original models) in that all the locomotives have no more than four wheels, and the body is taller and to a standard, short, length.
The company "Learning Curve" was founded by John W. Lee in Chicago, 1992. In 2003 the company was acquired by "Racing Champions Ertl" that was renamed in the same year to "RC2". Learning Curve introduced some new designs for the track surface of wooden toy railways, such as the "Clicketyclack" rails patented in 1995 and the newer tracks with a relief to supply better traction grip for battery powered trains patented in 2003. They also introduced a road track that uses the same gauge as the railway tracks.
The original models were constructed mainly from painted wood, with metal used in the coupling magnets and axles, and plastic wheels and faces. These models were relatively primitive having simple wooden stubs for the funnel and dome. Details such as windows, whistles and buffer beams were omitted.
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the models were upgraded. The wooden funnel and painted smokebox were replaced with a separate plastic smokebox with a more realistic-looking funnel. The tender engines received an additional upgrade of moulded plastic 'coal'.
These improved designs were manufactured until 2002 when they were replaced with a third generation of design, which included new and more detailed faces.
Learning Curve continues to expand its lineup of locomotives, rolling stock and locations, although older, less popular, items are 'retired' when appropriate. Every year, beginning in 2003, 1-3 retired models are re-released, with upgraded, more realistic shape and paint. These models are only available for one year.
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