THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE CRYPTOGRAM PUZZLES: Solutions

ORIGINS

Reverend Wilbert Awdry first created the stories of the railway series as a way of entertaining his son Christopher who had scarlet fever. Christopher wanted to be told the stories repeatedly so Awdry wrote the them down and drew simple pictures of steam locomotives with the stories.

THOMAS

Thomas didn't appear in the first series of stories in the Railways Series, however he was featured in all four stories in the second series of stories. The image of Thomas is based on an obscure shunting engine built in the Victorian era for the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway.

RAILWAYS SERIES #1

The first series of stories featured three engines: Edward, Gordon and Henry. It was published in nineteen forty-five. Edward was a sad engine who hadn't been out for a long time. Gordon is a blue express engine. Henry is a vain green engine who didn't want to ruin his paint.