You are all aware of the well know and classic 1980s Tevelsions series of Thomas the Tank Engine, and the Railway series of Childrens books that inspired the series and make it even more popular and well know.The series was filmed in "1" scale or 1:32 scale and was live action using various sets of models with moving eyeballs for the engines faces and smoke & steam effects. I have to ask if the series was or could be inspiration for model railroading, or as it been?I have also come to realize now the series as made me interested in the british and the rest of the European side of model railroading, as is it is entirlly a diffirent world. I might want to even own a few OO scale British equipment and HO scale eurpoean eqipment like the upcoming Trix or Marklin class 66 six axle diesel. I am primarly interested in North American related trains as that is what primarly interests in me and I am set in, but I would like to dive into this world to explore it, if you know what I mean.
Hi Random_Idea_Poster_6263
My answer is a definate ARRRGH NO!!! to that the TV show is absalute rubbish I despise it no resembalance to A the orriginal stories and B British railway practices and far too much added PC rubbish and other butchery.
If however you base it on the orriginal late 1930's books then some pretence of British Railway practice is present and also it is easier to identify the locomotives that Thomas and friends are based on all of them except Duck have some basis in real locomotives and are not the TV cartoon locomotives.
Duck however is based on a model that REV Awdry(spelling) was never able to get to run right it waddled like a duck however Duck was a model of a GWR pannier tank.
The REV Awdry was a Railway Modeler, also part of the first UK preserved railway the Talyllin (spelling) Railway which is where the thin Controler and HOn30 Thomas comes from.
Note the Bachmann HOn30 red coaches with very little work can become reasonably good models of the real coaches and 3D parts are avalable to make the steamers closer to the real narrow gauge locomotives.
For the std gauge you would need Hornby's now out of production Thomas range or repainted propper models.
However for the narrow gauge The Bachmann range with a bit of work or not as acording to the builders taste would work.
One last thing or two the stories where never suposed to see the public light of day.
They where writen to entertain his son who was sick in bed at the time.
He was persuaded by a friend to publish them and as they say the rest is history.
regards John
I wouldn't but, there's room for all in this hobby so, modeling Thomas and Friends based on the TV show isn't out of the question.
Speaking of Thomas there's a lot of stores that carries Thomas and Friends merchandse.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
I think I can attribute a different type of model railroad inspiration to the show... I would give it partial credit for getting me into model railroading. I watched that show since before I can remember, and when I learned it was was made with actual model trains I kinda realised how cool trains could be. Thomas the Tank engine I is like the Lionel around the christmas tree for my generation! It's the thing that got me into trains!
So yeah, maybe not the kind of inspiratoon the OP was thinking about! Still how much more will a Thomas model at a train show attract kids compared to regular geep?
Regards, Isaac
I model my railroad and you model yours! I model my way and you model yours!
SPSOT fan I think I can attribute a different type of model railroad inspiration to the show... I would give it partial credit for getting me into model railroading. I watched that show since before I can remember, and when I learned it was was made with actual model trains I kinda realised how cool trains could be. Thomas the Tank engine I is like the Lionel around the christmas tree for my generation! It's the thing that got me into trains! So yeah, maybe not the kind of inspiratoon the OP was thinking about! Still how much more will a Thomas model at a train show attract kids compared to regular geep?
Mike
Random_Idea_Poster_6263 I have to ask if the series was or could be inspiration for model railroading, or as it been?
Yes to both.
I have seen a couple of HO scale Thomas layouts, and I am sure many have been built.
There is nothing wrong with building what you want. It is your layout.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
SPSOT fan So yeah, maybe not the kind of inspiratoon the OP was thinking about! Still how much more will a Thomas model at a train show attract kids compared to regular geep?
Years ago I dropped a small decoder into my son's Bachmann Thomas and he loved to watch Thomas zoom around the layout with his 2 coaches. Not scale railroading but I was amazed at how carefully he stopped the train at each station and yelled 'All Aboard' when it was time to go on. Held is interested for 45 minutes at a time.
The same effect was seen during open houses at the club layout. The kids were facinated at Thomas disappearing and reappearing at various points on the layout and the tunnels on the helix. I was amazed at the number of parents who took club information along with them from their kids asking if they could come an see Thomas again. Again not scale railroading but a great gateway to creating interest in the hobby.
