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Subject: 
Re: 8 Wide LEGO Thomas! (pics)
Newsgroups: 
lugnet.trains, lugnet.duplo
Date: 
Thu, 12 May 2005 18:50:48 GMT
Viewed: 
10534 times
  
In lugnet.trains, John Neal wrote:
   (SNIP)

Now, it is my understanding that all of the characters are all based on real-life locos. Not so?

(SNIP)

JOHN

The characters from the original 26 books by the Rev W Awdry, and the next 14 books by his son Christopher Awdry use characters based on real engines and stories that happened on the real railway (whether transposed to a different railway setting with different engines or not).

I can’t vouch for anything beyond the original books and I stick to characters featured in the originals, building the real engine on which each character is based.

These are the ones I know: Thomas is a London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LBSCR) E2, of which 5 were built http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=742630

Gordon is an LNER Gresley A3 Pacific. Henry (in his new shape) is an LMS “Black 5” 4-6-0 painted green like the first of class (842 built). Duck is a GWR 5700 series pannier tank http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=742627

Toby is an LNER steam tram and such engines used to work in the docks http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=742631

Mavis is a class 04 shunter with cow-catchers and side-plates, like the first few of the class (142 built). The engines for Edward and James are a bit less clear. Donald and Douglas are NBR C class J36s. Stepney is an LBSCR A1X “Terrier” tank engine, which can be seen for real at the Bluebell Railway in East Sussex http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=742629

Of the diesels, “Diesel” is a Class 08 shunter, “Bear” is a Class 35 Hymek Bo-Bo http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=832399

“BoCo” is a Class 28 Metropolitan Vickers CoBo http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=707083

Pip and Emma are the two Class 43 diesels one each end of an HST. Other diesels were also featured but not named.

Of the trucks, Toad the brake van is a standard GWR brake van, of which the type was called Toad http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=1103699 If you wondering why “Toad”, other wagon types in Britain were named after various fish.

Of the small engines on the Skarloey Railway, there are direct equivalents on the Talyllyn Railway at Towyn in Wales: Skarloey is Talyllyn, Rheneas id Dolgoch, Sir Handel is Sir Haydn, Peter Sam is Edward Thomas, Rusty has his real name, Duncan is Douglas and Ivo Hugh is Tom Rolt. I think in all cases where the names are of particular people like the manager, the relationship is the same in the book as in real life.

Rex, Bert and Mike, the engines run by the Small Controller, have equivalents at the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway in Cumbria (NW England).

The mountain engines of “Culdee Fell” are at the Snowdon Mountain Railway in North Wales.

Of course there are other characters besides the trains, such as Bertie the bus, Harold the Helicopter and Terence the Tractor.

There is also a site that lists a few more with pictures here: http://www.pegnsean.net/~railwayseries/engines.htm

Those who have added characters after the Awdrys have demonstrated a lack of understanding of how the original was formed - from real railway events with real railway engines. I think it’s such a shame! What was a brilliant idea has become corrupted by poor quality for commercial reasons.

Mark



Message is in Reply To:
  Re: 8 Wide LEGO Thomas! (pics)
 
(...) Now, it is my understanding that all of the characters are all based on real-life locos. Not so? (...) lol that is amusing. I had heard that Mozart was being played as well. How awful for those poor subway loitering ne'er-do-wells:-) BTW, I (...) (20 years ago, 12-May-05, to lugnet.trains, lugnet.duplo, FTX)

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