Wansford railway marks 80 years of steam engine Thomas

BBC News

5 days ago

A heritage railway charity is celebrating the 80th anniversary of Thomas with a 14-mile "big birthday adventure" train trip. The famous talking steam engine character was created by the Rev W Awdry, who wrote the first book in The Railway Series in 1945.In 1971, he named a steam engine Thomas after his lead character and it has been in service at the Nene Valley Railway, near Peterborough, since 1973.Chris O'Regan, commercial manager, said: "This is one of the very small numbers of times each year that Thomas runs on the main Nene Valley Railway line."
"It's a one of a kind experience seeing the excitement on the faces of the kids - and actually the parents too, as every adult was a kid at some point and many remember Thomas fondly."
In 1946, the Rev Awdry became rector at Holy Trinity Church in Elsworth, between Cambridge and Huntingdon, which is where he wrote another 25 books about the engine. He initially created the character to entertain his three-year-old son Christopher when he was sick with a bout of measles.
Nene Valley Railway's Thomas was built in 1947 by Hudswell Clarke, and for years it was in service at Peterborough's British Sugar factory, where "the factory workers also called him Thomas", said Mr O'Regan.The engine usually runs short trips between Wansford and Yarwell stations, which takes about five minutes each way, with a pause for 15 minutes to allow the engine to turn around.
The 80th anniversary event is one of four full 14-mile trips this year, running between Peterborough Nene Valley and Wansford."We'll be having a bit of party on the platform to mark the big birthday adventure, with a barbecue, entertainment - and a chance to help fill Thomas up with water," said Mr O'Regan.
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