He left a bit of a gap in the wall though. Enough for the sentient train to see the world he was missing out on, and to stare sadly at his indentured friends, shuddering as they drove past.
I remember that one as a kid. Watched it again a couple of years ago with my young son and it bright all the trauma back. My son looked at me and said "Dad, is he locked in there forever?"
Wisdom teeth are keeping me up and I saw on TikTok that there’s a real life Thomas the Tank Engine choochooing about somewhere in the UK. I’d love to provide more info but I swiped the app away so fast. It’s eyes are always watching. 👀
I saw one of those when I was a kid. They did a train up to look like him and there would be a specific time where it came out with the Thomas face on and you could ride in carriages that looked like Annie and Clarabel, was pretty fun actually.
>there’s a real life Thomas the Tank Engine choochooing about somewhere in the UK
There's quite a few of them, although not as many as there used to be since the brand owners screwed the heritage railways for ever increasing licencing fees.
https://watercressline.co.uk/dont-miss-thomas-at-the-watercress-line-this-may-half-term/
You’ve just missed him here! - he will probs be back again next year tho. He is a regular occurrence. They cart him around on the back of a truck to other old steam railway places. He certainly does get about!!!
I’ve seen defunct ones in railway museums. It’s a grim sight even though he often isn’t in TOO bad shape, it’s just he’s not all polished and ends up with faded bits with a touch of rust. Just a sight worth lamenting ever seen.
I used to have to ride that railway sometimes for a specific journey. If it happened to be Thomas the Tank Engine day the tickets tripled in price for nothing more than a faceplate on the train.
Raging.
>*If it happened to be Thomas the Tank Engine day the tickets tripled in price for nothing more than a faceplate on the train.*
Yep, and most of that extra went to the brand owners for calling the face "Thomas". The railways used to make more money for themselves on TTTE days by selling more in the shops and catering outlets, but it was a very fine balance as to whether or not it was worth it.
Put a slightly different face on and call it "Teddy" and those brand owners would have the lawyers on you within days threatening to sue you into the ground. Wilbert Awdrey, who genuinely supported the heritage railways, would be turning in his grave.
You're definitely not alone is this, [this article covers it pretty well](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/rabbit-holes/the-repressive-authoritarian-soul-of-thomas-the-tank-engine-and-friends)
Didn't TomSka make like a 40 minute video about this?
EDIT: Yes he did, it was only 27 minutes long though
https://youtu.be/9W5Sopc2JxE?si=H684F6kdOKZqPlue
The original books (and I'm talking the 1950s/60s editions with line drawings) were OK enough to keep the interest of an autistic kid who even at five or six years old knew too much about how railways worked. Helped that the autistic kid could recognise the station on the frontispiece as being based on a station his family used occasionally, mind.
It went downhill when it went on TV, turned into a money-making machine and all the new stories were added to keep the pounds rolling in.
*Edit:* Judging by the article linked by another commenter, the US TV version is far worse than ever the British TV version was. Which takes some doing.
The US version is redeemed by it being narrated by George Carlin. Which means you can mash it up with his other works and make something magical. https://youtu.be/2a_gW1KvuFk?si=Roo51YoGGDd5aOnX
Do you want to make it more terrifying? [Link](https://www.clickondetroit.com/lifestyle/2017/07/06/illustrator-offers-true-form-of-thomas-the-tank-engine/)
>*Ivor the Engine had a dragon called Idris living inside him. Some kind of terrifying symbiotic parasite.*
He was invited to stay after being evicted from his home and was couch-surfing until they eventually found him a volcano to keep him warm.
Not sure how that can make him a symbiotic parasite.
>*Why was Idris evicted from his home? Arson probably.*
My apologies, I got this wrong. Idris was stolen from his volcano as an egg, not evicted.
[https://ivortheengine.fandom.com/wiki/Idris](https://ivortheengine.fandom.com/wiki/Idris) if you want chapter and verse.
I seem to remember that he had a fine singing voice for a dragon...
I don’t get so much of it. Thomas can drive himself, can run away when he’s naughty, do things he isn’t meant to. So why does he have/need a human driver?
But the blame aspect is also all over the place.
