Thomas the Tank Engine locomotive (Hornby R351)

Exhibit
Thomas the Tank Engine locomotive (Hornby R351)
location:
Arch Three , Area 41 East Sussex Countryside model railway layout

A bright blue Hornby electric 00-gauge "Thomas the Tank Engine" locomotive with a smiley face and bearing a large number "1", based on the character from the Railway Series books, written by the Reverend W. Awdry.

The original locomotive

Thomas was closely modelled on a real tank engine produced at Brighton Works, the Billinton E2 Class second series tank engine designed by Lawson Billinton, which operated from 1913 to 1963. The E2, like Thomas, was "a really useful engine", and the first batch of five E2 locos was later joined by a second run of five. "Thomas"' distinctive forward-jutting upper sidetanks appeared as a modification to the design on the second series of E2 locos, after it had been found that the locomotive's original water-tank design didn't have quite enough capacity for the type of work that the engine was being used for.

Off-display

"Thomas" used to live on the 00-gauge layout at the back of the Museum, but the presence of Thomas somewhat lessened the layout's historical authenticity, so he's currently off-display and waiting to be reassigned to a new display area.

Outside the Museum

The Sainsburys supermarket just North-East of the Museum (by St Bartholomew's Church) has a coin-operated ride-on Thomas for children. It's not obvious whether this is a deliberate heritage reference to the fact that the supermarket is practically built on the site where the original E2 locos were produced, or whether it's just a happy coincidence.

External links

• London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LBSCR) E2 Class lococomotives (Wikipedia)
• A photograph of LB&SCR Loco 105, a second-series E2 (Wikipedia)