Wilbert Awdry

Wilbert Awdry (1911–1997) was an English Anglican clergyman and children’s author who created The Railway Series, introducing Thomas the Tank Engine.

The Railway Series: A series of children’s books about the lives and adventures of anthropomorphic railway engines. Awdry created the series and wrote its first 26 books.
Sodor: A fictional island in the Irish Sea that forms the setting for The Railway Series. Awdry developed Sodor’s geography and institutions to give the stories a coherent home.
Reginald Dalby: A British illustrator who drew the first four books in The Railway Series. His illustrations established the series’ early visual image of its engines.
Thomas & Friends: A British children’s television series based on The Railway Series and its railway characters. The television adaptation made Awdry’s characters familiar to audiences far beyond the books.
Thomas the Tank Engine: A fictional small blue tank locomotive who appears in The Railway Series and its adaptations. Awdry invented Thomas to entertain his son Christopher during an illness.
Railway locomotive: A powered railway vehicle that pulls or pushes other rail vehicles along a track. Awdry’s central characters are locomotives with mechanically grounded designs.
John T. Kenney: A British artist who illustrated The Railway Series from 1957 to 1962. Kenney’s detailed drawings carried the books forward after Dalby.
Railway Series adaptations: Film, television, and other works derived from The Railway Series books. Adaptations transformed Awdry’s stories while changing their tone, characters, and scope.
Christopher Awdry: An English children’s author who continued The Railway Series after his father’s retirement. His childhood prompted the first Thomas stories, and he later carried on the series.
Steam locomotive: A railway locomotive that uses a steam engine to generate motion. Most of Awdry’s familiar engines are based on steam-era railway machinery.

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