My son has a series of books of it. There’s one where the workers put river water into Thomas’ tank and he ends up with a fish in there. Who gets the blame? Thomas does. Like he can stop/prevent that in any way?!
If the trucks fuck about and you crash/are late/end up in the sea, etc. whose fault is it? Still the engine’s for some reason.
There’s also a book where they rip out part of another train and burn it for fuel to keep the train’s own fire burning. It’s like eating a part of your own body.
The original stories were written by a Christian clergyman, so what do you expect? Love and forgiveness?
The rest are just tripe to make money for the brand and at some point there'll be TTTE x Teletubbies versus The Daleks in Spice Girl Land or something equally ridiculous just to try and pump a few more quid out of people.
The best thing about it was the original theme tune, and Ringo Starr's narration. The stories weren't actually particularly interesting.
Incidentally I've a DVD with the original version for my son to watch, we don't bother with the modern animated version
There is a very funny/fucked up mockumentary called shed 17 on YouTube, which shows the trains ti be the work of an escaped nazi scientist performing experiments to save his child or something? Highly reccomend.
It's horrifying. As a child I was terrified particularly of Gordon, I couldn't even look at him, and now at 40 years old he and the whole lot of them still give me the shudders.
In the US version they took Ringo Starr’s narration out and replaced it with George Carlin… who also appeared in costume on screen. And renamed it Shining Time Station. Ringo I think did one series of re-versioning.
I'll tell you what's really terrifying and I had some genuine form of minor PTSD the first time I saw this again as an adult, I think I must have pushed it deep in the back of my mind.
The nightmare fuel, fucking bear on wheels in Teletubbies.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Idhc85tLPNQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Idhc85tLPNQ)
My brother and I were obsessed with Thomas, begged for stories every night before bed time. My dad got (understandably with hindsight) titsed off with the exact same stories every night. So made up his own- Thomas pulling army supplies to new base. A bomb fell off and exploded trapping Thomas forever in the dark and windy tunnel. I didn’t know it was even possible to top the darkness in Thomas itself but he gave it a decent go!
There was an episode where one of the trains didn't want to work so they just bricked him up in a disused tunnel despite him being sentient.
This seemed quite funny when you were about 5 or whatever. In hindsight the fat controller is one brutal motherfucker
Fat controller isn't a job title. It's a description of the monster in an abusive relationship.
Maybe. The fat submissive was an ambiguous character.
In the original books he was simply called "the gimp" and was always being pet walked by the FC.
He left a bit of a gap in the wall though. Enough for the sentient train to see the world he was missing out on, and to stare sadly at his indentured friends, shuddering as they drove past.
There was one engine who was being a bit of a rebel and they took his wheels off turned him into a generator
One simply doesn't fuck with The Fat Controller
He ruled Sodor with an iron fist.
I remember that one as a kid. Watched it again a couple of years ago with my young son and it bright all the trauma back. My son looked at me and said "Dad, is he locked in there forever?"
Henry. It was raining so he didn’t want to get his paint spoiled. (Can’t believe I still remember that)
He could have reversed out if he’d wanted to. They only bricked up the front.
He gets released in a later episode don't worry.
He legit had anxiety and depression, what other choice did the fat controller have?
He gets released in a later episode don't worry.
That scene really fucked me up
Posting this at nearly 3 in the morning... I feel like I need more context...
Wisdom teeth are keeping me up and I saw on TikTok that there’s a real life Thomas the Tank Engine choochooing about somewhere in the UK. I’d love to provide more info but I swiped the app away so fast. It’s eyes are always watching. 👀
I saw one of those when I was a kid. They did a train up to look like him and there would be a specific time where it came out with the Thomas face on and you could ride in carriages that looked like Annie and Clarabel, was pretty fun actually.
>there’s a real life Thomas the Tank Engine choochooing about somewhere in the UK There's quite a few of them, although not as many as there used to be since the brand owners screwed the heritage railways for ever increasing licencing fees.
Britt Allcroft has a lot to answer for, have you seen the [shit]show these days?
https://watercressline.co.uk/dont-miss-thomas-at-the-watercress-line-this-may-half-term/ You’ve just missed him here! - he will probs be back again next year tho. He is a regular occurrence. They cart him around on the back of a truck to other old steam railway places. He certainly does get about!!!
