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The Railway Stories
''The Railway Stories'' are a series of audio adaptations of ''The Railway Series'' books by Wilbert Awdry and his son Christopher. Nearly all 42 of the books in the series have been recorded by one of five different narrators: Johnny Morris, William Rushton, Ted Robbins, Michael Angelis, and even the Rev. W. Awdry himself. Rev. W. Awdry recordings The first known audio adaptation was a 7" (33⅓rpm) EP narrated by the Rev. W. Awdry himself, with "background effects taken from real engines". This record, released in 1957 by Chiltern Records of Princes Risborough, contained two stories – ''Edward's Day Out'' and ''Edward and Gordon'' – from the first book in the Railway Series: ''The Three Railway Engines''. Johnny Morris recordings (Delysé) The first widely available recordings were narrated by Johnny Morris and released in the early 1960s by the Delysé Recording Company. Each 7" (45rpm) vinyl record contained two stories, taken from the first eleven books of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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] |
Record Player
A phonograph, later called a gramophone, and since the 1940s a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogue reproduction of sound. The sound vibration Waveform, waveforms are recorded as corresponding physical deviations of a helical or spiral groove engraved, etched, incised, or impressed into the surface of a rotating cylinder or disc, called a ''Phonograph record, record''. To recreate the sound, the surface is similarly rotated while a playback #Stylus, stylus traces the groove and is therefore vibrated by it, faintly reproducing the recorded sound. In early acoustic phonographs, the stylus vibrated a Diaphragm (acoustics), diaphragm that produced sound waves coupled to the open air through a flaring Horn loudspeaker, horn, or directly to the listener's ears through stethoscope-type earphones. The phonograph was invented in 1877 by Thomas Edison; its use would rise the following year. Alexander Graham Bell's Volta Laboratory an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thomas & Friends
''Thomas & Friends'' is a British children's television series which aired from 9 October 1984 to 20 January 2021. Based on ''The Railway Series'' books by Wilbert Awdry and his son Christopher Awdry, Christopher, the series was developed for television by Britt Allcroft. The series centers on List of Thomas & Friends characters, various anthropomorphic engines as well as other vehicles living on the fictional Sodor (fictional island), Island of Sodor. Initially being filmed in live action on model sets, whereas the latter half of its run was produced using Computer-generated imagery, CGI, over 500 episodes were produced over the course of 24 series. In the United States, it was first broadcast along with the spin-off series, ''Shining Time Station'', on PBS' PTV Park block on 29 January 1989, while broadcast of the series did shift over time, it later aired on PBS Kids up until 2017. The rights to the series are currently owned by HIT Entertainment (a subsidiary of Mattel), w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
BBC Audiobooks
AudioGO (formerly BBC Audiobooks) was a British publisher of audiobooks and a range of spoken word and large-print titles. It was majority owned by AudioGO Ltd, and minority owned by BBC Worldwide. It was formed in 2010, when AudioGO purchased a majority share in BBC Audiobooks, and traded until it went into administration in 2013. AudioGO published unabridged audio novels, and the BBC Radio Collection which incorporated dramatisations and non-fiction output derived from BBC Radio programmes. Novels were published under the imprint ''AudioGO'', and BBC-sourced content under the ''BBC Audio'' imprint, the latter making up about 20% of new titles as at 2010. Catalogue AudioGO had about 8,500 titles in its catalogue at the time it went into administration in 2013. Thereupon AudioGO's catalogue of non-BBC titles was sold to Audible.com. The BBC titles, formerly known as the BBC Radio Collection, and considered by industry experts to be the most valuable asset, were licensed to Ra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Early Learning Centre
The Early Learning Centre (ELC) is a British retailer that sells toys aimed at younger children. It is part of The Entertainer (through its parent company TEAL Group Holdings). It was a subsidiary of Mothercare until 2019. History The original shop opened in 1974 on London Street, Reading, Berkshire. The business was started by John Richard Beale. The mail order department was in the basement. Beale employed the services of a child psychologist to ensure that the toys and books were of a positive and educational value to children. The clever and unique concept was for parents to join as a member, new sets of educational toys/books were then sent to them regularly. If they decided to keep the items, they would pay via their account. If they returned the items, they would not be charged. It proved very successful and within a year, much larger premises in Silver Street Reading were obtained. Beale's partner was an accountant named David so Beale used his middle name, John, t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Henry The Green Engine