Scott sonntag
I have mixed views. One of the prior NMRA Presidents (no longer recall which one) wrote in an editorial some years ago that he thought actual damage, real harm, was being done to the model railroad hobby by its seeming links to Thomas The Tank Engine - and I think his reasoning is that Thomas, as a toy, and in common with other similar toys and child oriented television shows, and for that matter child oriented books, is clearly something a healthy normal child gives up and moves away from as one ages, which is exactly the opposite of the message an NMRA seeks to convey: that this is an absorbing and enjoyable hobby (perhaps not the "world's greatest" but still a very fine one) for adults and is not something you should be expected to outgrow.
Or perhaps more pointedly, you should not be regarded as peculiar or even deviant for NOT outgrowing. He regarded it as a step backwards in this decades long effort to clarify in the general public mind just what our hobby really is, versus what it seems to be to the uninitiated. Indeed in recent years there has even seemed to be an effort to portray the hobby as very sinister and deviant and designed as a way for strange old men to hang around with or even entice kids. And in that light, note that the NMRA has this month forcefully had to instruct all its regions and divisions to put a halt to all youth activity, not so much because of actual incidents (although I suspect there have been some) but because of perceptions, and concerns about liability. This may be necessary in today's world but it WILL damage the hobby, I predict.
I am not sure Thomas is actively harming the hobby, I just don't see it doing much good, but I do think the adult wing of the hobby is not well advised to use Thomas as a recruiting device. The Thomas appeal is not fundamentally a model railroading hobby "thing" in my view. I don't think The Little Engine That Could, or the train in "Dumbo" did much for the hobby either.
Having said that, "A Day Out With Thomas" appearances have proven to be an enormous draw to railroad museums across the USA. It is not only a source of funds that keeps them going, to our benefit, but it brings families to those museums who surely must see other things of interest in addition to Thomas. Ditto for train shows - if they go for the Thomas perhaps they stay for the LGB or Lionel or sound equipped HO and N. There is at least a hope that a seed of interest can be planted that years later will be fruitful.
I suppose if Thomas is making money for firms that also sell things I want to buy, then that is in general good. Bachmann is an example. But if Bachmann was making money selling Sponge Bob toys I'd also be benefiting in the same way.
Dave Nelson
For me, the answer is absolutely! I loved Thomas as a kid, and thanks to the series and books I've been hooked on trains both full sized and model ever since. It started out with the AMT/ERTL diecast Thomas train toys, (I still have them in a box in my garage) then I got my first taste of "real world" trains through O gauge Lionel sets, and finally HO scale, which I've stuck with to this day. I'm 29 now, if that fact helps prove the point. I wouldn't say that it damages the hobby either. To me, that would be like saying the cartoon dogs Snoopy and Scooby-Doo damage the image of Beagle and Great Dane ownership. I think that if more kids and adults alike were introduced to the joys of model railroading (or any hobby for that matter) and were less attached to their electronic gadgets, the world would be a little bit better place. But, that's just my opinion, and to each his own.
We have a large plastic tub full of Thomas the Tank Engine track, locomotives, cars and structures still down in the utility room. Most of it is 20-years old or more.
Both of my grandsons grew up with Thomas. We had Thomas layouts covering the floor in our family room, off and on, for many years.
My BRVRR HO-scale layout is approaching 16-years of age now and both grandsons love to run trains. We have a Bachmann Thomas in which I installed a DCC decoder that periodically leads Annie andClarabel around the layout. Both boys have locomotives and rolling stock of their own and use it quite often. Neither is very interested in building structures or assembling cars, though the younger is autistic, so can be excused. The elder (23) now has a car a job and a girl friend so interest has waned over the last few years.
Thomas was the start and much of their interest in model trains I think can be attributed to the fun they had with the wooden railway on our family room floor.
Remember its your railroad
Allan
Track to the BRVRR Website: http://www.brvrr.com/
Lakeshore SubThe same effect was seen during open houses at the club layout.
Exactly. We usually had one or two motorless Thomas engines "pulling" freights at the head of the real engines. The kids always got excited and would run around the railroad looking for his next appearance.
We also gave away a couple Bachmann trains sets, with the first winner drawn given their choice of the Thomas set or a regular set. The Thomas set was usually taken first.
