Thomas Keeps Rolling

Our Kids Mostly Missed Thomas on Television - Unlike many families I meet, our children didn't really grow up with Thomas as much as many younger children did. The oldest was nine when it premiered, and a little past the target age of the series. The younger two did watch Shining Time Station a few times during the Ringo Starr era, but our local PBS station showed it at inconvenient times that often varied from week to week.

My recollection was that when the kids did watch it, they more-or-less gritted their teeth during the live-action parts so they could see the Thomas episodes when they were shown. Sorry to all the human actors, but the trains were the stars.

Our Kids Didn't Play with Thomas Trains - When my youngest got a Playskool train about the age of two, she named the engine Thomas, and has called him that ever since. Even though the first engine was green. But it broke, and when we contacted Playskool for a replacement, they sent us a blue one, so that worked out.

But there were never any age-appropriate powered actual Thomas trains for our kids when they were the right age for them. Since then, of course, the Brio-type wooden trains have exploded, and millions of children have had plenty of opportunities to make up their own Thomas adventures.

I Start Playing with Thomas and James - Back in 2007, I was commissioned to do two two-day clinics on garden railroading at the Holden Arboretum, a beautiful facility near Kirtland, Ohio (near Cleveland). (Click here to see a report on the clinics.)

The organizer asked me if I could set up a "Thomas the Tank Engine" - themed display. I explained nicely that the arboretum couldn't use the name "Thomas the Tank" in their advertising materials without getting permission and probably paying some money, but I'd be glad to bring along a Thomas and some accessories.

The story of what we did to get Thomas to the clinic is recorded in a series of blogs we called "the Thomas Chronicles." (Click here to see those articles.)

About Lionel's Original G Gauge Thomas and Friends

The Thomas and James trains I used for the clinics and later for my Christmas-themed open railroads were made by Lionel, starting in the 1980s and discontinued in the 1990s. They were based on an 0-6-0 chassis originally developed for Lionel's attempt to enter the legitimate Large Scale train (garden railroad) market with solid trains that generally looked like toys. The 0-6-0 chassis and the locomotive built on it were two of the best parts of that attempt.

Thomas Used to Be Smaller - The folks who built the model trains for the early episodes of Thomas made the assumption that Thomas and his friends were Standard Gauge trains, that they were running on rails that were 56.5" apart. On the other hand, the buildings and most of the accessories the producers used were made to go with trains in the 1:22.5 to 1:24 range. The first-generation Thomas and his friends were somewhere in between 1:24 and 1:29. So were Lionel's renditions.

While I was preparing for the clinic, I bought a second Thomas for backup, since I knew that little kids might not be able to keep their hand off of him. A backup James was harder to come by.

Running Thomas and James at Home Again and Again

Thomas got so much attention, that the next year, I set out a temporary raised railroad I had built for the clinics. I alternated running Thomas and James between that railroad and the well cover.

Since they were the same basic engines Lionel used for their early attempt at garden trains, they ran just fine on the "big railroad," too.

In following years, I added battery powered Lionel trains that the kids could run without danger of breaking something expensive. I put one of those on the well cover that Thomas and James had "owned" earlier, as well as a loop of track I added to the pool deck. But I added other loops, so Thomas and James could both run at the same time.

The photo below shows James running on a temporary railroad - an oval using AristoCraft 10'-diameter track laid in gravel for the event. James ran like a champ the whole day, even after getting knocked of the track a time or two by "overly enthusiastic" visitors.

Bachmann Enters the Fray

Several years after Lionel dropped the Large Scale Thomas line, Bachmann picked it up. Some people might argue about whether or not they made it better. But they certainly made it bigger.

You see, the people who made the original Thomas shows that were "borrowed" for the Shining Time Station series only made a limited number of shows using the "standard gauge" railroad equipment, then they disassembled EVERYTHING. The original trains disappeared along with everything else, though I suspect they're gracing a producer's shelves somewhere.

When it looked like there was a demand for more episodes, another complete setup was commissioned. This time, the builders assumed that Thomas and his friends were "narrow gauge" engines, running on rails that were 1-meter (or maybe 36") apart. Since the builders used the same kind of track (45mm, 1.775") for both iterations, the scale of the second batch of locomotives was larger, at least 1:22.5. And when Bachmann picked up the line, they made them to run with their new 1:20.3 line of garden trains.

