155 days until the premiere of An Unlikely Fandom!
Today, another fun fact! Thomas the Tank Engine has direct ties to the preservation of steam engines and heritage railways!
Not only was Thomas created by the Rev. W. Awdry, who was an avid railway enthusiast who participated in heritage railway preservation societies and volunteered at railways like the Talyllyn Railway in Wales, but the people who read The Railway Series became interested in the railways and more volunteers joined up and more children wanted to visit the railways.
I already mentioned the Talyllyn Railway specifically, and it has a very special connection with the Thomas franchise - it is the inspiration for the Skarloey Railway in The Railway Series and the TV show, and the engines that run on that railway are directly based on their real life counterparts. Talyllyn is Skarloey, Dolgoch is Rheneas, Douglas is Duncan and so on.
The impact of the Thomas stories on the real life railway is such, that they began having what they called "Duncan Days" some years ago, before "Day Out with Thomas" events were created. On the "Duncan Days" the Talyllyn Railway's Douglas was dressed up as The Railway Series' Duncan by means of a molded face. Train rides and various activities accompany, needless to say, this is very popular with children - and probably served as inspiration for the Day Out with Thomas events that came later.
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