|
The Railway Series
''The Railway Series'' is a series of British books about a railway known as the North Western Railway, located on the fictional Sodor (fictional island), Island of Sodor. There are 42 books in the series, the first published in May 1945 by Wilbert Awdry. Awdry wrote 26 books; the final one being written in October 1972. His son, Christopher Awdry, Christopher, wrote 16 more between September 1983 and July 2011. The series features many anthropomorphic vehicles. Thomas eventually became the most popular and famous character in the series and the titular character of the television series ''Thomas & Friends'' from 1984 to 2021. The children's television series originated as adaptations of these stories. Nearly all of ''The Railway Series'' stories were based on real-life events. As a lifelong railway enthusiast, Awdry was keen that his stories should be as realistic as possible. The engine characters were mostly based upon real classes of locomotives, and some of the railways th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Island Of Sodor
The Island of Sodor is a fictional island that is the primary setting for ''The Railway Series'' books by Wilbert Awdry and its television adaptation ''Thomas & Friends''. It lies in the Irish Sea between Cumbria and the Isle of Man. Inspiration and creation Awdry wanted a consistent set of locations for ''The Railway Series''. He wanted them to be in Great Britain, but sufficiently isolated from British Railways to allow him to write the stories he wanted. He was inspired during a 1950 visit to the Isle of Man, which forms the Diocese of Sodor and Man. Awdry, a Church of England cleric, noted that while there was an Isle of Man, there was no island of Sodor. He decided to create a fictional island of "Sodor" as the setting for his books. Sodor would be between England and the Isle of Man, isolated from the British railway system, but somewhere that readers could easily imagine. Awdry and his younger brother George worked out Sodor's history, geography, industry and language ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Measles
Measles (probably from Middle Dutch or Middle High German ''masel(e)'', meaning "blemish, blood blister") is a highly contagious, Vaccine-preventable diseases, vaccine-preventable infectious disease caused by Measles morbillivirus, measles virus. Other names include ''morbilli'', ''rubeola'', ''9-day measles, red measles'', and ''English measles''. Symptoms usually develop 10–12 days after exposure to an infected person and last 7–10 days. Initial symptoms typically include fever, often greater than , cough, Rhinitis, runny nose, and conjunctivitis, inflamed eyes. Small white spots known as Koplik's spots, Koplik spots may form inside the mouth two or three days after the start of symptoms. A red, flat rash which usually starts on the face and then spreads to the rest of the body typically begins three to five days after the start of symptoms. Common complications include diarrhea (in 8% of cases), Otitis media, middle ear infection (7%), and pneumonia (6%). These occur i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Fat Controller
The Fat Controller is a fictional character originating from ''The Railway Series'' books written by Wilbert Awdry, Reverend W. Awdry and his son, Christopher Awdry. In the first two books in the series (''List of books in The Railway Series#The Three Railway Engines, The Three Railway Engines'' and ''List of books in The Railway Series#Thomas the Tank Engine, Thomas the Tank Engine'') he is known as The Fat Director, and as of the third book (''List of books in The Railway Series#James the Red Engine, James the Red Engine'') he becomes The Fat Controller. In the introduction to the 1951 book ''List of books in The Railway Series#Henry the Green Engine, Henry the Green Engine'', his real name is revealed to be Sir Topham Hatt. The Fat Controller also appears in the television series ''Thomas & Friends'', adapted from the books. On television, he was usually portrayed in the form of several different static figures made with either wood or lead during series one, and resin from ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nationalisation Of British Rail
British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. Originally a trading brand of the Railway Executive of the British Transport Commission, it became an independent statutory corporation in January 1963, when it was formally renamed the British Railways Board. British Railways was formed on 1 January 1948 as a result of the Transport Act 1947, which nationalisation, nationalised the Big Four (British railway companies), Big Four British railway companies along with some other (but not all) smaller railways. Profitability of the railways became a pressing concern during the 1950s, leading to multiple efforts to bolster performance, including some line closures. The History of rail transport in Great Britain 1948–1994#The Modernisation Plan, 1955 Modernisation Plan formally directed a process of dieselisation and Railway electrification in Great Britain, electrification ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James The Red Engine
James the Red Engine is a fictional character from ''the Railway Series'' children's books created by Wilbert Awdry and the television adaptation ''Thomas & Friends''. He is an anthropomorphic tender locomotive, and is the number 5 engine on the North Western Railway (fictional), North Western Railway, the Fat Controller's railway on the Sodor (fictional island), Island of Sodor. James debuted in the 1946 book ''Thomas the Tank Engine''. Two books in the series, ''James the Red Engine'' and ''James and the Diesel Engines'', are dedicated to James. Prototype and background James first appeared in ''The Railway Series'' in the 1946 book ''Thomas the Tank Engine''. He was named after James Furze, a friend of the publisher's son. He was originally painted black. At the request of the publishers, Awdry dedicated ''List of Railway Series books#James the Red Engine, James the Red Engine'' to the character. James was painted red in this and subsequent books. James is based on the L& ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tank Locomotive