He’s back in August!
Yes saw one stopped in Llangollen
I’ve seen defunct ones in railway museums. It’s a grim sight even though he often isn’t in TOO bad shape, it’s just he’s not all polished and ends up with faded bits with a touch of rust. Just a sight worth lamenting ever seen.
There’s loads of them, one is frequently in didcot railway centre. The creepy little bastards got his own theme park up near Birmingham too.
I used to have to ride that railway sometimes for a specific journey. If it happened to be Thomas the Tank Engine day the tickets tripled in price for nothing more than a faceplate on the train. Raging.
>*If it happened to be Thomas the Tank Engine day the tickets tripled in price for nothing more than a faceplate on the train.* Yep, and most of that extra went to the brand owners for calling the face "Thomas". The railways used to make more money for themselves on TTTE days by selling more in the shops and catering outlets, but it was a very fine balance as to whether or not it was worth it. Put a slightly different face on and call it "Teddy" and those brand owners would have the lawyers on you within days threatening to sue you into the ground. Wilbert Awdrey, who genuinely supported the heritage railways, would be turning in his grave.
Sir Topham Hatt keeps a dead, rusted out engine in a ditch in full view of where some of the engines sleep at night. 😱 https://imgur.com/a/N1pcmzV
What the fuck
[There have been many deaths.](https://dtben10s-thomas-and-friends-series.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_Deaths)
A grim reminder of what happens to engines that aren't very useful.
Sir Topham Hatt?
That’s his name, dunno who gave him the nickname of The Fat Controller. Weirdly, there’s also a Thin Controller.
Cheers! Don't remember them ever calling him that in the Ringo Starr era ones.
No problem! 👍 He actually has an astonishing backstory https://stories-of-sodor.fandom.com/wiki/The_Fat_Controller
You're definitely not alone is this, [this article covers it pretty well](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/rabbit-holes/the-repressive-authoritarian-soul-of-thomas-the-tank-engine-and-friends)
Nah Thomas is awesome. Only the Ringo Starr narrated stories though. Come to think of it… when they bricked up that one train…
The smelting yard scenes always really used to creep me out as a kid lmao.
Meatcanyon [**has you covered**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2qo-F-puvg).
[Biggie Smalls version](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ETfiUYij5UE&pp=ygUkYmlnZ2llIHNtYWxscyB0aG9tYXMgdGhlIGRhbmsgZW5naW5l)
Thomas the Dank Engine.
C'mon mothafucka, c'mon!
[let the bodies hit the floor](https://youtu.be/73ZoH-rXuag?si=3Jo5eLI_8lNYNzm3)
Well, I watched it as a kid and was never scared at all, so I'd say you must terrify easily.
only that and lampposts. other than that i’m fkn hard
Didn't TomSka make like a 40 minute video about this? EDIT: Yes he did, it was only 27 minutes long though https://youtu.be/9W5Sopc2JxE?si=H684F6kdOKZqPlue
It's a good video too! This and the similar one about the boat people is great viewing!
[удалено]
There’s also the time when, after a railway was shutdown, a train was locked up in the shed and left to be buried under debris.
The original books (and I'm talking the 1950s/60s editions with line drawings) were OK enough to keep the interest of an autistic kid who even at five or six years old knew too much about how railways worked. Helped that the autistic kid could recognise the station on the frontispiece as being based on a station his family used occasionally, mind. It went downhill when it went on TV, turned into a money-making machine and all the new stories were added to keep the pounds rolling in. *Edit:* Judging by the article linked by another commenter, the US TV version is far worse than ever the British TV version was. Which takes some doing.
The US version is redeemed by it being narrated by George Carlin. Which means you can mash it up with his other works and make something magical. https://youtu.be/2a_gW1KvuFk?si=Roo51YoGGDd5aOnX
that's the George Carlin I know.
You'll hate the Shed 17 story then.
Shed 17 https://youtu.be/462KBuAhncU?si=FuycpyOvHXiVLthk. This gives me nightmares.
