My posts have been a little short these past few days, as I've been out and about and haven't had much time to type them up - but don't worry, I still have plenty to say!
So, Thomas and his friends were created by the Reverend Wilbert Awdry - a lifelong rail enthusiast - created the first talking steam engines in his fictional world for his son Christopher while he was ill.
The Rev had listened to steam engines traversing the railway near his childhood home and had imagined that they were speaking to each other as they climbed the hill nearby.
When his son Christopher fell ill, he remembered his own childhood imagination and began telling him stories about steam engines named Edward, Gordon and Henry.
He didn't ever intend to publish the stories, but his wife and friends persuaded him to publish them after Christopher insisted he write them down to get the details right each time.
On May 12th 1945, the Three Railway Engines was published and thus the phenomenon was born. Thomas himself wasn't even introduced until the second book!
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