Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends: The Most Well-Loved Children's Television Series

Children are known to be fond of stories, whether real or fabricated. It makes them imagine things their way, or envision delightful images that only their mind could ever create.

However, there are people who continue to create such marvelous imaginations, which, in reality are based from one’s personal experience.

Take for example the well-loved children’s television series, “Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends,” which were all based from the original stories of Reverend Wilbert Awdry.

History tells it that the main reason why such fabricated stories came up was due to the fact that Reverend Awdry just wanted to come up with something that will amuse his son named Christopher who was, at the time, seriously ill with measles.

After Christopher’s recovery, Reverend Awdry made him an unfussy wooden truck which he named Thomas. This started the full creation of Thomas the Tank Engine and his railway friends. The creation was artistically woven into such marvelous tale that were all based from the fascination of Reverend Awdry with engines and other types of locomotives.

With his wife’s support and his son’s help, he published all of the stories in 1945, with the primary book entitled, The Three Railway Engines. Here, three engines were featured which includes Edward the Blue Engine, Henry the Green Engine, and Gordon the Big Engine.

If you will notice, Thomas was not included on the first book but was the sole star in the second book entitled, “Thomas the Tank Engine.”

After a series of publications, Awdry retired in 1973 and his works were continued by his son Christopher. After which, Christopher even began creating his own line of railway stories, in which he mainly offers to his son Richard.

It was on 1980s when the stories were aired on television, which created the now popular children’s television series, “Thomas the Tank Engines & Friends.”

The “television rights” of the said stories were sold to Britt Allcroft, who started to produce the well-liked children’s television series.

Today, Thomas and Friends is being produced by HIT Entertainment in partnership with the Connecticut Public Television.

Here’s a list of the additional things you should know about the television progressions.

1. In the series, the stories did not just include all of the complete engines which were made by Reverend Awdry and his son Christopher, but also depicted other characters which enlivened the show on its entirety.

2. Each episode in the series was all about the adventures of Thomas and his friends. It showed how the engines interacted with each other in the fiction Island of Sodor with Sir Topham Hatt as the chairman of the railroad company in the story.

3. The narrator or the story-teller of the said show was the well known-screen actor, Michael Brandon. One good thing about the story-telling events was the fact that the process is being done as if the narrator is speaking directly to whoever watches the show. Thus, it makes the children feel directly in-contact with the characters in the show.

4. Like the contemporary children’s television shows, Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends include episodes with interactive features such as sing-along songs, games, and other features that encourage children to be active audience of the show and not just passive.

5. Each story segment of the show had depicted the individual adventures of every character in the said show. Here, each engine character manifested how they were able to overcome each obstacles and trials, thus, showing how it is to be a “really useful engine.”

6. The show was not merely entertainment and educational but also delve on values formation. Each engine character had showed positive values like responsibility, honesty, humility, etc.

7. The show is a conglomeration of all the artistic and innovative features of digital photography, animatronics, and creativity all packaged into one creative and amusing show.

All of these boils down to the fact that the children’s well-liked television series, Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends, is not just a mere production of children’s show but a reflection of a father’s love to his son and how his creativity had generated good values for children to follow.

It is truly a masterpiece made by good people.


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