List of Thomas the Tank Engine References in Publications

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The following is an alphabetical list of Thomas the Tank Engine-related sightings and references in books, comic books, comic strips, magazines and other print publications.

Book References

Atlas of Imagined Places

• On the page for the United Kingdom and Ireland, the Island of Sodor is featured as one of the fictional locations mapped on 'Fake Britain and Sham Rock'. The map features markers for Vicarstown, Norramby, Kellsthorpe, Kirk Ronan, Peel Godred, Culdee Fell, Cronk, Suddery, Brendam Docks, Knapford, Ffarquhar and Tidmouth, as well as the railway lines on the Island based on Wilbert and George Awdry's map of Sodor from The Railway Series. Misty Island from Thomas & Friends is also depicted on the map, being located south of Suddery Bay, albeit is lacking any railway lines or a connection to Sodor.
  • Shining Time is situated in Pennsylvania, United States (referred to as Keystone, a fictional state from Steven Universe), with the Indian Valley Railroad said to be along the same route as the Allegheny & West Virginia Railroad from Unstoppable. However, Muffle Mountain and the other towns from Shining Time Station are not included due to their relative obscurity.
  • Bigg City Port from Tugs is also featured and located in New England, officially making this the first published work of fiction to reference Tugs since its cancellation in the 1990s, if not the first altogether.

Blue's Clues & You!

• In Lift-a-Flap Peek-a-Boo Blue!, a toy based on the Thomas & Friends' Thomas design appears, albeit with an American funnel and cowcatcher.

Bullet Train

• Hitman Lemon is a self-admitted fan of Thomas the Tank Engine, as shown throughout the novel, describing how everything he has learned about people he learned from Thomas.
• In addition to the references seen in the later film adaptation, several additional references are made in the novel which were omitted in the film. These include references to the Thomas & Friends song Accidents Will Happen, The Railway Series story Domeless Engines and the seventh series of Thomas & Friends episode, The Spotless Record. City of Truro, Arthur and Ned are also mentioned by name.

Eyewitness: Train

• The book features a section on Thomas the Tank Engine when covering locomotives in terms of amusement. A puzzle of Thomas and Harold drawn by Owen Bell is used as an example.

Guinness World Records

• The 2003 edition of the Guinness World Records book lists the replica of James built for the Thomas & Friends - The Big & All Aboard Live Tours as the largest model railway engine ever built, at 2.64 x 1.5 x 6.52 metres.

Hilda and the Stone Forest

• A steam engine intentionally designed to resemble Edward can be spotted in a train yard when Hilda and Twig are chasing after a Walking Land Creature.
  • The engine is also present in the animated adaptation.

Horrid Henry

• One of the books of the series, Horrid Henry's Haunted House, mentioned a character called Tank Thomas.

Nevertheless

• In Chapter 12 of this autobiography by Alec Baldwin, Thomas and the Magic Railroad is among the unsuccessful films listed that Baldwin enjoyed participating in.

One For the Murphy's

• Near the end of the book, a son of the Murphy's is wearing a Thomas towel or blanket.

Raising Steam

• In the fortieth novel in author Terry Pratchet's Discworld series, the character Harry King is referred to as a "Fat Controller, with a history of throwing people down the stairs".

Rules

• In the debut novel of Cynthia Lord, David likes to rewind and fast-forward a scene in his Thomas the Tank Engine video where he crashes into a shed, pausing right before the moment of impact.

Secret at the Mill

• The front cover features models of Henry from The Railway Series (albeit without his face), some Orange-Brown Corridor Coaches and a signal box, based upon the third illustration of the Railway Series story Henry's Sneeze from the book Henry the Green Engine.

Thomas the Privatised Tank Engine

• Thomas the Privatised Tank Engine was first printed in the pages of the "Private Eye" newspaper in 1992 before being published into its own book two years later. The collection of stories features Thomas dealing with the effects of rail privatisation on the Island of Sodor, such as being sold to private companies only to be leased back to Sir Topham Hatt.
  • Interestingly, Thomas' depiction throughout the book leans heavily into the appearance of his basis, the LB&SCR E2 class, notably drawn with the distinctive dip at the back of the running board, a detail he had never been depicted with in any form of official media (barring his Hornby model, a retooling of their own E2) at the time.

Train Teasers

• The 408th question in the book asks readers to fill in the last word from the first sentence from The Three Railway Engines, the first book of The Railway Series. At the end, the answer is erroneously listed as "Henry" rather than "Edward".

Where Am I Now? True Stories of Girlhood and Accidental Fame

• Mara Wilson's autobiography discusses her participation in Thomas and the Magic Railroad and how it became her last film role as a child actor before pursuing a writing career.

