Choo Choose Thomas! Part 2 Trivia Quiz

Answer: The Great Western Railway

Wilbert Awdry was the son of an Anglican vicar; his family moved around a lot when he was young. One of his more permanent homes, called "Journey's End" by the family, was just 200 yards from the Box Tunnel, which was built from 1838-1841, and is considered to be an important feature of the Great Western Main Line. Awdry wrote that as a young boy he would listen to the train whistles at night, and learned to distinguish between the different coded signals.

It was at that time that he decided, "There was no doubt in my mind that steam engines all had definite personalities". One of Thomas's friends, Duck, worked for the Great Western Railway before coming to the Island of Sodor.

In the story, "The Thomas Way", Duck learns that his original mantra, "There are two ways of doing things: the Great Western way, or the wrong way", might not be correct; there is a third way of doing things - the Thomas way! Nevertheless, Duck has the final word, pointing out that the Great Western Way is usually the best!

Answer: His son had the measles.

In 1942 Reverend Awdry's son was two and a half years old, and sick with the measles. He told the stories to entertain the boy during his illness, however, he did eventually write them down because his son would correct him if the details of a repeated story had changed.

His wife, Margaret, eventually found the drafts that had been hurriedly written on the back of Mother's Union (a family charity originally founded by the wife of a rector of the Church of England) circulars. By 1945 his stories were published under the title "The Three Railway Engines".

Answer: Edward

Near "Journey's End", one of Reverend Awdry's childhood homes, there was a very steep gradient; a banking engine was always kept there to help freight trains up the hill. This memory was the basis for one of his first stories about Edward, a mixed traffic engine who could pull freight or passenger trains, and helped Gordon make it up the hill.

In the stories, Edward is viewed as a bit out-dated and old fashioned, but is always willing to help someone in need. For this reason, the younger engines like Thomas love him.

In spite of his age, Edward is able to finish what is started and can work as hard as the youngsters.

Answer: Broomstick

At one time Reverend Awdry said that the model for Edward was based on a locomotive made by Sharp, Stewart & Co that was used by the Furness Railway in 1896 and called the "Larger Seagull"; some sources, however, state that it looked more like a Scottish locomotive called the D20.

After he wrote "The Three Railway Engines", Awdry made a model of Edward and some other railway vehicles; his son also asked for a model of Gordon, however, Gordon's construction was too difficult. Instead, a 0-6-0 tank engine was built, and Thomas the Tank Engine was born! Thomas did not have a tender like James or Edward because the water needed for a tank engine to run is stored in tanks attached to the boiler.

Answer: The Railway Series

Taking his future stories from real-life incidents he read about in railway magazine, Awdry's daughter said that she and her sister would sometimes hear new stories during high tea with their father. After the initial success of the books, Reverend Awdry established a set of guidelines that would be followed in his books: one story would led to the next, the scenery and location would be the same in all of the stories, and, perhaps most importantly, all of the stories had to demonstrate correct railway procedures. Altogether he wrote twenty-six stories that are part of "The Railway Series", finishing in 1972 when he said that he had run out of ideas.

Answer: It was named for the Bishop of Sodor and Man.

The Bishop of Sodor and Man is an official in the Church of England who oversees the Diocese of Sodor and Man. In existence since 1387, the office is appointed by the monarch, who is said to act on the advice of the prime minister. Originally, Reverend Awdry said that Sodor was reached by crossing The Jubilee Bridge at Barrow in Furness; the bridge actually leads to Vickerstown on Walney Island. Awdry chose the name Sodor as it was an ancient name for the Hebrides, and changed the name of Vickerstown to Vicarstown.

Incidentally, the settings described on the island of Sodor are found in many places throughout Great Britain.

Answer: Coal Mining

Actually, it appears that there are many economic endeavors on the island of Sodor. There are farms, coal mines, a variety of stone and clay quarries, zoos, and even a castle. Adults have had many questions about the economy of the island. Why does Sir Topham Hatt appear to control absolutely everything on the island? Why are the trains still run using steam? Why do the trains have drivers when it seems that they are intelligent enough to drive themselves? Does any of that really matter to the children who love the stories? Reverend Awbry and his brother, George, wrote the history of the fictional island and published a book, "The Island of Sodor: Its People, History and Railways" in 1986. Locations on the island reflect a mixture of fact and fiction regarding real places in Great Britain.

Answer: Reverend Awdry used each of these methods.

Anthropomorphism is the practice assigning human characteristics - emotions and other traits - to inanimate objects. It has been used in modern times by many authors, such as Lewis Carrol, "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" (1865), and George Orwell, "Animal Farm" (1945), who assigned human characteristics to animals. Aside from the joy of just pure entertainment and showing his love for trains, Reverend Awdry wished to teach that good triumphs over evil - not surprising that the stories were first told in WWII England - and that loyalty among friends and hard word always pays off. Typically the engine who was the central character in the story would get into some sort of pickle due to his own character flaws and the issue would be resolved with a lesson that was learned.

Then the engine was given another opportunity to prove his or her worth. Trains from new cultures, such as Hiro from Japan, were introduced, and when the engines made mistakes, they apologized to their friends for their actions.

Answer: Christoper Awdry

Christoper Awdry, the young boy with the measles, began writing stories that were called "Thomas & Friends" after his father retired in 1972. Altogether there are forty-two volumes in "The Railway Series"; Christopher added sixteen more stories to his father's original twenty-six, as well as a long list of other Thomas stories, including "Thomas Easy-to-Read Books", and children's books about other railways. Voice actors for the popular "Thomas & Friends" television series have included Ringo Starr (1984-90), George Carlin (1991-96), and Alec Baldwin (1998-2003).

Answer: Rudyard Kipling

Called ".007", and subtitled "The Story of an American Locomotive", Kipling's story was first published in 1897 and in 1898 with a collection of his other stories called "The Day's Work". In the tale, the locomotives spoke to each other as humans would, and the humans were seen only through the eyes of the engines. One train was derailed after hitting a pig in the tracks, and .007, a younger engine, pulled the broken-down train to the railway shed.

It was the quintessential story of the new kid on the block who gained respect after proving himself. Kipling wrote several stories about trains and engineers, and while some people of his day believed he went too far, others were wild about the fact that he wrote about common people at work.