Thomas/Behind the Scenes

The Original Thomas
When the Reverend W. Awdry created Thomas, he existed only as a wooden toy made for his son, Christopher. This engine looked rather different from the character in the books and television series, and was based on an LNER J50 or a Hudswell Clarke with smaller side tanks and splashers. He was painted teal-green with yellow lining, and carried the number 1 on his bunker on both sides in yellow and also carried the letters "NW" on his side tanks in yellow. Awdry claimed that this stood for "No Where," but later works would identify the railway Thomas and his friends worked on as the North Western Railway.

For the illustrations of Thomas the Tank Engine, Edmund Ward, then-publisher of the Railway Series, hired illustrator Reginald Payne, who decided to base Thomas on the LB&SCR E2 Class. (Awdry was annoyed that Thomas was obviously not the tank engine he had first drawn, but he was satisfied when Payne explained that he was drawn after a real prototype). Unfortunately, Payne did not receive any credit for his work; it is only since the publication of Brian Sibley's The Thomas the Tank Engine Man that he has received recognition.

Footplate Problems
Thomas' footplate was allegedly a source of contention for the Rev. W. Awdry during the course of the Railway Series. As originally drawn, Thomas had a distinctive dip at the front of his footplate, but not on the back. The story goes that to Awdry's eyes, this meant that Thomas' buffers would be at different levels, an operational inaccuracy and impossibility. This seems curious on Awdry's part, as all the artists had drawn Thomas as having an extra-deep rear bufferbeam to compensate, thus putting the front and rear buffers at the same level.

Be it a matter of taste or inaccuracy, the issue of the running-plate had to be settled: thus Thomas' excursion into the stationmaster's house at Ffarquhar was arranged. After his repairs at Crovan's Gate, Thomas returned with a new modified running plate that was flat and level from smokebox to bunker. In the television series, Thomas' footplate was never fixed, even after the events of Thomas Comes to Breakfast were adapted.

Thomas in Popular Culture
Since his debut in the Railway Series and the launch of the television series, Thomas has become an extraordinarily popular character, appearing in over twenty seasons and starring in several direct-to-video films. Because of his popularity, Thomas has even appeared or has been mentioned in other popular shows and films, as well as appearing in many public events too.

Thomas appeared in the 2009 Children in Need charity single produced by the BBC. In it, he was voiced by Ringo Starr, the former narrator of the television series.

In 2014, a balloon of Thomas was launched for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade to celebrate the upcoming 70th Anniversary of the Railway Series, and he has continued to appear in the parade since then. Thomas was also featured in the Toronto Santa Claus parade alongside Percy and Rosie on 15th November, 2015.

In the 2015 Marvel film, Ant-Man, Thomas made a cameo appearance in the form of a model train. Bachmann HO scale models of him, Annie, Clarabel and Emily's coaches were used for the film, and his large scale model was used for, with the face digitally altered to resemble the one on the HO scale model.