I heard a great interview with Christopher Awdry on NPR's All Things Considered last evening. Christopher, now 70, is the son of Rev. Wilbert Awdry who created Thomas and his stories in 1942 for his son who was sick in bed with the measles. You can read, listen or download a podcast of the interview here (6 minutes):
Full Steam Ahead: Thomas The Tank Engine Turns 65 (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129628790)
(http://media.npr.org/assets/img/2010/09/03/thomascgi_custom.jpg?t=1283537132&s=2)
(I originally posted this in the Thomas forum and thought it might be of interest in the General forum as well.)
PF-
Thanks for the post and pic. Thomas has been responsible for introducing loads of little ones to model railroading. Plus, the stories always have such nice little moral lessons, usually some version of "don't get a swelled head" or "don't let your emotions carry you away."
-- D