I wasn't really tempted to buy one of of the Bachmann sets since the Lionel sets were doing so well. But sometime before 2013, I found one on closeout at a ridiculously cheap price. So I picked it up and did an article comparing the new Bachmann Thomas with my old Lionel Thomas.

My conclusion was that the new set was larger and had nicer detailing, and it required less power to run. Other folks told me that when the two were run extensively for very long periods, the Lionel tended to fare better (except for wheel-cleanings).

Here's one thing you need to know, if someone hasn't already told you - NEITHER train comes with track you can use outside. In addition, all of the trains discussed on this page look better and run more reliably if you use them with larger curves. Just going from the 4'-diameter curves to 5'-diameter curves (and using good track) makes a remarkable difference. Making the track as smooth as possible helps, too.

Since I already had James and one Troublesome Truck, and my Thomases were still running strong, there was no point in using the Bachmann set. The Bachmann set went back in the box. Several years later (in 2016) we moved, and the new homeowners wanted me to leave the track and some of the buildings on the railroad for their boys. When we closed on the house, I gave them the Bachmann Thomas set as a housewarming present. I have no idea whether they've ever used it, since we've only had one conversation since, and that was about whether it was safe to mow down the day lilies in October (it was).

Thomas Has Another Friend

But I'm also hoping to get back to having a Christmas-themed open railroad, probably in mid-November. And that got me checking out the trains I set up for children, including Thomas and James. I tracked down a backup Lionel James just in case my James starts showing his age. I did NOT buy a Bachmann Thomas set or James set, because my Lionel sets are still serving me quite well, thank you.

But I had been wondering if another fellow from the Thomas universe would be fun to add. Probably Percy, since he's usually near the top of the list whenever you start listing off the more prominently featured "Friends." The photo below is from Thomas' marketing materials. The photo in the title was taken on our porch, with the locomotives arranged the same way. If you look at the blowup of that version, you'll notice some differences - less detailing on the Thomas and James, plus Percy seems a little big compared to the other two.

Still, they all look like they're having fun, and who's to say they arent?

Lionel never made a Percy. But Bachmann has. Unfortunately, they tend to be sold in a set with things I don't need like indoor track. And yet more Troublesome Trucks. Even by himself, he's not exactly cheap.

But I managed to find one for a good price. He seems very sturdy. Like Bachmann's Thomas, he has a little more detail than the Lionel trains. And yes, he's a little large compared to Thomas and James (he's supposed to be the smallest of the three, after all).

But adults won't notice, kids won't care, and I plan to put him in another part of the back yard anyway. Maybe pulling some of my 4-wheeled cars.

The photos below show the Lionel Thomas and James in line with the Bachmann Percy. Click on them to see a bigger photo if you wish. Again, the photos don't show a remarkable difference until you remember that Percy is supposed to be the smallest of the three. He's called "Percy the Small Engine" more often than not. Yes he is smaller than the Bachmann Thomas and James engines, in case you wondered.

Bachmann has also introduced an Emily locomotive, as well as a James, of course. Emily is based on a much older, smaller prototype than any of the others, so she would probably look just fine with the Lionel Thomas and James. However, she is not cheap, and she doesn't seem to be rugged enough to be handled by little kids, as all of the other trains on this page are.

Lionel Strikes Again

As it turns out, Lionel is planning to add a Thomas, Annie, and Clarabel set to that line in 2018. No, I haven't seen it, but it looks like it will be pretty inexpensive, like listing for $100.

Now it's altogether possible that the thing will be a third smaller than the original Lionel set. It's even possible that the promo shot shown above (and borrowed off Lionel's web page) is actually using the coaches from the original Thomas set to fill in for whatever they actually plan to deliver. We'll know more after the big Train shows this spring (where retailers examine the prototypes and order stock).

But if this new, low-cost set delivers any kind of quality at all, it will be very welcome in households across America. Just remember that the "Ready to Play" track sucks, so you'll want to have real track on hand. And plenty of batteries.

Conclusion