# Factual Q on Thomas Trains **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 18, 2010, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factual-q-on-thomas-trains/525426 "2010-01-18T15:28:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2010, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factual-q-on-thomas-trains/525426/1 "2010-01-18T15:28:46Z")
Do the engines represent real types of locomotives…including Toby? Also, what is meant by “shunting” cars? …just dropping them onto sidings, I assume? ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2010, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factual-q-on-thomas-trains/525426/2 "2010-01-18T15:36:11Z")
Thomas was similar [LB & SCR E2](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LB%26SCR_E2_class) Toby was similar to a [GER Class C53](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J70) Gordon was similar an [LNER A3](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LNER_Gresley_Classes_A1_and_A3) ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2010, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factual-q-on-thomas-trains/525426/3 "2010-01-18T16:20:04Z")
> [@Jinx](#): > > …what is meant by “shunting” cars? …just dropping them onto sidings, I assume? Yes, or rearranging carriages, splitting a train to insert a buffet carriage in the middle, moving goods carriages from one place in a depot to another - that sort of thing. ---
**Author:** ![BlakeTyner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@BlakeTyner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlakeTyner)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2010, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factual-q-on-thomas-trains/525426/4 "2010-01-18T19:27:32Z")
> [@Jinx](#): > > Do the engines represent real types of locomotives…including Toby? Also, what is meant by “shunting” cars? …just dropping them onto sidings, I assume? Just to add–“shunting” is the British version of what we’d call “switching” in the US. Putting trains together or taking them apart in a yard is the most common version of that. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2010, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factual-q-on-thomas-trains/525426/5 "2010-01-18T20:19:55Z")
The technical use of “shunting” in rail parlance seems to be the shifting of individual cars _by their own momentum_, using either a slight downgrade or ‘humping’ a car (pushing it to the top of a ‘hump’ in the trackage), saving on the extent to which switching engines are needed in train rearrangement – savig both time and fuel. ---
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2010, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factual-q-on-thomas-trains/525426/6 "2010-01-19T00:05:46Z")
Yeah, all that talk of “humping cars” in a kid’s show may raise some eyebrows, I wager! ---
**Author:** ![chicken\_wire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a88e4f/32.png) [@chicken\_wire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chicken_wire)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2010, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factual-q-on-thomas-trains/525426/7 "2010-01-19T01:49:37Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > The technical use of “shunting” in rail parlance seems to be the shifting of individual cars _by their own momentum_, using either a slight downgrade or ‘humping’ a car (pushing it to the top of a ‘hump’ in the trackage), saving on the extent to which switching engines are needed in train rearrangement – savig both time and fuel. That’s gravitation shunting. There’s also momentum shunting (AKA loose shunting), where you give the car(s) a push with locomotive, uncouple, and let them roll to where you want them. Then there’s locomotive shunting, where the cars stay attached to the locomotive throughout the manoeuvre. I looked for a definition of “Shunting”, and the one I found that best does it for me is this: “(of a locomotive with rolling stock) to move from track to track or from point to point, as in a railroad yard; switch.” If you attach or detach a car or locomotive, involving changing tracks, you are shunting. ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2010, 9:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factual-q-on-thomas-trains/525426/8 "2010-01-19T09:43:35Z")
While we are here, is there any significance to the colors of the trains? I know James makes a big fuss of being red and Thomas once wanted to be red. Or is just because red is pretty? ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2010, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factual-q-on-thomas-trains/525426/9 "2010-01-19T13:16:17Z")
In the slave culture that is the Island of Sodor rail system, some of the slaves are shown greater favor than others. Hence, engines may perceive one color as showing higher status i.e. greater favor from The Fat Controller than another. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2010, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factual-q-on-thomas-trains/525426/10 "2010-01-19T14:09:20Z")
Just in case anyone thinks that **Scumpup** is giving a silly answer in GQ, I will [back up his assertion](http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2005/jun/18/featuresreviews.guardianreview1) > [@](#): > > “It is acknowledged that many of the stories in the Railway Series are based on actual events. The story of Toby the Tram Engine first appeared in 1952, a time when thousands of potential workers were migrating from the West Indies to Britain. The Fat Controller met Toby whilst on holiday where he did not have enough work, and bought him. Toby is a different shape, a different colour (brown) and people fail to understand the way he operates. Toby’s story is one of marginalisation and assimilation. He encountered prejudice but, after proving his usefulness, was partly painted blue, the same colour as Thomas. Thus, he was only partially drawn into the culture of Thomas and friends; his coach Henrietta, on the other hand, was painted brown all over [and] thus totally subsumed - rendered invisible - within the dominant feminine culture.” Yes, that’s from a real book :eek: ---
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2010, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factual-q-on-thomas-trains/525426/11 "2010-01-19T16:12:23Z")
