Thomas the Tank Engine locomotive (Hornby R351)
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Thomas the Tank Engine locomotive (Hornby R351) |
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Arch Three , Area 41 |
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 E2 Class 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.
