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Thomas & Friends™: Creator Bio

Dear Christopher,

Here is your friend Thomas and the Tank Engine. He wanted to come out of his station yard and see the world. These stories tell you how he did it. I hope you like them because you helped me to make them.

Your Loving Daddy

Thomas & Friends™ was first brought to life by The Rev. W. Awdry when he soughtto entertain his young son Christopher while he was recovering from the measles. The Rev. W. Awdry had grown up listening to the puffing of nearby steam engines at Box Station and had imagined their conversations. Never doubting that engines had personalities, he used this inspiration to create stories to tell his son. When his son pointed out that details in the stories were inconsistent and would allow no deviation, The Rev. W. Awdry wrote the stories down on scraps of paper. His companion illustrations included pictures of the engines with little faces on them, each with a distinguished look; one smiling, one stern, one cross, one sad.

The Rev. W. Awdry had never considered publishing his stories until Mrs. Awdry encouraged her husband to submit his work to a literary agent and in 1945 the first series, "The Three Railway Engines" was published.

More books followed at yearly intervals and after writing and publishing 26 Thomas the Tank Engine books, The Rev. W. Awdry retired with "Tramway Engines." Soon after, Christopher continued in his father's tracks and began creating railway stories for his own young son, Richard and in 1983 published his first book, "Really Useful Engines."

Today, children embark on fun and exciting adventures with those very engine friends, as their timeless stories and life-lessons are enjoyed by families in more than 100 countries.