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.
Britt Allcroft
In 1980, she co-founded Britt Allcroft Railway Productions (internationally known as The Britt Allcroft Company) with her husband, television producer Angus Wright. It took Allcroft four years to raise the funding for, and create, a first series of twenty-six episodes in collaboration with director David Mitton. The first two episodes of "Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends", shot on 35 mm film with narration by Ringo Starr in the U.K./U.S. and music by Mike O'Donnell and Junior Campbell, were aired together for the first time on British television on 9 October 1984.