After seeing a picture of Thomas on the Conway Scenic Railway it finally occurred to me that his popularity has generated more than a couple operating versions on the rails today. I was wondering how many and how they are powered?
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coach joe posted:After seeing a picture of Thomas on the Conway Scenic Railway it finally occurred to me that his popularity has generated more than a couple operating versions on the rails today. I was wondering how many and how they are powered?
To my knowledge there is only one, fully operational "Thomas the Tank" locomotive, powered by steam, in the U.S.. That is the former Brooklyn Eastern District Terminal 0-6-0, that the Strasburg Rail Road shops reconfigured into "Thomas the Tank". All the other "Thomas'" are not powered and must be pushed around by another locomotive, usually on the rear of the passenger cars.
I have had the chance to ride behind Thomas under steam in Pennsylvania.
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Thank you both for your replies. Hot Water, the non-powered aspect would explain the apparent lack of any serious running gear or motors under the Thomas in the picture that got me thinking about this. The Thomas behind Marty is clearly a live steam engine.
coach joe posted:Thank you both for your replies. Hot Water, the non-powered aspect would explain the apparent lack of any serious running gear or motors under the Thomas in the picture that got me thinking about this. The Thomas behind Marty is clearly a live steam engine.
Well, I don't know that it is "clearly a live steam engine", as all the fake/dummy Thomas "thinks" also put out smoke. However, if Marty was visiting the Strasburg Rail Road, especially during one of their "Thomas the Tank Weekends", then yes that is the one fully operational Thomas, in the U.S..
The Strassburg Thomas is a live steam locomotive. No fake, it is the real deal.
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