Did Sir Toppenhat outlawed engine discrimination? I haven’t seen “The Fat Controller” on the Thomas cartoons my 4 year nephew watches… ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2010, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factual-q-on-thomas-trains/525426/12 "2010-01-19T16:21:50Z")
> [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](#): > > Just in case anyone thinks that **Scumpup** is giving a silly answer in GQ, I will [back up his assertion](http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2005/jun/18/featuresreviews.guardianreview1) > > Yes, that’s from a real book :eek: The German WW2 version of Thomas is … disturbing. > [@](#): > > Thomas die Dampflokomotive > > The Island of Sobibor is a wonderful place. There are beautiful beaches, lined with fine pillboxes and barbed wire, plenty of trees, fields filled with burial pits, and of course the big camp. Naturally, the island is covered with railways filled with hard-working trains - Thomas die Dampflokomotive and his friends! > > Many men, women and children come to the island of Sobibor. They come from all over the world to visit - and there they stay! The wise Herr Topp-Hatt knows just where each one should go. Thomas and his friends love to work hard to get them there on time. They are proud to be part of the Deutsche Reichsbahn Gesellschaft. > > One day, Thomas was hauling a big load of Jews, Gypsies and Homosexuals up a steep, steep Gefälle, when they started screaming and pounding on the walls of their Führerhaus. What a racket! What a pain! Thomas said, “please do not make inconveniences and alarms, we are almost at your destination - see, you can see the smoke-stacks from here”. > > But they did not quiet. They were pounding so hard, Thomas almost went off the line! So naughty and disruptive! What bad behaviour! The SS had to do what was necessary, and Thomas got blood and bits all over his nice, shiny brasswork. > > Naturally, they pulled Thomas off the line and sent him off to refit. This made Thomas very sad. Percy and Brunehilde had to haul the Jews off to the camps instead. They made fun of Thomas, and said "Thomas is a beastly boiler. He’s got Jew-juice all over him! And they went happily hauling their screaming loads day and night. > > When Thomas came back, he was set to work hauling dead bodies to the sheds where their gold teeth were extracted. Although the dead bodies did not make trouble, this was not nearly as much fun. The bodies stank and many had voided their bowels. All the other engines made fun of Thomas, shouting “Jew Juice! Jew Juice!” at him. Thomas did not feel important at all. > > Until one day, Herr Topp-Hatt came to see all the engines. He said "each one of you is just as important as all the others. Hauling Jews, Gypsies and Fags to the Camps is important … but so is extracting their gold teeth and hair! > > This made Thomas feel special. “I may not be doing a job that is as glamourous, but my efforts go towards the greater good, and so I’m just as important as everyone else” he thought. ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2010, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factual-q-on-thomas-trains/525426/13 "2010-01-19T17:02:51Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > The German WW2 version of Thomas is … disturbing. Dude, I’m not even Jewish and I have to call “too soon” on this one. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2010, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factual-q-on-thomas-trains/525426/14 "2010-01-19T18:28:52Z")
> [@Sapo](#): > > Dude, I’m not even Jewish and I have to call “too soon” on this one. Well, I **am** Jewish, but then, I’m neither Roma nor gay. I hope they’ll forgive. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2010, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factual-q-on-thomas-trains/525426/15 "2010-01-19T18:42:55Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > The German WW2 version of Thomas is … disturbing. [Moderator Note] While jokes are permitted in GQ, I think that one is such poor taste that it is likely to provoke a hijack. Let’s stick to the questions in the OP. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2010, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factual-q-on-thomas-trains/525426/16 "2010-01-19T18:55:57Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > [Moderator Note] > > While jokes are permitted in GQ, I think that one is such poor taste that it is likely to provoke a hijack. Let’s stick to the questions in the OP. > > Colibri > General Questions Moderator Hey no problem. I apologize for my lame gallows humour. I can only plead in mitigation countless hours of being compelled to watch Thomas! Feel free to delete it if you like. ---
**Author:** ![charizard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/charizard/32/4166_2.png) [@charizard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/charizard)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2010, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factual-q-on-thomas-trains/525426/17 "2010-01-19T22:16:44Z")
The intro to my copy of the collection of Thomas stories has some interesting background… Audry’s father was a clergyman but was also very knowledgeable about railroads and when Audry was young they spent a lot of time around the train yards. It was while Audry was young, listening to the train sounds at night, that he first imagined trains as having personalities - and this was the central thing that later sparked the stories. The intro said that, aside from the personification of the trains, Audry made sure that everything else was accurate. His favorite fan mail was from railroad men who appreciated the accuracy (many saying that they cringed to read most train stories to their kids because of the mistakes in train facts.) ---
**Author:** ![BlakeTyner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@BlakeTyner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlakeTyner)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2010, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factual-q-on-thomas-trains/525426/18 "2010-01-20T20:17:12Z")
> [@Jinx](#): > > Yeah, all that talk of “humping cars” in a kid’s show may raise some eyebrows, I wager! Something that most of us rail buffs get a kick out of is displaying a nice “Do Not Hump” sign–often in the bedroom. Some cars, like some automobile carriers, cannot be humped in the yard, so they get those signs. I’ve probably answered the “Do Not Hump” question more than “how does a steam engine work?” question.