Thomas the Tank Engine is a fictional character in the Thomas & Friends children's franchise, which began in the mid-1940s with The Railway Series, children's books by the Reverend Wilbert Awdry (later continued by his son Christopher). He is an anthropomorphic steam locomotive, modeled after Lawson Billinton's E2 Class tank engines, who is described as cheeky, fussy and overly eager, but works hard as he strives to be a "Really Useful Engine."[1] He lives on the Island of Sodor with his many locomotive friends (including Percy, James, and Gordon among others), and has his own personal branch line. Thomas's popularity throughout the world was further increased by his appearance as the star of a famed TV series adapted from his books by Britt Allcroft, which premiered in the United Kingdom in 1984 and in the United States in 1989, and continued airing episodes until 2021. The franchise has since expanded to spawn various toy "railway systems," a line of "Thomas Land" amusement parks, magazines, and licensed merchandise. All in all, Thomas & Friends has a lifetime gross of over $9.12 billion worldwide.
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