Who Were the Beatles?

• In a chapter covering the lives of the Beatles following their breakup, Ringo Starr's time as narrator of Thomas the Tank Engine and Mr. Conductor are mentioned.

Your Movie Sucks

• In the late critic Roger Ebert's 2007 book about films he gave negative reviews to between 2000 and 2006, Thomas and the Magic Railroad is one of them.

Zac's Train Set

• The train set in question comprises of Thomas Wooden Railway stock, including James, Toby, Daisy, a workman, a bridge and tunnel, albeit modified to be a generic train set and avoid copyright: Some of the engines are missing their details for copyright reasons, such as:
  • James, Daisy and Toby are missing their faces.
  • James is missing his tender.
  • Toby is more of a greenish brown and he is missing his number seven, and appears to represent a brake van.
  • Daisy's front and back windows are removed, thus making her a bogie passenger coach.
  • The station is based on one of the Limited Edition stations, possibly Elsbridge from James Goes Buzz Buzz.
  • The bridge is based on the Arched Stone Bridge.

Comic Book References

The Beano

• A possible reference occurs in an issue of The Beano from the mid-2000s, where Minnie the Minx visits her cousin named Thomas, who is a massive train enthusiast.
• In the Johnny Bean strip in The Beano Annual 2009, a man named Mr. Puff is in charge of a miniature railway with an anthropomorphic steam locomotive named Timmy the Train. Johnny decides to ride as a passenger in one of Timmy's little carriages. After going through a dark tunnel, it is revealed that Johnny has pushed Mr. Puff off of Timmy. Johnny drives Timmy dangerously, going at max speed. When a fallen tree is on the rails, Johnny and Timmy crash into it, which leads to Timmy being destroyed. Timmy is a parody of Thomas.

Highlights for Children

A page based on Eve Merriam's poem "I Want My Breakfast" features a toy train - a tank engine resembling Thomas - which hauls pancakes to serve the boy's breakfast.

MAD

• A drunken parody of Thomas appears in an issue of MAD.

My Hero Academia: Vigilantes

• In Chapter 44, a villain named Tommy S. Gordon battles Koichi Haimawari. The character resembles Gordon.

Laid-Back Camp

• In Volume 10, standees of Thomas and Hiro from Thomas & Friends can be seen outside a train station Rin is waiting at in Chapter 56: "Hot Pots, Secret Spots, and a Western-Inspired Menu". Additionally, as Nadeshiko travels from the Senzu Station on the Ōigawa Railway, the replicas of Hiro and Percy are shown in a siding in Chapter 57: "The Land of Suspension Bridges".

Rail Riders Express

Issue 17 (summer 1986)

• A comic strip featured in Rail Riders Express called Chuff features a sentient locomotive with a grey face named Chuff, who is a parody of Thomas. The strip ran from 1981 to 1991. It was written and illustrated by Dick Millington.

Comic Strip References

Big Nate

• In the 3 May 2005 comic strip, Francis drinks from the "Thomas the Tank Engine" juice box and says that he is drinking it because his mother ran out of Ovaltine.
• In the 2010 novel "Big Nate: In A Class By Himself", Nate mentions hitting Francis with a "Thomas the Tank Engine" lunch box in Kindergarten.

Off the Mark

• In the 26 May 2013 strip, Thomas appears in one of the windows with several other "toons" in "The Betty Rubble Center For Recovering Toons". Thomas is listed as Case #5, with his case being, "Totally Tanked".

Other References

State Examinations Commission

• In a Leaving Certification exam paper for Design & Communication Graphics, the 2006 Wooden Railway Sodor Suspension Bridge is used as an image for the first question in Section A.

The Sydney Morning Herald

• In an opinion piece by Jacob Saulwick published on 29 March 2017 titled Commuters will have months of pain, but Gladys Berejiklian never asked if it was worth it, a satirical illustration was made by John Shakespeare of Thomas lacking wheels with at the time premiere of New South Wales Gladys Berejiklian's face.

TWR Editorial Cartoons

• In a political cartoon by Dutch cartoonist Tjeerd Royaards released on 17 September 2021 titled "Angela Merkel retires", with the caption "The little engine that wouldn't anymore", Thomas is depicted in a style similar to a 2013 Take-n-Play toy with the face of former German chancellor Angela Merkel, with an elongated German flag running along his sides. Annie and Clarabel are seen in the background painted dark blue, representing the European Union and they also resemble their Take-n-Play counterparts. The scene is not dissimilar to when Thomas has to get fish out of his tanks in Thomas Goes Fishing and has to leave Annie and Clarabel at the station.

References

Thomas the Tank Engine in Culture

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