Well, I don't know if Thomas will inspire people to model the Isle of Sodor, but I do think it stirs and interest in trains and model trains. And those of us with both layouts and children will run Thomas on the layout even if the layout scenery looks more like Pennsylvania than Sodor.
David Starr www.newsnorthwoods.blogspot.com
The line between toy trains and model railroads can sometimes get blurred making it difficult to place an item in one category or the other. There is not a shadow of a doubt that Thomas and friends fall way over on the toy train side of the line.
I have the right to remain silent. By posting here I have given up that right and accept that anything I say can and will be used as evidence to critique me.
I can see it attracting kids, and several manufacturers have made Thomas models, so.........
Yes, it could definitely inspire a model RR.
Ricky W.
HO scale Proto-freelancer.
My Railroad rules:
1: It's my railroad, my rules.
2: It's for having fun and enjoyment.
3: Any objections, consult above rules.
In the UK early 60's, I was a youngster with a bit of pocket money at a Church Jumble-sale and bought a few original Thomas books. Mostly it was the beautiful illustrations that attracted me, but I liked Trains. These books were the nearest I got to having a Model Railway for about another 6 years, but the pictures inspired me to try and recreate my perfect MR something like - from the moment I built my first 8x4 at the age of 11. This lasted up until @2015 when I got bit by USA Railroads & Model Railroads.
When I started reading MRR magazine, an adverisment included Thomas. "Wat! I don't believe it". I didn't think anyone in the States would have even heard of him, let alone the TV series or books. They are so British, by prototype and mannerism, I just thought you would have your own version. Genuine shock waves.
I feel this proves that Thomas was/is an inspiration to present/future Modellers and hopefully always will be.
With regard to modelling Britains Railways today, our version of Geeps are the very popular and numerous EMD Class 66, the Ugly Duckling is the GE Class 70 But Britains railways are all Passenger or very boring Unit Trains, the only slight variation being the different arrangements of the Intermodal Containers that pass by our house. No local Industries to Switch or Teamtracks, not since the late 60's
I wish that all those years ago back in the 60's, I had been inspired to model USA R/R's with a book about Thomas the GP38#2, Barry the Boxcar and Clarence the Caboose. Paul
"It's the South Shore Line, Jim - but not as we know it".
I have to wonder if some even read his whole post.
OP does NOT want to do a Thomas layout. Just asked if the series could be an inspiration for some into model railroading!! And the answer is a resounding Yes!!
IMO
Cid (Memphis, Tennessee)
I would guess Thomas The Tank would have a limited effect. Why? Because often children get exposed to trains and love them, but the "train gene" may not be there so the excitement isn't a life long thing.
I've often seen photo's of a grandpa with a grandkid who is having a fun time with trains, and bragging about a future model railroader. Well, maybe, maybe not. My sister had a son who was into trains when he was young, but it was one of many phases. He is now grown up and working as a school teacher - no sign of any interest in trains.
My 'long term' view over many years of obsrvation is some get into trains and the rest don't. So exposure may spark an idividual who has the train gene, for lack of better concept, but only in those limited cases.
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
Funny that in my YouTube feed today this video came up, a review of Rapido's version of the prototype loco that Toby the Tram Engine was based on. Typical Rapido loco - ultra detailed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=303_XABHjd4
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
our club has "n" scale dcc locos on the layout in the club house. And some go to some shows with the guys.
I also remember at one show, in Lindsay, Ontario, tthat had an HO Sodor layout. All locations were from the island. The owners were a club of middle aged men.
Both are well liked by the younger crowd, but if questions are asked I point out that adult help and supervision will be necessary.
I would say NO
Playing with a toy is a long way from trying to recreate the real world in miniature.
When he/she puts Thomas away, is he/she ready for scale modeling?
If and when they aquire a serious interest in MR, I doubt it had any thing to do with thomas
Random_Idea_Poster_6263scale modelling skill that went into make the series visually stunning and realistic looking
In the late 80s my son and I were already deep into building a model railroad when we began watching Shining Time Station. Ringo Starr as Mr. Conductor, and later on George Carlin were a hoot. The Thomas segment of the show was fun and the nicely done animated models helped stoke our imaginations and creativity.
