Do we like them?

Do we like Thomas the Tank Engine?

A character from The Railway Series (Thomas the Tank Engine); also Thomas & Friends (1946)

Our score: 8 out of 10. Yes, we'd back him. He's cheeky, impatient and forgetful, but he works hard, helps his friends and tries to be a Really Useful Engine.

Thomas first appeared in 1946 in the second book of the Rev. W. Awdry's Railway Series. He's a tank engine with six small wheels and a short stumpy funnel, boiler and dome. The books call him fussy and cheeky. He started out working at a big station, pulling coaches around. Later he became the title character of the TV series Thomas & Friends.

His main flaws are that he's cheeky, impatient and forgetful. In the early stories he likes to play tricks on Gordon, the biggest and proudest engine on the railway. His eagerness doesn't always match his judgement, and that gets him into scrapes.

What wins us over is that he keeps trying. He wants to do right by the Fat Controller and by his friends, and he learns from his mistakes. Over time he becomes less selfish and more mature. That makes him a likeable, dependable hero for a small steam engine, though not a flawless one.