All aboard for the 80th anniversary of Thomas the Tank Engine. The little blue steam ... he selected a real locomotive for illustrator Reginald Payne to base the pictures on to create authenticity.

Thomas -- that famous little blue tank engine -- hits retirement age this year, but the plucky, imaginary locomotive shows no signs of slowing down any time soon. Thomas the Tank Engine had humble ...

Why don’t we call it Thomas the Tank Engine?’ Two and a half years later, the opening instalment in a collection of children’s books called the Railway Series made its first appearance on ...