Product Highlight: OO Scale Thomas & Friends™ Locomotives

Our OO scale Thomas & Friends™ models are suitable for use on OO & HO Gauge track, and the locomotives all have moving eyes that give them an extra spark of life. For those who use digital command control (DCC), the models are all equipped with a Next18 DCC decoder socket – recommended decoder No. 36-567A. They can be used with the many coaches, wagons and accessories from the OO Scale Thomas & Friends™ ranges, and can also be used alongside the Narrow Gauge (OO9 Scale) Thomas & Friends™ models. Let’s have a look at these iconic characters, starting with those that made their debut in The Three Railway Engines all those years ago!

Edward the Blue Engine is one of the original trio and he’s liked by everyone on the Island of Sodor. Carefully reproduced in miniature, Edward has a kind smile which will light up your model railway. Like all our Thomas & Friends™ OO scale models, Edward is fitted with ‘tension lock’ couplings, meaning he can couple to other models in the range, as well as models from the Bachmann Branchline OO scale range.

Gordon is a blue 4-6-2 (‘Pacific’ wheel arrangement) steam engine with the number 4 painted on his tender. As well as appearing in the original book, Gordon also has two other books in the series that are dedicated to him, No. 8 ‘Gordon the Big Engine’ and No. 31 ‘Gordon the High Speed Engine.’ He pulls the express coaches used on fast trains.

All of the locomotives in The Railway Series are based on real historical engines; Gordon is believed to be based on a Gresley pacific prototype, which was never built but for which plans exist, as he is a 4-6-2 similar to the Flying Scotsman, a LNER A3 Class locomotive.

Henry the Green Engine is one of the largest engines to operate on the Island of Sodor, being fast and powerful he can handle the biggest trains with ease. Carefully reproduced in miniature, Henry’s smiley face will bring joy to any model railway.

Thomas is a blue six-wheeled (0-6-0) steam engine with the number 1 painted on his side tanks. Thomas first appeared in 1946 in the 2nd book in Reverend Wilbert Awdry’s The Railway Series, entitled ‘Thomas the Tank Engine,’ and he is the principal character in the 4 stories contained in the book. Thomas’s best friends are Percy and Toby. He works on a branch line with his coaches Annie and Clarabel.

All of the locomotives in The Railway Series are based on real historical engines; Thomas has a resemblance to the London, Brighton & South Coast Railway’s E2 Class of 0-6-0 tank designed by Lawson Billinton in 1913.

James is a red 2-6-0 (‘Mogul’ wheel arrangement) steam engine with the number 5 painted on his tender. Like Thomas, James also made his debut in the 2nd The Railway Series book, and two other books in the series are dedicated to him, No. 3 ‘James the Red Engine’ and No. 28 ‘James and the Diesel Engines.’ He pulls the red coaches on the main line. James has a resemblance to the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway “Class 28”, an 0-6-0 mixed-traffic tender engine of 1912/13, designed by George Hughes.

Percy is a green four-wheeled (0-4-0) steam engine with the number 6 painted on his coal bunker. Percy first appeared in 1950 in the 5th The Railway Series book entitled ‘Troublesome Engines,’ and was given his own book, No. 11, ‘Percy the Small Engine.’ He frequently works with Troublesome Trucks.

All of the locomotives in The Railway Series are based on real historical engines; Percy has a resemblance to a typical 0-4-0 tank locomotive built by the Avonside Engine Company of Bristol in the early 20th Century.

Toby is a brown six-wheeled (0-6-0) steam tram engine with the number 7 painted on his sides. Toby first appeared in ‘Toby the Tram Engine’, the 7th book in The Railway Series which was published in 1952. Book No. 32 ‘Toby, Trucks and Trouble’ is also dedicated to him. Toby is partnered with his own coach, Henrietta.

The inspiration for Toby was the J70 tram engine from the Great Eastern Railway (GER Class C53). His cowcatchers and wheel-guards allow him to run on roadside tramways, which other engines are not allowed to do for safety reasons.

Duck is a cheerful, busy engine. He’s only a small tank engine, but he’ll take no nonsense from larger engines who try to order him about. Duck’s real name is Montague. Duck is based on a 0-6-0 Pannier Tank of the 5700 Class.

Daisy is a Diesel Railcar that was built especially for service on Thomas’ branch line. When she first arrived, she was highly strung and would only carry passengers because she felt she was too good to pull cargo cars. Daisy soon learned that all work is important on Sodor, and now helps out whenever she can. Daisy was brought to the Railway after Thomas broke through the Stationmaster’s house and “visited him” for breakfast. She is based on a diesel/mechanical single car passenger unit built by Metro-Cammel.

Thomas and his loyal coaches Annie and Clarabel are carrying a number of very important passengers, and you’re invited in join in their travel fun! This OO scale electric train set is the perfect way to begin a Thomas & Friends™ collection.

The ready-to-run train set includes:

• Thomas the Tank Engine™ with moving eyes
• Annie Coach
• Clarabel Coach
• 36 inch circle of E-Z Track® with 11 pieces of curved track & 1 curved plug-in terminal rerailer
• Power pack and speed controller
• Illustrated instruction manual
• Suitable for young Thomas & Friends™ fans aged 3+

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