'Thomas the Tank Engine' for sale?

[John Webb]

Apex, the current owners of HIT Entertainment are planning to sell HIT off, according to reports in the financial press today. Hit Entertainment are the the group who licence the TV and book characters 'Thomas the Tank Engine' and 'Bob the Builder'. They have come in for considerable criticism in recent years for the very stringient conditions imposed on heritage railways who wish to run 'Thomas' events. The result has been that a number of heritage lines have dropped 'Thomas' events.

The reports comment that Apex have decided to sell off after suffering a slump in demand.

It will be interesting to see if any new owner will alter the conditions for licensing 'Thomas' events.

 

[krus_aragon]

The only Thomas I've ever been behind is the Llanberis Lake Railway's (narrow gauge) Thomas Bach, or little Thomas. I don't think they've ever licensed the name, as it's apparently named after an old quarry driver, and just happens to be blue. Going on a little train whose engine was also called Thomas was enough to thrill me as a youngster, and the lack of fancy face strapped to the front was totally irrelevant.

 

[sprinterguy]

This is hopefully good news, as HIT Entertainment have imposed a lot of restrictions on licensing of the Thomas characters as used by the Preserved Railways' Thomas events, that have stifled what is a very good thing in attracting interest and extra revenue for the preserved lines involved.

The Thomas the Tank Engine franchise has moved a long way away from the original and generally technically accurate Rev. W Awdry stories. If he were alive today I can only assume that he would be less than pleased with the current treatment of his stories and what has developed from them.

And btw, just where have the "new" books that I've seen around come from; featuring such characters as an orange 9F called Murdoch and a silver A4 named Spencer, amongst others? I can't remember those from my youth, and they don't look in keeping with the generally fairly accurate portrayal of the railways favoured by Rev. W Awdry in the past.

 

[Foxhound]

just where have the "new" books that I've seen around come from

I know Christopher Awdry (the raison d'etre for Thomas in the first place) wrote a few books a while back - could these be related? The first I heard of Spencer was this thread!

Met the Rev many years ago (I was about 13) at the Plymouth MRC Exhibition. Nice enough chap, if a bit infirm by then.

 

[AndyJB]

I remember reading that shortly after HIT took ownership of the rights a letter was recieved at Sheffield Park stating something to the tune of "we have been made aware that you are operating a locomotive which bears a copyrighted name from the Thomas franchise. Remove it or we'll take legal action". It transpired that the loco that they were referring to was LBSCR 55 'Stepney', an engine which was built and named during 1876.

I believe that (s)hit withdrew the threat subsequent to being made aware of said fact.

 

[talltim]

Having a small son the HIT version of Thomas makes me angry every morning

 

[AndyJB]

My son used to love the Thomas TV show too.

I, however, am forced to agree with something that the Guardian once wrote about the series in general - " the stories only contain four basic plot lines: Troublesome Trucks, Proud Engine Gets His Comeuppance, Small Engine Shows His Worth, New Engine Is Shunned (And Then Wins Friends).

Furthermore, it has become increasingly obvious (from occasionally watching the newer TV episodes with my young nephew) some old favorites such as Duck, Boco, Donald & Douglas, Oliver etc seem to have been lost for good.

 

[Mvann]

I remember reading that shortly after HIT took ownership of the rights a letter was recieved at Sheffield Park stating something to the tune of "we have been made aware that you are operating a locomotive which bears a copyrighted name from the Thomas franchise. Remove it or we'll take legal action". It transpired that the loco that they were referring to was LBSCR 55 'Stepney', an engine which was built and named during 1876.

I believe that (s)hit withdrew the threat subsequent to being made aware of said fact.

They seem to do a good job of shooting themselves in the foot. They tried it with nene valley railway, even though the rev. Awdry named the engine Thomas in 1971. They tried it with the talylln, even though the rev. Audry gave his blessing. They had loads of complaints about the Thomas birthday event at knebworth a few years ago.

 

[deltic1989]

Thomas the Tank engine was what first got me interested in railways when i was about 3 years old, my mum and dad reading me the original Rev Awdry books was regular afternoon entertainment, as well as the original Britt Alcroft TV programme Read by Ringo Starr. I do have to say that HIT entertainment have absolutely ruined the stories on TV as i regularly watch thomas with my young son and was stunned when i saw thomas's lips move. My Ex-Partner would argue that thomas is silly, and she reinforces this with the fact that the last time she took my son on a train he had a 10 min conversation with a class 156 and cried when it didnt talk back.