- “I'll have you there quicker than you can say 'Piccadilly Circus!'”
- ― Dilly to Thomas and Annie
A Visit to London for Thomas the Tank Engine, also titled as London's Calling Thomas the Tank Engine, is a special book to commemorate Queen Elizabeth II's 90th birthday.
Plot
The Fat Controller has been invited to the Queen's birthday celebrations, far from the Island of Sodor, in the biggest city in the land, London. And what better engine to take him there than Thomas the Tank Engine.
A delighted Thomas makes the long journey to London where he is put on a barge and taken down the Thames seeing Tower Bridge, St Paul's, The Shard, Parliament and many other landmarks along the way. It's a very proud day for the little blue engine in the big city!
Characters
- Thomas
- Cranky
- Dilly
- Sir Topham Hatt
- Eurostar (not named)
- Edward (does not speak)
- Henry (does not speak)
- Gordon (does not speak)
- Annie (does not speak)
- Lady Hatt (does not speak)
- Elizabeth II (does not speak)
Trivia
- This story could have been inspiration for the twenty-fourth series double length episode, Thomas and the Royal Engine.
- Dan Crisp provides the endpaper illustrations.
- Two real life vehicles are seen in this book: Cutty Sark and a Eurostar train.
- Clarabel is absent in this book.
- There is a small biography on the Reverend W. Awdry at the end of the book.
- On 28th February 2018, this book was read on Milkshake! as part of a segment celebrating World Book Day. It was told by the Fat Controller (played by Steven Carne) and Milkshake! presenter Jen. It was subsequently uploaded to Milkshake!'s YouTube channel.
- This book has also been read by Mark Moraghan as Mr. Evans in a Storytime with Mr. Evans segment.
Goofs
- Eurostar is said to have whistled at Thomas, but he is an electric engine. Therefore, he honks instead.
- Thomas' angle when he sees Cutty Sark would not be possible in the real world as there are no railway lines running alongside the ship. The nearest line is the Docklands Light Railway which is underground and several hundred yards behind Cutty Sark. Additionally Thomas would never be able to run on the DLR.
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