The Truck Hoist[]
Even though machines made for lifting and turning upside-down cars are real, and are still in use today, I don't think that this Hoist is even based upon anything, I don't think it's possible for a hoist like this to exsist, to be able to lift an engine, or to tilt a car to an angle like that without the car being held onto anything that isn't underneath.
Super58173 23:11, March 6, 2011 (UTC)
- Well, hoists like this did indeed exist and were used on plenty of coal towers including the one at Carnforth (which may have been the reference for the Thomas one's general shape) and the one at Saltley - photos of which show a hoist rather like the one on the T&F coaling tower. The part that the show fudges is that on the real ones the wagons were secured to the hoist with chains (as noted on that website) to allow them to be tilted at such extreme angles. And it is admittedly unlikely that those hoists could lift an engine. ZeldaTheSwordsman (talk) 00:17, 11 November 2025 (UTC)
Thomas and the Magic Railroad?[]
What's the grounds for saying the full-fledged coaling plant first appeared in Thomas and the Magic Railroad? We see a coal hopper in that movie, yes, but it seems to be a standalone hopper like one of the Tidmouth Yard hoppers. Unless you have a stronger case, you may as well be claiming the coaling plant first appeared in "Thomas, Percy and the Coal"ZeldaTheSwordsman (talk) 00:17, 11 November 2025 (UTC)
James and Super E.D.[]
I think we should probably say something about "James and Super E.D." being a potential genesis of the big coaling tower, since the script did call for a big coal tower with a motorized truck hoist (though not quite like the one in this episode).ZeldaTheSwordsman (talk) 00:17, 11 November 2025 (UTC)