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Thomas the Train Page

WELCOME to our Thomas the Train page. We are including pictures of
our train setup in our front lobby and we soon hope to have a video of
Thomas and Percy in action!

Thomas and Friends is a British children's television series, first
broadcast on the ITV network in September 1984. Until 2003, it was
named Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends. It is based on The
Railway Series of books by the Reverend W. V. Awdry and his son
Christopher Awdry. These books deal with the adventures of a group
of animated trains and road vehicles who live on the fictional Island of
Sodor. The books were based on stories Awdry told to entertain his
son Christopher during his recovery from measles. Many of the
stories are based on events from Awdry's personal experience.

Thomas is a cheeky, fussy little engine who wears #1 on his side and
never lets anyone forget it. Joining him in his adventures on the Island
of Sodor are his engine friends, including cheerful Percy, moody
James and the proud but boastful Gordon. They are joined by the
coaches Annie and Clarabel, Bertie the Bus, Terence the Tractor and
Harold the Helicopter, to name a few. Sir Topham Hatt, Superintendent
of the railroad, is the kindly boss who keeps everyone in order.

Since we first opened Discoveryland in Middletown, we had thought that we would like to do something "special" in our front lobby. I had
an idea to create an elevated train track which would go around the entire lobby, but the engineering of this seemed daunting! I was given
a bit of a push on the project by a very dedicated Discoveryland staff, who one year gave me a collective Christmas present of a voucher
for a train set. I purchased the set, took it home and it sat in my garage where I saw it each and every day for 6 years. I kept thinking of
how, structurally I could do the work to make an elevated train in our lobby a reality. One day, it came to me and I furiously began to take
measurements and work out the details on how to construct the layout.

For those of you who may be interested, the setup is in G-Scale or 1:22.5 scale. The setup includes Thomas and Percy locomotives.
Thomas is joined by his two passenger cars, Annie and Clarabel while Percy is pulling the "Troublesome Trucks".
One the best features of Thomas and Percy is their moving eyes, which the children all look for.

The artwork surrounding the layout is a work of love by my lovely wife Lorna, who spent untolled hours up on a ladder in a most difficult
position as she painted.

If you need more information and Thomas, ask any one-year old child. That's how I learned about Thomas and Friends - from my
grandson of 1 year. You can thank him for making this Thomas layout a reality. Never underestimate the power of a grandchild on their
Grandfather! Somehow or other they know each and every train and loco!

Look for more to come as we continue to work on the layout. It's a labor of love from our staff and family to yours! Enjoy!

Mr. Charlie and the entire Discoveryland Staff

Thomas Comes to Discoveryland