needs additional citations for verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . august 2013 learn how and when to remove this template message this article s lead section may not adequately summarize key points of its contents . please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of all important aspects of the article . please discuss this issue on the article s talk page . january 2016 thomas & friends was created by the rev. w awdry . contents 1 origins of thomas & friends 2 television series 3 direct to video specials 4 films 4.1 new film 5 commercialisation 5.1 day out with thomas 5.2 amusement parks 5.3 merchandise 6 toys 7 heritage railways 8 reception 8.1 popularity with autistic audience 9 references 10 external links 10.1 official websites 10.2 other sites origins of thomas & friends edit main article the railway series television series edit main article thomas & friends direct to video specials edit name year note thomas and the magic railroad 2000 theatrically released feature film calling all engines 2005 feature length direct to video special jack and the sodor construction company 2006 13 episode direct to video miniseries the great discovery 2008 feature length special . limited theatrical release hero of the rails 2010 misty island rescue 2010 day of the diesels 2011 blue mountain mystery 2012 feature length special . limited theatrical release 1 king of the railway 2 2013 feature length special . limited theatrical release tale of the brave 3 2014 the adventure begins 2015 45 minute special . sodor s legend of the lost treasure feature length special . limited theatrical release the great race 2016 films edit main article thomas and the magic railroad the series has been seen in one feature film released in 2000 while another has been planned . new film edit this section s factual accuracy may be compromised due to out of date information . please update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information . may 2013 hit also revealed that its theatrical division would be piloted by a thomas film . originally targeted for late 2010 release 4 in september 2009 this was revised to spring 2011 . 5 as of january 2011 the release date had been pushed back further to 2012 and the name of the production had still not been announced . the initial draft of the script was written by josh klausner screenwriter for shrek forever after who has also said that the film will be set around the times of world war ii will mcrobb and chris viscardi also helped write the script . 6 on 8 june 2011 deadline announced that 9 director shane acker will direct the live action adaptation of thomas the tank engine with weta digital designing the film s visual effects . 7 however since 2011 no further information has been released about the film . commercialisation edit day out with thomas edit thomas henry and duck look alikes on the severn valley railway main article day out with thomas day out with thomas is a marketing name used by hit entertainment for special events held at heritage railways in the uk . the characteristic features of these events include locomotives wearing faces to resemble thomas characters and a fat controller character usually performed by one of the railway s volunteers . the general idea is that the public have the chance to ride in a train pulled by thomas or one of his friends . in the us the name also refers to come ride the rails with thomas 8 which is a us tour by real trains modelled after thomas the tank engine . the thomas engine visits various historic railroads across the united states allowing visitors to play games meet sir topham hatt and to ride on a passenger car pulled by the engine . hit entertainment sponsors the event to promote the thomas and friends brand . in the netherlands is also a day out with thomas een dag uit met thomas and is held at the south limburg railway compagny a heritage railway in simpelveld in the south of the netherlands in the province of limburg . the thomas locomotive is shipped from the uk . the south limburg railway compagny has its own diesel locomotive . amusement parks edit in 2007 drusilla s park near alfriston sussex england opened a railway ride featuring thomas annie and clarabel . the track runs through the zoo park and also features james diesel cranky and the fat controller . since 2007 several six flags amusement parks in the us have included thomas and friends themed attractions six flags discovery kingdom six flags new england six flags magic mountain six flags over georgia and six flags america . several of these attractions have since been renamed and re themed . 9 on 15 march 2008 drayton manor in the uk opened their own thomas land just like japan s amusement park which attracts 1.7 million fans every year . thomas land at drayton manor is on the site of what was formerly robinsons land . for the 2008 & 2009 season dutch wonderland in lancaster pennsylvania usa featured a thomas and friends live production . merchandise edit main article thomas and friends merchandise a wide range of merchandise has been manufactured to cash in on the success of the series . the most popular and wide ranging items of merchandise are the models of the characters which have been produced in many different ranges some including accompanying railway systems . other popular products include videos books and magazines and computer games . thomas merchandise has also included such items as audiobooks annuals colouring and activity books jigsaws board games stationery photo notebooks clothing cutlery household items such as curtains duvet covers and lampshades and even soft drinks and spaghetti shapes . toys edit thomas