'Thomas the Tank Engine was written for me'

The boy who inspired his father to write Thomas the Tank Engine eight decades ago has recalled his earliest memories of the books being written.

Christopher Awdry, who is now 85 and lives in Poole, Dorset, was two and grappling with a bout of measles when Rev Wilbert Awdry made up the first tale of the long-running series.

He was of course too young to remember the characters' inceptions.

"My first memory of The Railway series? I suppose it was when I was in prep school," he tells BBC Radio Solent.

"Father sent me a copy of his first book when it was published and the other kids were all going around and saying 'Awdry's family writes stories'.

"I was a 10-day wonder and after about 10 days it all calmed down."

That first book was published in 1945.

Thomas himself turned up in the second book a year later, and over the following decades another 40 books appeared.

Christopher started writing them in the 1980s, the same decade the beloved TV series, narrated by Ringo Starr, aired for the first time.

In 2025, 3.6 million Thomas toys were sold worldwide, or about one every minute in the UK.

"I think father hit the absolute right note because he made the characters of the engines into children," Christopher says, talking about Thomas's enduring popularity.

"They do silly things like kids do, and they get reproved or punished by the Fat Controller."

Last year, events were held for the 80th anniversary of the publication of the first book, including the unveiling of a blue plaque at the family's former home in Gloucestershire, but health issues prevented Christopher from attending.

So in June, he is participating in an onstage event at the Hammersmith Apollo with famous train aficionado Pete Waterman.

"The stories got to me," the record producer says.

"There's this little tank engine that can get up a hill. If he can do it I can do it. It must have been the late '40s or early '50s when my dad read me this Thomas the Tank Engine book, and it's stuck with me all my life.

"Those books had a moral because it was the reverend that was writing them, and he was teaching his children moral stories."

Apart from a very occasional public appearance - he drew a crowd of hundreds to a Swanage Model Railway Gala in April - Christopher has been retired for 15 years.

Is there a chance then that appearing in front of an audience of thousands in London might ruin his anonymity?

"Like father I'm quite pleased that people don't stop me in the street," he says.

"They don't do that thank goodness, but who knows? Maybe my face will get a bit more familiar after June, I don't know, I hope not!"