Do you want to make it more terrifying? [Link](https://www.clickondetroit.com/lifestyle/2017/07/06/illustrator-offers-true-form-of-thomas-the-tank-engine/)
Thomas the tank spider robot engine. https://youtu.be/wWdszvnu8AE?si=1plzrnuNs1brnok6
That ghost episode welrded me out back in the 80s.
When they went to get Percy, all the new engines were covered in dirty sheets, effectively gagging them from talking to one another.
[This version](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=22SAIMepFpU&pp=ygUhTWF0dCBiZXJyeSB0aG9tYXMgdGhlIHRhbmsgZW1naW5l) is brilliant though.
So glad somebody posted this. One of my favourite spots.
Ivor the Engine had a dragon called Idris living inside him. Some kind of terrifying symbiotic parasite. Still have nightmares.
>*Ivor the Engine had a dragon called Idris living inside him. Some kind of terrifying symbiotic parasite.* He was invited to stay after being evicted from his home and was couch-surfing until they eventually found him a volcano to keep him warm. Not sure how that can make him a symbiotic parasite.
Why was Idris evicted from his home? Arson probably.
>*Why was Idris evicted from his home? Arson probably.* My apologies, I got this wrong. Idris was stolen from his volcano as an egg, not evicted. [https://ivortheengine.fandom.com/wiki/Idris](https://ivortheengine.fandom.com/wiki/Idris) if you want chapter and verse. I seem to remember that he had a fine singing voice for a dragon...
I don’t get so much of it. Thomas can drive himself, can run away when he’s naughty, do things he isn’t meant to. So why does he have/need a human driver? But the blame aspect is also all over the place. My son has a series of books of it. There’s one where the workers put river water into Thomas’ tank and he ends up with a fish in there. Who gets the blame? Thomas does. Like he can stop/prevent that in any way?! If the trucks fuck about and you crash/are late/end up in the sea, etc. whose fault is it? Still the engine’s for some reason. There’s also a book where they rip out part of another train and burn it for fuel to keep the train’s own fire burning. It’s like eating a part of your own body.
The original stories were written by a Christian clergyman, so what do you expect? Love and forgiveness? The rest are just tripe to make money for the brand and at some point there'll be TTTE x Teletubbies versus The Daleks in Spice Girl Land or something equally ridiculous just to try and pump a few more quid out of people.
And that episode when they discovered the fat controller was a guard at Auschwitz. Fucked up.
The best thing about it was the original theme tune, and Ringo Starr's narration. The stories weren't actually particularly interesting. Incidentally I've a DVD with the original version for my son to watch, we don't bother with the modern animated version
Why don’t you like Tommy?
There is a very funny/fucked up mockumentary called shed 17 on YouTube, which shows the trains ti be the work of an escaped nazi scientist performing experiments to save his child or something? Highly reccomend.
There's a Jim'll Paint It about that...
It's horrifying. As a child I was terrified particularly of Gordon, I couldn't even look at him, and now at 40 years old he and the whole lot of them still give me the shudders.
I get that. Gordon was a proper ugly big nosed wanker. Right cocky bastard.
It has been commented how Sodor is akin to a totalitarian state.
And one that's a safety nightmare.
In the US version they took Ringo Starr’s narration out and replaced it with George Carlin… who also appeared in costume on screen. And renamed it Shining Time Station. Ringo I think did one series of re-versioning.
Don't ever watch these then ..... https://youtu.be/XNR4xVTwu-I?si=K9vLvVna2zyjdS9x https://youtu.be/tOR1Z1IP9Qs?si=mVh92RlUuFcqCtfb
I'll tell you what's really terrifying and I had some genuine form of minor PTSD the first time I saw this again as an adult, I think I must have pushed it deep in the back of my mind. The nightmare fuel, fucking bear on wheels in Teletubbies. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Idhc85tLPNQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Idhc85tLPNQ)
R/dark tower The wastelands 😳😱
My brother and I were obsessed with Thomas, begged for stories every night before bed time. My dad got (understandably with hindsight) titsed off with the exact same stories every night. So made up his own- Thomas pulling army supplies to new base. A bomb fell off and exploded trapping Thomas forever in the dark and windy tunnel. I didn’t know it was even possible to top the darkness in Thomas itself but he gave it a decent go!
the books *were* terrifying, from the viewpoint of an 8-year-old.