Many years ago a young boy lay in bed at his home in Wiltshire listening to the trains of The Great Western Railway as they puffed and chuffed from Bristol to Paddington Station in London. I can imagine him lying there full of the adventure to be found in steam engines, though it was many years later when I too listened to trains passing in the night. The boy was Wilbert Awdry, later to become the Reverend W. Awdry, the author of the first Thomas the Tank Engine Stories. I imagine that he kept those dreams to himself until his son, Christopher was ill in bed with measles in 1943. The illness was then still serious and to keep his son amused, Awdry made up stories ...  Read the complete review

I Collect the Thomas & Friends wooden set by learning curve and I really rate it. I am an early years practitioner (Registered Support Childminder) with lots of experience in the Early Years. I love trying out and buying new toys for my setting. This thomas set has grown from a basic set to a full board set that fits in my childrens rest room under cot and comprises bridges, working water fill tower, Cranky the crane also working, various track pieces, conductors shed, windmill, station and various trains including: Thomas, Percy, James and lady. Newer models include Daisy the passenger Diesel engine, lights and sounds Thomas and a new set where young ...  Read the complete review

Our nursery are regular visitors to Thomas Land at Drayton Manor Park and as a result the children all have a thing about anything Thomas so on our last visit we decided to purchase them there own Thomas train set with bridges, mines, train station, train shed, speaker and of course all the Thomas Trains and The Fat Controllers Car it cost around £300 for all the parts we purchased but it has been proved to be money well spent. The trains cost around £10-£15 each and the track and other parts were varying prices they are all wooden and well made. the train track has train track print on one side and a road on the other so the children can make a road for the ...  Read the complete review

Thomas the Tank Engine is a firm favourite in our household. So much so, that fourth Little HonestBob is a 'Henry the green engine'! After telling a bedtime Thomas story one night we suggested that Littlest HonestBob number two help us name the baby boy Mummy was carrying in her tummy. Number two had a Thomas the Tank Engine duvet cover at the time (and curtains, and bin and lampshade.....) and instantly selected 'Percy' as a suitable name. Hmmmmmmmmmm, not keen on that one!! As Percy is a green engine we persuaded number two that the baby could be named after another, bigger, green engine, and 'Henry' was selected. Nine years later and Number four and number two ..  Read the complete review

My two year old has finally moved on from Teletubbies to Thomas, and I am so grateful. Although I can still remember all the stories from my own childhood, they haven't got that annoying repetitiveness about them that makes the Teletubbies cries of "again, again" so annoying. We have spent the past year or so looking at the Thomas toys available, so here is an overview of a few of the brands you may like to look into. TOMY TOMICA RANGE. This is a range consisting of blue plastic track with various attachments such as stations, bridges, and turntables. The engines are motorised, however unlike many toys the wheels still rotate without the ...  Read the complete review