The REAL History Behind The
Thomas The Train Toys - My Nephew Loves The Story Of How His Favorite Little Blue Train Thomas Was Created For Christopher
The article that you are about to read is based on research that I have done to find the truth about Thomas The Train Toys and his friends. It is not like I wanted to spend the day looking up information about Thomas :D BUT... My nephew was asking so many questions about Thomas, and his Uncle who he totally looks up to had ZERO answers to the little tykes questions. If you have children who love Thomas, and I am sure that either you or someone you know has a kid who loves Thomas, I am sure you can relate to what I am talking about.
I was surprised when I found out that our loveable little friend Thomas was a little over fifty years old. Thomas was originally created by Reverend Wilbert Awdry, as a means of entertaining his child Christopher while he was ill. Christopher was stuck in isolation because he had scarlet fever.
Christopher loved the stories so much that he demanded that his father tell them to him again  and again. As most kids do, Christopher would correct his father whenever he found inconsistencies in the Thomas stories. He began to write them down on little scraps of paper. To add to the stories Reverend Awdry drew little pictures of trains.
After looking at the drawings, Christopher looked up at his father and asked, “Why is this train sad?”, pointing at an unhappy faced train. “Because he’s old and tired and he hasn’t been out in a long time.”, replied his father. “What’s his name, Daddy?”
“Edward” was the first name that came into the Rev. Awdry’s mind. This was the genesis of “Edward’s Day Out”, the first in almost a hundred simple moral tales about the exploits and adventures of a group of railway engines given human personalities.
 Mrs. Awdry determined found a distant cousin who was a small publisher by the name of Edmund Ward. Edmund was very interested in the Reverend’s stories. So much so that Rev. Awdry had to submit his writings as they were – on little scraps of paper. Edmund loved the stories and in 1945 the first of the Railway Series of books began – “The Three Railway Engines.”
This was a book that was designed small enough to fit in children’s hands, and it consisted of three stories, “Edward’s Day Out, Edward and Gordon, and The Sad Story of Henry.” The infamous Thomas the Tank Engine did not appear until the second book was published a year later in 1946 and more books followed at yearly intervals.
As the years went by and the stories began to develop, the location and other features of fictional railway systems emerged. Many stories were based on actual happenings on British Railways and its predecessors. A railway locomotive did disappear down a mine shaft on the Furness Railway and get spun on a turntable by the wind: Midland Railway.
The Rev. Terry Boston was a well-known collector of steamrollers and became the inspiration for the vicar who saves Trevor the Traction Engine from the scrap heap. More locomotive characters appeared, learning to deal with the troublesome trucks and to become “really useful engines” as they pulled their trains over the railway system presided over by the stern but kindly Fat Controller. Sir Topham Hatt.
Thomas The Train And His Friends is currently distributed in 150 countries worldwide. I would say that it is a pretty safe bet to say that Thomas and his friends are a huge hit. It appears that the parents love the adorable little trains as much as the children do. I know I do.
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