|register login||table of contents| Parents Guide to "Thomas the
Tank Engine" originally posted: July 23, 2004 As usual, I'd like
to begin this article by denying any claim to special expertize.
I am not a railway buff, or an expert on children's literature.
But I do have a son who is a fan of Thomas the Tank Engine, and,
like many parents, have read far more Thomas stories and watched
far more Thomas videos than is entirely consistant with
retaining sanity. Out of self defense, I have attempted to
figure out some of the odd features of these stories, some of
which I'd like to comment on here. Railway TerminologyThe Thomas
stories are packed full of English railway jargon, which is in
many respects quite different from American railway jargon. Much
of it is easily understood from context, others are less
obvious. Some of the terminology is can be clarified for
Americans simply by giving the American equivalents. The word
"conductor" is also sometimes used in England. Some terminology
that requires a bit more