A tank locomotive is a steam locomotive which carries its water in one or more on-board water tanks, instead of a more traditional tender (rail), tender. Most tank engines also have Fuel bunker, bunkers (or fuel tanks) to hold fuel; in a #Tender-tank, tender-tank locomotive a tender holds some or all of the fuel, and may hold some water also. There are several different types of tank locomotive, distinguished by the position and style of the water tanks and fuel bunkers. The most common type has tanks mounted either side of the boiler. This type originated about 1840 and quickly became popular for industrial tasks, and later for Shunting (rail), shunting and shorter-distance Main line (railway), main line duties. Tank locomotives have #Advantages and disadvantages, advantages and disadvantages compared to traditional locomotives that required a separate tender to carry needed water and fuel. History Origins The first tank locomotive was the Novelty (locomotive), ''Novelty ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leicester
Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a population of in . The greater Leicester urban area had a population of 559,017 in 2021, making it the 11th most populous in England, and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 13th most populous in the United Kingdom. A 2023 report ranked Leicester 16th out of the 50 largest UK cities on a range of economic measures, and the first of seven East Midlands cities. The city lies on the River Soar and is approximately north-northwest of London, east-northeast of Birmingham and northeast of Coventry. Nottingham and Derby lie around to the north and northwest respectively, whilst Peterborough is located to the east. Leicester is close to the eastern end of the National Forest, England, National Forest. Leicester has a long history exten ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Railway Series Books
''The Railway Series'' is a British series of children's books written by both Wilbert Awdry and his son Christopher Awdry. The Wilbert Awdry Era: 1945–1972 The first 26 books in the series were written by Wilbert Awdry. ''The Three Railway Engines'' * Book no. 1 * Published 12 May 1945 * Illustrated by William Middleton, later by C. Reginald Dalby ; Stories * Edward's Day Out * Edward and Gordon * The Sad Story of Henry * Edward, Gordon and Henry This is the first book in the series, and introduces Edward, Henry, Gordon and the Fat Director (who later became the Fat Controller; also known as Sir Topham Hatt). ; Notes * These stories were first told to the young Christopher Awdry in 1942 when he was sick with measles, but due to wartime conditions, they were not published until 1945. * These stories were not intended to take place in a single volume, or even on the same railway. ''Edward, Gordon and Henry'' was written at the insistence of the publishers, Edmund ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Limerick (poetry)
A limerick ( ) is a form of verse that appeared in England in the early years of the 18th century. In combination with a refrain, it forms a limerick (song), limerick song, a traditional humorous drinking song often with obscene verses. It is written in five-line, predominantly Anapaest, and amphibrach trimeter with a strict rhyme scheme of AABBA, in which the first, second and fifth line rhyme, while the third and fourth lines are shorter and share a different rhyme. It was popularized by Edward Lear in the 19th century, although he did not use the term. From a Folklore, folkloric point of view, the form is essentially transgressive; violation of taboo is part of its function. According to Gershon Legman, who compiled the largest and most scholarly anthology, this folk form is always obscene and the exchange of limericks is almost exclusive to comparatively well-educated men. Women are figuring in limericks almost exclusively as "villains or victims". Legman dismissed the "clea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Down By The Station
"Down by the Station", also known as "Down at the Station", is a popular song written by Paul Mills and Slim Gaillard and first recorded by The Slim Gaillard Trio in 1947. The song was most famously recorded by Tommy Dorsey in 1948. Background The song remains popular today as a children's music standard, a simple song about a railroad station master seeing the steam locomotives off to work. The lyrics are: The song itself predates 1948; it was reportedly seen in a 1931 issue of ''Recreation''. Similarities to other tunes Whether deliberately copied or not, the melody of "Down by the Station" is closely related to the chorus of the French-Canadian folk song "Alouette". Some have pointed out that though the first line is similar to "Alouette", it is closer to the tune of " The Itsy-Bitsy Spider," with the first two lines being similar. The third line of "Down By the Station" is higher in pitch than the second, and the fourth line returns to the pitch of the first line (except ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tommy Dorsey
Thomas Francis Dorsey Jr. (November 19, 1905 – November 26, 1956) was an American jazz trombone, trombonist, composer, conductor and bandleader of the big band era. He was known as the "Sentimental Gentleman of Swing" because of his smooth-toned trombone playing. His theme song was "I'm Getting Sentimental Over You". His technical skill on the trombone gave him renown among other musicians. He was the younger brother of bandleader Jimmy Dorsey. After Dorsey broke with his brother in the mid-1930s, he led an extremely successful band from the late 1930s into the 1950s. He is best remembered for standards such as "Opus No. 1, Opus One", "This Love of Mine" (no. 3 in 1941) featuring Frank Sinatra on vocals, "Song of India (song), Song of India", "Marie", "On Treasure Island", and his biggest hit single, "I'll Never Smile Again" (no. 1 for 12 weeks in 1940). Early life Born in Mahanoy Plane, Pennsylvania, Thomas Francis Dorsey Jr. was the second of four children born to Thomas Fra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
