Wooden toy train
"Thomas the Tank Engine" is a character created by the Rev. W. Awdry in "The Railway Series" of children's books, first published in the U.K. in 1945. In 1984 a television series called "Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends" was made, adding to the popularity of the characters. It was first broadcast in the United States in 1989. John W. Lee founded the company "Learning Curve Toys" in November 1992 with a wooden railway system called "Thomas & Friends" based on the Thomas the Tank Engine characters. This made the wooden toy trains even more popular than before. Learning Curve introduced some new designs for the track surface, such as the "Clickety Clack" rails patented 1995 and the newer tracks in 2002 with a relief to supply better traction grip for battery powered four wheel drive trains patented in 1998.
List of people and animals from Thomas &amp; Friends
Farmer McColl lives and works on a farm in the countryside with many animals, including cows, chickens, sheep and pigs. Sometimes when there's bad weather on the island, he needs help from engines to keep his animals safe and healthy. Engines like Toby the Tram Engine, Emily and Trevor the Traction Engine have all helped Farmer McColl in some way for his animals. Once, Thomas the Tank Engine left a group of schoolchildren at his farm, and they spent the day learning about the animals.