The "little blue b*st*rd" and Notable #90.

Link to Photo
joshua@NOSPAMjoshuakblay.com

Nice picture, thanks for posting. But don't rip apart Thomas, it's a real engine too, just covered in hideous blue paint and lots of cosmetic junk. It's really just a Porter 0-6-0T that worked until the mid 1960s in New York Harbor on a switching operation (the BEDT-Brooklyn Eastern District Terminal). If that engine had feelings I'm sure it would feel quite upset. It's like the Michael Jackson of steam locomotives I guess...it's been so cosmetically altered on the outside that you can't recognize it anymore.

-Ed Kelley

gtngrr@aol.com

Roger that Ed. The phrase I used for Thomas was what I understood the shop forces on the SRR call him.

Joshua

> Roger that Ed. The phrase I used for Thomas
> was what I understood the shop forces on the
> SRR call him.

> Joshua

Most seem to have "local" nicknames - ours gets refered to as "Thomas the clank engine" (a reference to it's somewhat loose fitting mechanical parts pre rebuild) or "the NBL" (which is a reference to its having been built by the North British Locomotive Company)and rarely lastly "Coventry" (as it's non TTTE identity is "Coventry #1")

G

gavin@hamilton.powernet.co.uk

I hav seen Thomas at the Railfair 1999 and grown people as well as the kids got quite a kick out of seeing him.

I tend to think though about a number of rail museums that have and will have money raising events tha include the big blue guy.

The fad has lasted longer than I expected, but this season at least there still seems to be money made by the museums.

not all profit to be sure, the museums have to put out a lot of sweat and volunteer effort to ring the cash register. More power to them!

Ted miles

ted_miles@nps.gov

I know that the blue paint and smiling face make some of us purists want to cringe, but Thomas the "Bank" Engine, is getting a whole new generation into trains, and that is a good thing.

Having been a volunteer at the B&O Museum until last year's roof collapse, I've had the pleasure of meeting a number of teenage railfans who got interested in the hobby because of Thomas. Since parents don't read to their children the way they used to, and instead employ the "boob tube" as a babysitter, the Thomas phenomenon is where we are going to get the next generation of trainwatchers.

We are almost two generations removed from the last regular Class 1 steam operations in North America. Unless your parents like trains, chances are not good that you will get too many rides behind steam growing up in today's society. As Ted said, the phenomenon is lasting a whole lot longer than most people thought it would.

For this reason, and for all the money Thomas has raised for railroad museums around the country, all of us who care about railway preservation should raise their glasses and drink a toast to the memory of Reverend William Awdrey who started it all in the first place.

kevin.r.gillespie@verizon.net

Is there a webpage devoted to Rev. Awdrey's development of the storybook series? Is his story told very much at Thomas events? (Never been to one myself - my youngest child is 27.) Wasn't he a volunteer at a UK preserved railway until he died? Which one?

ryarger@rypn.org

Here's some websites-

http://www.goingape.com/history_thomas.htm

http://www.derbydeadpool.co.uk/deadpool ... awdry.html

http://www.iglobal.com/Drew/origins.htm

My Grandad was from the UK and got me started on Thomas at very early age with models, books, etc. many years before "Shining Time Station" and Ringo Starr's appearance on the show. (Ringo also narrted the series in the UK).

Joshua

> Is there a webpage devoted to Rev. Awdrey's
> development of the storybook series? Is his
> story told very much at Thomas events?
> (Never been to one myself - my youngest
> child is 27.) Wasn't he a volunteer at a UK
> preserved railway until he died? Which one?


joshua@NOSPAMjoshuakblay.com

Good websites all. Does Christopher Awdry still write the present stories? Does he illustrate them also? What happened to the original Thomas models his father made for him?

ryarger@rypn.org

> Good websites all. Does Christopher Awdry
> still write the present stories?

Neither Rev. Awdry nor Christoper illustrated their books. Christopher's were illustrated by by Clive Spong. Rev. Awdry's had three different illustrators over the years.

This is from Christoper Awdry's own personal Web page:

"The copyright in the characters in the Railway Series belongs elsewhere, so Christopher cannot publish any new stories about them. However, a friend who owns a Miniature Steam Railway in Eastbourne (EMSR) asked him if he would write some stories about his engines. Christopher was happy to oblige, and the first stories were published in 2001. A new publishing company, Sodor Enterprises, was set up for the purpose. To date there are six books in the Eastbourne series, and three about other railways. Please visit our Sodor Enterprises site for details of all these books, including three new ones published this spring."

http://www.aran48.dsl.pipex.com/index.htm



Chistoper Awdy's site
eledbetter@rypn.org

> Good websites all. Does Christopher Awdry
> still write the present stories? Does he
> illustrate them also? What happened to the
> original Thomas models his father made for
> him?
Funny his name should come up as I saw him on Wednesday - though I have to admit I've never spoken to him. He does voluntary work at the railway I'm involved with once a month and I was second manning the diesel that day.

I think he does do book signings currently.

G

gavin@hamilton.powernet.co.uk

The Railfair '99 Thomas is nothing compared to what the Strasburg RR shops did to the BEDT #15. Although its too bad the engine is under that blue shell, I must say if I were 5 or 6 years old I'd be in heaven. This is a full-size steamer, in fact it is probably even larger than Thomas would be in real life. For an 0-4-0T it is MASSIVE. The only things why it doesn't look entirely like Thomas is that it is not inside-connected and the cylinders are exposed out of the frame, and sometimes there is a pilot on it. I would like to see it in person running somewhere if I can get through the crowds of toddlers.

Not to say the Railfair 99 Thomas didn't attract crowds. I couldn't even get a decent picture of it without kids all over. It was chained to the rails so nobody would move it either. It was a hideous contraption, especially compared to the SRR creation.

The Strasburg RR Shops has or will be undertaking some major jobs. They did an amazing restoration on the 1850s "William Mason" locomotive for the movie "Wild Wild West" (those at Railfair will note the ex-Virginia & Truckee #21 "JW Bowker" was painted as the Jupiter at that time. It was also for this film). They are also (were or still are) working on a replica of the Virginia & Truckee #1 "Lyon", a 2-6-0 built in 1869 new for the railroad by Union Iron Works (Booth) in San Francisco. A hard task as the only photos I have seen and supposedly all that exist show the locomotive out of service after it was retired. The Rio Grande Consolidation #346 is there now, and rumors say that Colorado & Southern #9 as well as maybe even Disneyland Railroad's #5 "Ward Kimball" (former Cedar Point #1 "Maud L" and Barker Lapine plantation, Baldwin 2-4-4) followed by #3 "Fred Gurley" (1894 Baldwin 2-4-4 formerly of Godchaux Plantation, Louisiana). I still haven't taken their shop tour, but they have a new web site.

I am linking to a photo of the William Mason, but it doesn't really show its amazing paint job. There is a web site with mostly older railroad photos that I got from a link on this forum a month or so ago, I'd love to find that site again if anybody knows what I'm talking about. It had a much better photo of it.

Now that the John Bull is back in the museum, the William Mason is now the oldest operating steam locomotive in the country.

-Ed Kelley




GTNGRR@aol.com