Thomas & Friends

Thomas & Friends (originally known as Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends or simply Thomas the Tank Engine; later called Thomas & Friends: Big World! Big Adventures!) is a British-American children's television series. In the United Kingdom, it had its first broadcast on the ITV network in Great Britain in 1984. In the United States, it had its first broadcast on Shining Time Station in 1989. It is based on The Railway Series of books by The Reverend Wilbert Awdry and his son, Christopher Awdry. These books follow the adventures of a group of anthropomorphised locomotives and road vehicles who live on the fictional Island of Sodor. The books were based on stories Wilbert told to entertain his son, Christopher, during his recovery from measles. Many of the stories from the first four series are based on events from Awdry's personal experience.