The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway designer LB Billinton created the E2 0-6-0 tank loco at Brighton in 1913. The first five had normal rectangular water tanks, but the second five, introduced in 1915, had the "extended" tanks which make Thomas so recognisable. The other key feature identifying Thomas with the E2 is the little downsweeps at each end of the footplate. Thomas’ first illustrator, Reginald Payne, omitted the rear downsweep, which can be seen on the real E2 below. This can also be seen to possess a Westinghouse steam pump next to the smokebox, and is missing Thomas’ rather prominent splashers. Other mods received by Thomas at Crovan’s Gate Works include new safety valves, front window and removal of front steps. Otherwise, none of the class appears to have survived scrapping.
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| You can buy mugs, shirts or lunchboxes with this image on here. Image enhanced from the 1955 Observer's Book of Trains. |
From Tony Grigg's notes on “The Island of Sodor”: The Ffarquhar Branch is known as “Thomas' Branch Line” which Thomas runs with Annie and Clarabel, and the help of Toby, Percy and Daisy. Toby runs the branch extension to the Quarry, and the private Quarry line itself is run by Mavis. Serving the Ffarquhar railhead as a railway bus is Bertie. |
Thomas was the unfortunate victim of a mine sinkhole in the “Gordon the Big Engine” story “Down the Mine”. This is based on a true story which happened on the Furness Railway:
“On October 22nd, 1892, about 8-16 a.m., a remarkable accident occurred on the Furness Railway at Lindal. The 0-6-0 tender engne No. 115 (a 16" ‘Sharpie’) was shunting some iron ore wagons into a siding in the yard when the ground suddenly caved in under the locomotive. The engine crew (Driver Postlethwaite and Fireman Robinson) jumped off the footplate and got away. Slowly but surely the engine sank into the cavity and by 2-15 p.m. she had disappeared from view. Only the tender was saved. The area around Lindal is honeycombed with iron ore workings, and this was evidently responsible for the subsidence. It is estimated the locomotive lies some 200 feet below the ground today. The cavity was filled up in due course and the line became quite safe for traffic. While ths was going on, goods for the area were worked round by Penrith, Keswick and Workington. For passengers, trains were worked to and from each side of the subsidence. A new engine was eventually built to replace 115, whose salvaged tender she received.”
(For more on this and other stories behind the stories refer to the Real Stories Database)
Thomas debuted in “Thomas the Tank Engine” (1946) and merited a return volume “Tank Engine Thomas Again” in 1949. This latter volume is outstanding for both text and illustrations, particularly of Thomas’ faithful coaches, Annie and Clarabel.
The Rev. Awdry's Models of Thomas:Thomas had his genesis, like the immortal Winnie the Pooh, in a toy for a small child. A wooden push-along toy from the early 1940s, predating Learning Curve by many decades, is the original Thomas made by the Rev. W. Awdry "out of a piece of broomstick" for his son Christopher. Right: From the cover of The Thomas the Tank Engine Man. Used with the approval of Brian Sibley. |
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Thomas as he then appeared in sketches prepared by the Reverend were a far cry from the illustrator’s result, Reginald Payne’s iconic version who is with us today. Left: The Rev's first known sketch of Thomas from the 1940s, obviously bearing some relation to the toy. With thanks To Jim Gratton. |
However, the Reverend was happy to endorse Payne's account that the locomotive was an LBSC E2, although the first Thomas on the Rev Awdry's model railway, from Stuart Reidpath, lacked extended tanks. In the 1979 Thomas Annual, shared with us by Ryan Healy, the Rev Wilbert describes: “I bought Thomas in 1948 when I was writing "Tank Engine Thomas Again", and wanted to start modelling once more after a lapse of some twenty years. Thomas was one of Stewart Reidpath's standard models with a heavy, cast whitemetal body, and was fitted with his ‘Essar’ chassis and motor. Stewart Reidpath is now dead, and his motors, let alone spare parts for them, have been unobtainable for years; but Thomas still keeps going! He is, as you might expect from his age, a temperamental old gentleman, and has to be driven very carefully indeed. |
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| From The 1979 Thomas Annual with thanks to Ryan Healy | From the Railway Modeller, December 1959 | Stewart Reidpath's original 00 scale Thomas. From a photo in the Awdry Study, Tywyn published in the Wisbech Advertiser |
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After Hornby produced the E2 tank in the later 70s, the Rev gladly adapted one to take the role of Thomas on Ffarquhar: |
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| From the LBSCR Page © Dave Searle | © Colour-Rail. Used with the approval of Brian Sibley |
Very ironically, despite Awdry's requests for models, to which the company then called Lines Brothers (Triang-Hornby) responded with Meccano Percy in 1967, Hornby eventually adapted this tool to be Thomas when they started Railway Series models in the 1980s. |
Kit Basher's Corner:
| Wills Finecast white metal kit of the extended-tanked E2 |  |
Modeller's Corner:
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| Hornby model of Thomas from Amazon.co.uk | Bachmann OO Thomas from Amazon UK and US |
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| Lionel's 0-27 model of Thomas | Lionel's G-Gauge model of Thomas |
Collector's Corner
| Classic ERTL model of Thomas | TOMY model of Thomas available from Amazon.co.uk |
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| LC Wooden Thomas from Amazon UK and US | LC Take Along Thomas from amazon UK and US |
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