Thomas (character)

Thomas the Tank Engine
	Thomas & Friends character
	; Thomas’s Model
First appearance	Thomas the Tank Engine (The Railway Series); “Thomas & Gordon” (Thomas & Friends)
Created by	Wilbert Awdry; Christopher Awdry
Voiced by	Edward Glen (Thomas and the Magic Railroad) ; John Bellis (original work-prints only) ; Ringo Starr (The Official BBC Children in Need Medley) ; Ben Small (UK; 2009–2015; Hero of the Rails - S18) ; John Hasler (UK; 2015–present; The Adventure Begins onwards) ; Martin Sherman (US; 2009–2015; Hero of the Rails - S18) ; Joseph May (US; 2015–present; The Adventure Begins onwards) ; Keiko Toda (Japan; 1990-2007; S1-8) ; Kumiko Higa (Japan; 2008-present; Calling All Engines! onwards) ;
Number	1 (formerly, 70)
Information
Gender	Male

Thomas at Wikia

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This article is about the character. For the TV show the character appears in, see Thomas & Friends.

Thomas the Tank Engine is a small fictional steam locomotive in The Railway Series books by the Reverend Wilbert Awdry and his son, Christopher. He became the most popular character in the series, and is the title character in the accompanying television spin-off series, Thomas & Friends.

Thomas is a steam engine and has a number 1 painted on his side. All of the locomotives in The Railway Series were based on prototypical engines; Thomas has origins in the E2 Class designed by Lawson Billinton in 1913. 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' best friends are Percy and Toby.

In 1979, the British writer/producer Britt Allcroft came across the books,^[1] and arranged a deal to bring the stories to life as the TV series Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends (later simplified to Thomas & Friends). The program became an award-winning hit around the world, with a vast range of spin-off commercial products.

Bio

Goal: To be a really useful engine

Appearance: Blue tank engine with 6 wheels, black smokebox, red chassis, black buffers, grey face, yellow portholes and lamp

Allies: Percy (best friend), Toby (best friend), James, Edward, Henry, Gordon, Donald, Douglas, Duck, Oliver, Toad, Stepney, Emily (good friend), Molly Belle, Flynn, Spencer Rosie (girlfriend), Murdoch, Salty, Harvey, Cranky, Dennis, Skarloey, Rheneas, Sir Handel, Peter Sam, Rusty, Duncan, Duke, Freddie, Mighty Mac, Daisy (best diesel friend), BoCo, Den, Dart, Norman, Paxton, Sidney, Mavis, Bill, Ben, Fergus, Merrick, Owen, Luke (good friend), Bash, Dash, Ferdinand, Stanley, Trevor, Captain, Hiro, Victor, Kevin, The Fat Controller (boss), Stephen, Millie, Connor, Caitlin, Harold, Terence, Bertie, Whiff, Scruff, Hector, Bulgy, Charlie, Sharki (Twin Friend), Charlot (Cute Friemd), Bruno (Older Friend), The 23 Lucky Engines, Mike, Rex, Bert, Jock, Frank, Ernest, Wilfred, Culdee, Shane Dooiney, Lord Harry, Alaric, Eric, Ryan, Skiff, Gator, Marion, Timothy, Reg, Samson, Porter, Bradford, Sailor John (formerly).
Fathers-in-Law: Zeakerp, Conrad and Garratt
Rivals: Skiff, Quorton

Enemies: Diesel, Diesel 10 (Except in Calling all Engines), Iron Arry, Iron Bert, D261, D199, Old Stuck Up, Splatter, Dodge, Spencer (formerly), George, Dart (formerly), Den (formerly), Stanley (formerly), Norman (formerly), Paxton (formerly), Sidney (formerly), Daisy (formerly), Cranky (formerly), Bulgy (formerly), The Spiteful Break Van (Thomas passed the Spiteful Break Van, but he didn't meet him, because he's too busy working on his branch line), Smudger, Bulstrode, The Horrid Lorries, Hector (formerly), Troublesome Trucks, Steam Engine, Stepney (formerly), Neville (formerly), Ryan (formerly), Sailor John.

Voice Actors

Eddie Glenn (Thomas and the Magic Railroad)
Hero of the Rails - Ben Small (UK)
Hero of the Rails - Martin Sherman (US)
The Adventure Begins and Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure - John Hasler (UK) and Joseph May (US)

Thomas in toyboxes

Red box train thomas — Thomas as a 'promo gadget' for the single *Train* (1990) of the British band red Box.

Main: Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends merchandise

With the popularity of the Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends TV series among children, 'Thomas'-based merchandise has proven very lucrative. At least five different categoriesof trains and tracks exist: "Take Along Thomas" with grey tracks; Tomy battery-operated engines with blue tracks; Brio-type wooden engines with wooden rails and roads (by ELC and others); electric model railway (produced in O gauge by Lionel , HO/OO gauge by Hornby Railways and Bachmann and N gauge by Tomix); and Lego engines and tracks; along with complementary videos, DVDs, books, games, puzzles, stationery, clothing and household items.

Thomas on real railways

Hit Entertainment licences several "Day Out With Thomas" events all over the world, in which visitors to heritage railways can meet and ride on a replica "Thomas".

An international tour featuring Thomas and his driver was completed in 2005 in honour of the 60th anniversary of the original stories. In America, Thomas the Tank Tank Engine is thought to be an excellent role model for children. The former President George H.W. Bush dedicated the Presidential Train during a ceremony in 2005.

A "real" Thomas was used in a special play staged to celebrate the 80th brithday of [[|wikipedia:Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom|Queen Elizabeth II]], starring well-loveed characters from children's literature. In the play, Thomas was used to convey Sophie Dahl to centre stage.

Early life

Thomas was built by Brighton Works in May 1913 and Thomas later came to Sodor aged 2 in May 1915, he was a station pilot from then until 1946

In 1946, Thomas teased Gordon and Henry the big engines until Gordon taught him a lesson, then Thomas stopped teasing the big engines.

In 1950, Thomas became best friends with Percy when Percy arrived on the Island of Sodor, in 1961, Thomas crashed into a Stationmaster's house after the careless cleaner came to the sheds, he medalled with Thomas's controls sending Thomas flying down the rails towards the Stationmaster's house.

The Rev. W. Awdry also had a model of Thomas.

Thomas and all the other characters were voiced by Ringo Starr from 1984-1986 and then Michael Angelis has narrated the series since 1991 as well as Michael Brandon in the USA from then since, in 2009, in Hero of the Rails, Thomas was voiced by Ben Small in the UK and Martin Sherman in the USA and has been voiced by those two actors since.