Little did Reverend Wilbert Awdry know, this popular verse would be the foundation for what was to become the very famous useful engine - Thomas the Tank Engine.

Thomas and his very useful engine friends were first brought to life by the Reverend Wilbert Awdry in 1945. While Wilbert sought  to entertain his son Christopher, who was recovering in isolation from the measles, the little engine verse seemed to be the child's favorite. Christopher, who was two years old at the time, delighted in singing the chorus, which he and his father repeated over and over again. Wilbert decided to illustrate the sing-songy verse for his son by drawing a picture of some engines, just as they are described in the rhyme - standing all in a row. He drew little faces on the engines, giving each one a distinguished look; one smiling, one stern, one cross, one sad...

The sad-faced engine immediately caught Christopher's attention and during the following conversation, the first engine came to be;

'Why is he sad, Daddy?'
'Because he's old and hasn't been out for a long time.'
'What's his name, Daddy?'
'Edward!'

That's right - Edward!  Edward was the first character Wilbert invented and thus, the first Railway story was born entitled, 'Edward's Day Out'. Before long, Gordon and Henry were brought to life and each one of the engines were given their own distinct, human-like personalities.

Reverend Awdry had no intention of having his stories published, as he created them for the sole purpose of entertaining and sharing with his son, Christopher, who loved to have them told over and over again - well after the measles had departed.  Mrs. Awdry, however, had something else in mind. She believed her husband's stories were quite good and told him to do something about them! With her coaxing, encouragement and connections, she found a small publisher who was interested in Wilberts amusing engines. One thing lead to another and before long, The 1st The Railway Series was published in 1945 and titled, "The Three Railway Engines". The first book, and all subsequent Railway Series Books, contained 4 stories, including 'Edward's Day Out', 'Edward and Gordon', 'The Sad Story of Henry', and 'Edward, Gordon and Henry'.

It wasn't until the second series that the most famous little engine, Thomas the Tank Engine, was introduced. Of all the characters Wilbert created, none was to be more well-received than Thomas. Although cheeky and mischievous, Thomas had a happy-go-lucky personality which appealed to children and their parents alike. Thomas was actually a homemade Tank Engine, put together for Christopher, with broomstick and dowel pieces before he was a character in the books.  Wilbert painted a bright, yellow number '1' on Thomas' side and before long, all the engines were given numbers; Edward #2, Henry #3, Gordon #4, James #5, Percy #6 and so on.

Thomas the Tank Engine soon appeared in all Rev. Awdry's books from then on.  The 2nd Railway Series continued  in 1946 titled, "Thomas the Tank Engine" which contained 4 stories including 'Thomas and Gordon', 'Thomas' Trains', 'Thomas and the Trucks' and 'Thomas and the Breakdown Train'. More books followed at yearly intervals and by 1972, Wilbert, after writing and publishing 26 Thomas the Tank Engine books, retired with "Tramway Engines".

In the early 1980s, Christopher continued in his father's footsteps. He began creating Railway stories for his own young son, Richard, and published his first story in 1983. Christopher’s first book, “Really Useful Engines” was published in1983. From 1983 to 1996, Christopher wrote fourteen books, one a year. In all, between Wilbert and Christopher, 40 Railway Series books were published.

In the mid 1980s the Thomas name was made into a television show for children and the moral messages that had delighted children for years in print were now available in a televised form. Children who could not yet read the Thomas the Tank Engine stories could now watch as the train engines came to life and participated in myriad adventures and journeys.

Thomas the Tank Engine is one of the top children's favorite characters of all time. The timeless charm of the Awdrys' works have sold 25million units in the US and world wide book sales are approaching 80 million units.

Check out the complete list of series by Reverend Wilbert Awdry and his son, Christopher Awdry.