Canadian Railroads > The other end of the Thomas train

I can't say I'm a fan of Thomas the tank engine or his didactic little TV show, and my kids never cared for it either. But he draws a crowd, and that's good for railroad museums. He also needs another engine to do the pushing, and that's good for photography. Here's 6520 doing the work this morning on WCRA's Thomas train, crossing the Mamquam River in Squamish.

Loleta fernbridge

---

I got those lights on just in time, nice shot!

Didactic... I've learned a new word there! That loco on the rear is quite a contrast to friendly little Thomas... 'Hector the big bad engine'...?!

"Thomas the Tank Engine" stories were always moral tales for children.

The, author of the Thomas tales, the late Reverend Awdry was a Church of England Minister. My first encounter with Thomas in the 1950's was in the little books printed in the UK. Later Reverend Awdry's son wrote further books, more recent books and screenplays are by others.

The illustrations were by three different artists, each with their own concept of how Thomas and his friends should look.

The TV shows evolved from models to computer animation.

If anything, the recent Thomas is less preachy than the original.

Penn Central lives on!

Michael