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Thomas The Tank Engine was originally created as part
of the Railway Series books created by the Reverend Wilbert Awdry. The original book - THE THREE RAILWAY ENGINES
- was created as a set of three stories to occupy the mind of the Clergyman's three year old son, who
was stricken down with measles at the time of writing. It was published in 1945 and was shortly followed by THOMAS
THE TANK ENGINE in 1946, introducing what was to spark a new title published under Awdry's name every year until
1972, tallying up a total of 26 books in his Railway Series, later to be undertaken by the same son, Christopher, adding another
14 titles to the Series bringing it to a grand total of 40 in 1996, from which point, the Railway Series books were discontinued
and the Awdry family's involvement has been limited since sale of the copyright from the hands of the publishers, however,
winning one victory with a new publication in 2007 and in 2011 to celebrate the centenary of the Rev. Awdry's birth.
1984 brought us the arrival of a new incarnation
of Awdry's works in the form of the Television Series which has been in production across three incarnations of model and,
as of 2009, CGI animation, across 25 years. Holding 12
model based series, four in full CGI, a 13-episode spin-off
series, a theatrical feature film, five feature length specials and participation in a UK No.1 Charity
Single for BBC Children In Need (2009's Animated All-Stars release) to its credit, it is looking set
to continue for many years to come, and currently going through its biggest spat of popularity since the 1980s when it was
originally launched.
In 2004, Thomas was bought out by HIT Entertainment,
home to Bob the Builder, which featurws Bob as the main character together with his group of friends and their vehicles which
possessed anthromorphic or human traits. This was essentially similar to those of Thomas and his group of friends in Sodor
Island and curently a line of Bob the Builder toys has gained popularity following the footsteps of the widely successful Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends line of merchandise
and children's toys and books.
This website looks at many different aspects of Thomas The
Tank Engine in depth, through essays, reviews, parodies, fan fiction, multimedia such as fan-dubbed episodes, music videos
and much more. I'd like to extend a debt of thanks to all who have contributed to its development, sent words
of encouragement and to all the good people who have visited and kept on coming back to see the latest updates!
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