Started in 1945 and concluded in 2011, ''The Railway Series'' is a series of 42 British books written by Wilbert Awdry and his son Christopher Awdry. This is a list of all characters who appeared in the book series. Unless otherwise said on this page, the technical notes come from actual notes laid out by Awdry when he was developing the characters and setting for his stories; these notes are cited in his publication ''The Island of Sodor: Its People, History, and Railways''. North Western Railway The North Western Railway (NWR) is the main standard gauge rail network on the Island of Sodor. The railway's motto is "Nil Unquam Simile", which is Latin for "There's nothing quite like it". From nationalisation on 1 January 1948, until it was privatised, the railway was the North Western Region of British Railways (BR). From 1925 onwards, it has been managed by three Fat Controllers. Steam engines Diesel engines Rolling stock Skarloey Railway The Skarloey Railway (SR) is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Argo Records (UK)
Argo Records is a record label founded by Harley Usill and Cyril Clarke in 1951 with the intention of recording "British music played by British artists", but the company's releases expanded to include spoken word recordings and other projects. Genres Argo's first issue, ''Music from Bali'', was dedicated to the Indonesian gamelan (ensemble) recorded at the Winter Garden Theatre, London. The catalogue eventually ran to 1,000 items. In 1953, Usill was introduced to Indian musician Deben Bhattacharya, who was responsible for field recordings of traditional music in India. Bhattacharya had been frustrated by the absence of recordings he could use for his BBC Radio broadcasts. Around the same time, Walter Harris recorded an amateur Brazilian choir in Rio de Janeiro. Such recordings as these appeared in the labels "Living Traditions" series. Taking advantage of the capacity of the longer playing time of LP records, Argo embarked on recording the complete works of William Shakesp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Decca Records
Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis after his acquisition of a gramophone manufacturer, The Decca Gramophone Company. It set up an American subsidiary under the Decca name, which became an independent company just before the Second World War. The American spin-off became a subsidiary of MCA Inc. in 1962. Known for its technical innovations, the British parent company grew to become the second most successful recording company in Britain and celebrated fifty years of existence in 1979, shortly before being sold to PolyGram. Both Decca and its former subsidiary were subsequently acquired by Universal Music. Decca and its American spin-off both built up strong catalogues of popular music. In their first two decades their artists included Gertrude Lawrence, George Formby, Jack Hylton and Vera Lynn in Britain and Bing Crosby, Al Jolson, the Andrews Sisters and the Mills Brothers in the US. Later performers in their popular ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Monaural
Monaural sound or monophonic sound (often shortened to mono) is sound intended to be heard as if it were emanating from one position. This contrasts with stereophonic sound or ''stereo'', which uses two separate audio channels to reproduce sound from two microphones on the right and left side, which is reproduced with two separate loudspeakers to give a sense of the direction of sound sources. In mono, only one loudspeaker is necessary, but, when played through multiple loudspeakers or headphones, identical audio signals are fed to each speaker, resulting in the perception of one-channel sound "imaging" in one sonic space between the speakers (provided that the speakers are set up in a proper symmetrical critical-listening placement). Monaural recordings, like stereo ones, typically use multiple microphones fed into multiple channels on a recording console, but each channel is " panned" to the center. In the final stage, the various center-panned signal paths are usually mix ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wilbert Awdry
Wilbert Vere Awdry (15 June 1911 – 21 March 1997), often credited as Rev. W. Awdry, was an English Anglican minister, railway enthusiast, and children's author. He is best remembered as the creator of Thomas the Tank Engine and several other characters who appeared in his ''The Railway Series, Railway Series''. Life and career Wilbert Awdry was born at Ampfield vicarage near Romsey, Hampshire, on 15 June 1911. His father was Vere Awdry (1854–1928), the Anglican vicar of Ampfield, and his mother was Lucy Awdry (née Bury; 1884–1965). When Wilbert was born his mother Lucy Awdry described her newborn son as a "short but (but perfectly formed) baby who had long fingers. and toes, a 'mouse-face' (with the Awdry chin and ears) and a loud and persistent voice.". Vere Awdry was the son of judge Sir John Wither Awdry and brother of bishop William Awdry. ''Wilbert'' was derived from William and Herbert, names of his father's two brothers. His younger brother, George, was born on 10 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