Regards, Peter
For those who say that you don't want to have the hobby accociated with childish toys, you have a point, but you also have to remember where this hobby really started to gain popularity: with Lionel/American Flyer toy trains! Most hobbyists today, especially the older folks, started with Lionel! Lionel is seen as quite childish and the hobby is seen as childish as a result. Thomas didn't bring a new 'bad' reputation upon the hobby, it just brought back an old one!
But then is there really a major issue with people seeing model railroading as childish? Connotations of playing with toys or watching Thomas are good and fun, and in model railroading the end goal should also be fun! So what if the general public thinks of model railroaders as grown men playing with toy trains? At least they have it partially right, cause when we are operating our layout we are surely having a lot of fun!
There are my !
Happy times!
Ulrich (aka The Tin Man)
"You´re never too old for a happy childhood!"
I've seen layouts that are based off locations from the series, but the engines don't have faces and it's run as through it were a model of an actual prototype. E.g. you'd have models of a Gresley A3 meeting with an LBSCR E2 at a junction.
The Location: Forests of the Pacific Northwest, OregonThe Year: 1948The Scale: On30The Blog: http://bvlcorr.tumblr.com
Wilbert Awdry had a layout based on the books he wrote.
It is now on display at the Ffestiniog Railway station at Towyn, Awdry having been an early member of the Ffestiniog Society.
None of Awdry's models had faces. They were basically scale models painted in the colours of the locomotives in the books. Since this model dated from the 1950s there werer a limited number of prototypes available. Thus Awdry used an LMS 3F tank locomotive to represent Thomas rather than the Southern Railway E2 class the book illustrations were based upon. Conversely, some characters in the books were based on available models, such as the Hornby Dublo model onf the Metropolitan Vickers Type 2 Co-Bo unit.
This rather odd video shows a number of illustrations of Awdry's layout as preserved.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnYt7AWNnS8
None of Awdry's models, although painted to match the books, had faces.
So basically it was just a frelance railway built with available rolling stock.
Rather than the TV series, I would recommend using the original books (which had plots based on real railway operation) as a basis for a model railway, and if it is being built with a child in mind, that the youngster be encouraged to read the original Awdry books, possibly in conjunction with books describing prototype railways in a manner suitable for a child's understanding.
And I still have the three original Awdry books I received over 65 years ago, along with the hardbound collection of all the Wilbert Awdry stories (His son Christopher later wrote a number of books in the series).
Peter
It's your layout, so YOU make the rules. However, you risk losing your family (and all but your best friends) if you pipe the theme song throughout the house while running trains.
Marlon
See pictures of the Clinton-Golden Valley RR
So what if you use Thomas and Friends as the locos, but have them do their jobs as outlined in the stories - prototypical operation. Now what? Prototypical operation just that the locos and rolling stock have faces on them. The industries around Sodor are well documented in the stories, and the jobs of each loco are as well. That's a whole different thing than just setting up a 4x8 loop and running Thomas locos.
SPSOT fanFor those who say that you don't want to have the hobby accociated with childish toys, you have a point,
Model Railroading will always be associated with children's toys, whether Lionel, Thomas, or Tyco.
I have never understood why so many Model Railroaders have such a problem with this. Other hobbies embrace their toy influences.
SPSOT fan For those who say that you don't want to have the hobby accociated with childish toys, you have a point, but you also have to remember where this hobby really started to gain popularity: with Lionel/American Flyer toy trains! Most hobbyists today, especially the older folks, started with Lionel! Lionel is seen as quite childish and the hobby is seen as childish as a result. Thomas didn't bring a new 'bad' reputation upon the hobby, it just brought back an old one! But then is there really a major issue with people seeing model railroading as childish? Connotations of playing with toys or watching Thomas are good and fun, and in model railroading the end goal should also be fun! So what if the general public thinks of model railroaders as grown men playing with toy trains? At least they have it partially right, cause when we are operating our layout we are surely having a lot of fun! There are my !
Polite cough Triang trains followed By Hornby for me err what's Lionel and American Flyer?
"The scientific man about town cannot possibly be seen to be playing with toys"
Our hobby is no more childish than fighting battles with toy soldiers or racing slot cars.
Let us not forget the difference between men and boys is the cost of our toys.
There is nothing vital or important about any hobby but it might just save some ones sanity this one is a bad mis-quote from Iain Rice.