Blog: Great Ideas for a Thomas the Tank Engine Party…Toot Toot!

All about Kids Parties - ideas, tips, themes, plans, rhymes and entertainers » Thomas The Tank Engine…Toot Toot!

This page is a great starter for how to have a Thomas the Tank Engine Party. It has ideas like sending whistles as invitations and suggestions of games to play. If you're thinking of going this route, this page will help a ton.

Vidoe: Nice Maglev ride

A ride on the Maglev Train in Shanghai. The fastest train on earth. With a maximum speed of 430 KMH!

Blog: Is Virtual Railroading a Real hobby?!

I'd never heard of virtual railroading until this blog post. I thought from his title he would be mocking it but instead ended up convincing me that it'd be a lot of fun.

Virtual Railroading? A Real hobby?! C’mon! « The Hobby Guy"The lack of a physical train layout in our house has not stopped us from playing with trains. (Yes, for all you die hard model railroad fans, I did say play; that’s what it is, relax and enjoy, and just play.) We are V-Scalers. We regularly build layouts, run prototypical operations, try out new rolling stock and engines, and model typical railroad scenes. We just do it virtually. Trainz 2006, Railroad Tycoon 3, Railroad Tycoon II, and Lionel Train Town are all part of our model railroad hobby."

Site: Percy hiding

Flickr: Flickr photos of Percy hiding in the grocery store. Not the most captivating set of pics, but interesting nonetheless.

News: Lego in Thomas the Tank Engine Deal

lego tv - Google News: "Lego in Thomas the Tank Engine deal mad.co.uk, UK - 19 Sep 2006 (link requires a subscription)

Lego has struck a deal to sponsor Thomas the Tank Engine on the children’s TV channel Nick Jr.

Re: Kirstin Bates, Lego brand manager,

“The programming content on Nick Jr not only offers a natural synergy with our
Lego Duplo Thomas & Friends brand but sponsorship activity will give
pre-schoolers the opportunity to interact with a much-loved character."

... “Our ethos is to provide appealing products for children to build, create and play - the Lego Duplo Thomas & Friends products, TV spots and microsite allow ..."

Post: Cynical Mom's Day Out with Thomas

http://suburbanlunacy.blogspot.com/2006/09/my-day-out-with-thomas-strategically.html

I'd like to begin this post with an apology to my two children for having
cynical uncool parents who generally don't enjoy attending special kids' events
other than for reasons of fueling our sarcasm and studying the media's influence
on society from a distance.

News: Columnist has a new man in her life

There’s a new man in my life. He’s short and kind of cute, in a blue kind
of way. He has a habit of always bringing all of his friends over, keeps me up
late at night and sometimes he even greets me first thing in the morning.

What’s his name you ask and does Mark know about him?

His name is Thomas…Thomas the Tank Engine to be exact. And all of his
little friends. Well, some of them.

http://www2.theclarionnews.com/Opinions/57485.shtml

Site: Nice Train Board Setup

I particulatrly like the road. The board looks simple and sturdy:
http://emeryjo.blogspot.com/2006/09/train-mania.html

Comment: Online Model Railroad Resources

Nice overview of Model Railroading resources online. So much of the trouble with looking for model railroad help and ideas online is that the search engines are skewed toward commercial interests and away from hobbyists. The Blog has a monthly feature called "Roundhouse Round Up" featuring model railroad resources. I wanted to just copy and paste this whole post as all of the links are nice and well put together. Instead just visit this blog: http://thomasinstitute.blogspot.com/2006/07/roundhouse-roundup-no-2.html
http://thomasinstitute.blogspot.com/2006/08/roundhouse-roundup-3.html

Not all the links are what you'd think of when you think model railroads. Some are for larger models... some that you can even ride.

News: Current Thomas goings on

I wanted to give an overview of what's been happening in the Thomas world of late.

1. Thingamababy has a fantastic "review" of a battery powered Thomas train. I quote "review" because it's as much of a "how to set up a train table" as it is a review. I particularly appreciate that he took the time to take pictures and comment them.
2. CJ Sorg blogs about his trip to see Thomas in Nashville
3. TrainBlog visits A Day Out with Thomas in California and it seems much neater than the one in Nashville. There were more trains on display and the passenger cars were open air for a much cooler effect.
4. A third blog post on A Day Out With Thomas in Ontario
5. Bonnie the balloon lady makes a great Thomas train out of balloons

Not News: Terence Hair Controversy!

We at the Thomas the Tank Engine Blog have never shied away from controversy. Today, however we were shocked to discover that Terence the Orange Tractor WEARS A TOUPEE!!! Sure, now that you know, it's pretty obvious looking at the picture, but imagine the surprise on the Island of Sodor when this news got out. It was always assumed by his personality and demeanor that Terence the Tractor was but a wee lad. But is he?

Our undercover photographers got this exclusive photo of the "hairless wonder" we all know (or thought we knew) and love.


EXCLUSIVE!




As of press time, neither Terence nor his publicists returned calls requesting comments.