The Interesting Story Behind Thomas the Tank Engine

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Interesting Story Behind Thomas the Tank Engine

Thomas the Tank Engine has been a mainstay in children’s lives for a long time now, whether it is in the form of illustrated story books, animated TV series, or even as Christmas novelty toys. While your kid may rejoice seeing the lovely blue train on their screens now, they’ll never know that you probably used to do the same in your childhood. That’s right, the amazing TV series Thomas and Friends has been running for over 40 years! 

Behind the current craze over Thomas toys and video games lies a rich history of these bumbling trains. In fact, even before your time, your own parents might have been familiar with the adventures of Thomas and his merry band of engines on the island of Sodor. After all, the series started off as a collection of books, all the way back in 1946!  

How the story of Thomas began

The wonderful world of Thomas and Friends was made possible due to the efforts of author Wilbert Awdry. He wrote a bunch of books centred around the train engines of Sodor – all to make sure his son, Christopher was entertained.

Back in 1942, his kid was down with a serious case of the measles – that too, in the middle of wartime! Wilbert just had to make sure that his son pulled through, and began searching around the house for something to inspire him in keeping Christopher engaged. He suddenly remembered the wooden train toy he had made for his son and thought it’d be a good idea to read and write out a few tales written around the engine to his son. And voila, one of the most wholesome franchises to ever be seen was born! 

Fun fact: Thomas actually wasn’t the first character that Wilbert created for his kid. Thomas was only in the second book, once Wilbert had solidified his writing style for the series. Of course, Thomas quickly became Christopher’s favourite, though; train engines tend to be very likeable when they’re being described as cheeky and have entertaining shenanigans! 

After the war, Wilbert decided to publish his stories and Thomas became a household name across the world. The TV show based on the books began airing in 1979 and has been running ever since! 

Introduce your child to the wonderful world of Thomas

Like their parents before them, it’s now high time that your kids properly get to know about Thomas the tank engine and his well-meaning friends. Be it Edward, Percey or even Toby, your child will be exposed to some wonderful characters! And we’ve got the perfect way to do that: the Thomas and Friends Showbag!

The Thomas and Friends Showbag contains an absolute bevy of products that’ll make your child fall in love with the friendly blue engine even more! This includes a high quality lunch box and drink bottle, perfect for lunch on an outdoor trip! Of course, the highlight has to be the amazing activity set in here that will keep your child engrossed for hours! 

Of course, you also get foam bath toys, a play ball and a play mat for some good times outside. Plus, you get a beautiful tote bag and a durable backpack to store all of this in, or even go to school with! Sounds like the perfect bundle of Christmas novelty toys to gift your little one!   

You can find the showbag mentioned in this article, along with many more fantastic products, right here.

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