I want to see the episode where Postman Pat takes a ride on Thomas to get to ToyTown to meet Noddy and Big Ears.
EXCERPT FROM EMILY THE GREEN ENGINE’S TESTIMONY:
"HE TOLD ME THAT IF I DIDN’T STOKE HIS ENGINE THAT HE WOULD MAKE
SURE I COULD ONLY FIND WORK SHUNTING ENGINES IN THE YARD.
WHEN I REFUSED, I FOUND THAT HE HAD LEFT A RUSTY UNDERCARRIAGE BOLT
ON TOP OF MY WATER TANK."
No, they don’t need enginners and such to function. In fact, as I recall, there was an early espisode where Thomas takes off without the crew, inadvertently and as a result of his enthusiasm.
I always thought this was a clever conceit, in that I always took the engines to be the proxies for the children watching them (e.g., sometimes they misbehaved, they always sought approval from the authority figures–those engines who weren’t naughty, anyway). That being the case, it makes perfect sense that the engines can do all sorts of things by themselves, but that the authority figures could and did control and direct them, that they needed to make sure things proceeded okay, just as it is when adults deal with kids.
I need to say that I had the exact same experience. Although I’m disappointed to see I’m not the first to say it.
How does one pronounce Sodor, please?
All the British and American narrators seem to pronounce it the same: “So-door”.
The little flodnaks were given a single-volume collection of Rev. Awdry’s Railway Series stories, and have collected a number of videos of the television series plus books based on those shows. From what I’ve seen, the TV series followed the Rev’s original stories closely. The books based on the TV show are the same stories, soth photos from the show rather than the original illusrations
Dammit! I don’t know how that got posted, I wasn’t finished. Anyway: the books based on the TV series are essentially the same stories, sometimes re-written for a younger reading level, with photos from the show instead of the original illustrations. Mind you, the photos are sometimes a real improvement; the model-makers for the show took some pains to get the engines to resemble the engines the Rev had in mind when he was writing it, while one of the illustrators just drew things that looked kind of like train engines.
The feature-length movie, on the other hand, is a completely new story. My kids never really cared for it, truth to tell.
His name is The Fat Controller!
That is all 
I viewed the Trouble in the Sheds episode over the weekend. Gordon, Henry, and James (all three of whom tend to be rather insufferable assholes) refuse to do the shunting after Thomas is given his branch line because it is beneath their dignity. Hatt’s reply is that they are to follow whatever orders he chooses to gove them. Edward scabs while Hatt goes to a workshop and purchases Percy. Thomas, Edward, and Percy then handle the passenger trains while the three “strikers” languish as prisoners in the shed. The passengers are inconvenienced but understand the necessity of punishing those engines.
The message, clearly, is that the engines are property and that they must be punished when they do not do the slavemaster’s bidding.
Diesel 10, rather than being evil, increasingly strikes me as simply wanting to destroy an exploitative system that he sees as incapable of repair.
Don’t forget Ivor the Engine (and Jones the Steam) Ivor
Then where does this leave the troublesome trucks?
I just wanted to say that I’ll be seeing Thomas and Sir Hatt this weekend (volunteering at our local train museum)… Do you want me to ask them?
answer: encroachuing minority, threatening financial security and social structure of Shining Time Station and Sodor itself.
Duh.
answer: encroachuing minority, threatening financial security and social structure of Shining Time Station and Sodor itself.
Duh.
that 's encroaching, not encroachuing.
And forgot the 
for the “duh”.
And what of Harold the Helicopter? Another upstart or stray terrorist?
(too much TtheTE stuff in this house…)
Well, you’ve seen how Harold tends to lord it over the slower trains. If he’s not on the master side of the master/slave dichotomy, then he’s obviously an analogy to a house slave.
Preach it, Sister. Fang loves Thomas
Troublesome trucks: just another part of the slave underclass. They are less content with their lot, and therefore less eager to please their overlords.
Harold the Helicopter: A slave like the rest of the mechanical underclass. He may be a higher level of technology than a steamie, but he is property and can be scrapped just like the rest.
One wonders why Hatt didn’t simply dispatch Nigel the Harrier Jet (with Timmy and Jimmy the guided missiles) to eliminate Diesel 10 during the events detailed in the Thomas the Tank Engine movie.
When did The Fat Controller get re-named?
Well, he was originally The Fat Director, but was promoted to The Fat Controller when the railways were nationalized.
Sir Topham Hatt has always been his name, although W. Awdry didn’t reveal this until one of the later books. (A visiting engine refers to “the Fat Controller” and one of the Sodor locals interrupts with “That’s Sir Topham Hatt to you”. I’ll look up the details tonight when I get home). The American video dubs tend to favor the Sir Topham name, probably for PC reasons. (Heck, the FAQ on the old, now defunct, Thomas website essentially said everywhere else in the world doesn’t have any problem with the F word, just you overly sensitive Yanks.)