as a promo gadget for the single train 1990 of the british band red box . main article thomas and friends merchandise with the popularity of the thomas the tank engine and friends tv series among children thomas based merchandise has proven very lucrative . at least five different categories of trains and tracks exist take along thomas with grey tracks ; trackmaster battery operated engines with brown tracks previously tomy with blue track ; brio type wooden engines with wooden rails and roads by elc and others ; electric model railway produced in oo gauge by hornby and bachmann n gauge by tomix o gauge by lionel and from 2010 g scale from bachmann ; and lego engines and tracks . merit toys also produced some larger scale battery powered engines with carriages and wagons in the 1980s which ran on red tracks . complementary videos dvds books games puzzles stationery clothing and household items have also been produced . in january 1987 a number of thomas toys were recalled after test found lead content in the paint was up to 90 times the legally permitted level . the toys were imported by ertl uk from china . 10 heritage railways edit main article day out with thomas hit entertainment which acquired gullane entertainment formerly the britt allcroft company licenses day out with thomas events all over the world at which visitors to heritage railways can meet and ride on a train hauled by a replica thomas . as none of the e2 class survived various other classes have been adapted to resemble thomas . replicas are based on alternative 0 6 0 format engines such as hunslet austerity 0 6 0st number 3781 which was converted from a saddle tank to a side tank design 11 by fabricators of the mid hants railway to create no. 1 thomas in 1994 . the strasburg rail road in lancaster pa usa built and featured their no. 1 thomas since 1999 in the us and announced their introduction of percy the small engine at the day out with thomas event on 13 september 2014 . 12 due to the increasing licensing fees and many other restrictions imposed by hit entertainment including the need for sir topham hatts to have auditions and the requirement for intensive criminal records bureau checking many heritage railways in the uk and overseas have reluctantly decided to withdraw from running thomas days thus reducing the income stream to these organisations . 13 14 an international tour featuring thomas and his driver was completed in 2005 in honour of the 60th anniversary of the original stories . former us president george h.w. bush dedicated the presidential train during a ceremony in 2005 . citation needed a real thomas was used in a special play the queen s handbag staged to celebrate the 80th birthday of queen elizabeth ii starring well loved characters from children s literature . in the play the near life sized thomas carried sophie dahl to the stage to meet sir topham hatt jonathan ross at the beginning of the show . thomas the tank engine at central railway station sydney thomas 47327 at rushcliffe country park nottingham thomas the tank engine at ropley station on the watercress line thomas the tank engine on the virginia and truckee railroad in virginia city nevada reception edit this section is incomplete . august 2013 popularity with autistic audience edit in june and july 2001 the national autistic society conducted a survey of 81 parents of children with autism and asperger syndrome to investigate their putative special relationship with thomas the tank engine . the survey confirmed the organisation s assumption from anecdotal evidence that children with autism spectrum disorders associate far more strongly with thomas the tank engine than with other children s characters . 15 in the national autistic society s april 2007 survey conducted with 748 uk parents of children under 10 with autism 58 % of parents reported thomas was the first children s character their children enjoyed with about one third of parents reporting their children were able to learn basic facial expressions from the characters as all of thomas s friends have easy to read expressions . 54 % of parents reported that the stories contributed to their child s sense of security . 16 thomas and friends autistic audience is referenced in a 2012 article in the satirical newspaper the onion thomas the tank engine a little uneasy with his broad autistic following . 17 references edit thomas & friends blue mountain mystery vue cinemas king of the railway thomas and friends . barnes & noble . retrieved 16 december 2012 . thomas & friends tale of the brave . www.bbfc.co.uk . retrieved 18 july 2016 . hayes dade 3 march 2009 . hit entertainment gets into movie biz . variety . hit entertainment s hit movies division begins development of first feature film based on the adventures of thomas and friends . hit entertainment . 30 september 2009 . retrieved 14 august 2010 . thomas theatrical film pushed back again . thomas news . sodor island . 5 january 2011 . retrieved 28 january 2011 . fleming mike . 9 helmer shane acker boards feature based on the thomas the tank engine toys . deadline.com . retrieved 1 october 2011 . map for come ride the rails with thomas . comeridetherails.com . retrieved 1 october 2011 . macdonald brady 25 november 2010 . six flags amusement parks prepare for thematic makeovers . los angeles times . retrieved 27 november 2010 . thomas the tank toy firm is fined 4 000 . the times thursday 22 january 1987 ; pg . 3 mid hants railway in colour . alan c butcher . 1996 . isbn 0 7110 2465 0 thomas the tank engine bringing percy to strasburg tour stop . lancaster online . 10 september 2014 . retrieved 10 september 2014 . r. jones major lines pull out of thomas