Thomas and Friends

[buzz456]

Thomas can go away any time for me.

[AmericanSteam]

I bet that cost a fortune for the licensing.

[mindenjohn]

Aiming at the 5 year olds now!

[GreatNortherner]

So, I take it you're not friends of Thomas then?

I for one absolutely love the idea and am thrilled that we now we have the matching route. I also love that it offers a new way to share my passion for trains with kids in the wider family who're still too young to get any enjoyment out of a "serious" train simulator.


Oh, and the five-year old in me also enjoys this very much.

[ElphabaWS]

Well said, Michael.

"Alternative" thinking to some of the negativity about Thomas The Tank in Train Sim can include: (1) it potentially serves as a means to introduce tens-of-thousands of young people to the hobby, which is much needed; (2) it broadens the hobby base and visibility; (3) if financially successful it can only strengthen the capabilities and resources of the developer(s) involved.

It certainly appears there's a whole lot of people (young and young at heart) that are enjoying it.

[harryadkins]

Are they working on a Sodor route?

[GreatNortherner]

Are they working on a Sodor route?

Hi Harry,
They have already released the Sodor route, which ships as a standalone game and not as DLC for TSW:
https://live.dovetailgames.com/live/won ... or-out-now

Michael

[buzz456]

OK I surrender. I guess I'm just a GOG that is a purist about what should be advertised on TSC. What's next a add for some golf game?

[cnwfan]

(1) it potentially serves as a means to introduce tens-of-thousands of young people to the hobby, which is much needed

To your point, I don't know if you've heard of or follow the Female Foamer on Facebook or TikTok, but in a recent FB post she mentioned that she got her love for trains as a kid by watching... Thomas and Friends. Maybe someone from DTG should reach out to her? 50K followers on TikTok... just saying.

Buzz... I like your thinking. Tee off from the 8th flat car. Or, I got a hole in hopper! And finish off your round of railroad golf in the club car. Now back to placing signals.

[august1929]

Yes, out of interest I bought it and played for about half an hour. Found it too clunky even for TSW and although quite good in terms of detail I couldn't honestly see too many children at the presumed target age having the patience to go with it - I certainly didn't at my current age .

Refunded for me but when our children were around 3 or 4 I would probably have persevered alongside them - certainly our eldest (now 29...) would have enjoyed the bringing to life - he loved the Britt Alcroft films/vids and I have a few that I have refused to get rid of, on the off chance that grandchildren may be a thing in the future!

I see that Britt died 24th December 2024...left behind a pretty good legacy following on from the Rev. Awdry.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3743 ... _of_Sodor/

Rod

[spartantrain32]

What got me into the hobby at a young age was my very first HO scale trainset (BN)
My Grandfather was a conductor. My uncle would take me with him on trips to Hobbylobby and the likes. Thomas and friends was more horror to me as a kid than a gateway into the hobby (the faces are very unsettling at times to be honest)

[ElphabaWS]

"With more than $1 billion in annual retail sales, Thomas the Tank Engine and his locomotive pals constitute one of the world’s largest preschool toy and television franchises." -- NY Times.

A pretty healthy brand franchise I'd say.

[august1929]

"With more than $1 billion in annual retail sales, Thomas the Tank Engine and his locomotive pals constitute one of the world’s largest preschool toy and television franchises." -- NY Times.

A pretty healthy brand franchise I'd say.

It is, and continues to be. The skill of Britt Alcroft, presumably ably assisted by brand protection, was that the original books (that are visually nice but definitely slightly dated) were beautifully and skillfully translated into the video/film characters...Ringo Starr was a masterstroke as a narrator.

Rod

[buzz456]

"With more than $1 billion in annual retail sales, Thomas the Tank Engine and his locomotive pals constitute one of the world’s largest preschool toy and television franchises." -- NY Times.

A pretty healthy brand franchise I'd say.

That's all well and good however the question is does it belong annoying me every time I start up my serious simulator with its childish theme? How about a picture of Bugs Bunny and Porky?

[pjduplooy]

Apparently (thread on Dovetail Forum) one is able to use TSW content in Thomas and friends