Hornby Thomas is a name known to train collectors. The name Hornby is so well known that it’s come to be a synonym for 00 gauge model train sets. Thomas and Sons is one of six Hornby railway collections. The others are Harry Potter, steam locomotives, diesel locomotives, rolling freight stock and rolling passenger stock.
The first Hornby Thomas and Sons train set to be produced for commercial sale was the adorable Percy the Small Engine train character. It was released in 1967 as part of a train set by Meccano.
Developed in response to its popularity on the children’s TV show, Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends, this talking steam engine also was part of a group of books called The Railway Series, written by father and son Wilbert and Christopher Awdry.
Hornby Thomas’s Percy the living steam engine lives on the pretend island of Sodor with many other trains that include Gordon the Big Engine, Thomas the Tank Engine and Henry the Green Engine. Percy, number 6 engine, is the smallest of the island’s engine inhabitants and the most outspoken.
The Fat Controller brought this tiny Hornby Thomas engine to Sodor to help resolve a train engine strike on the island. Initially having to endure bullying from the bigger engines, Percy finally showed his capabilities and earned their respect. The Fat Controller finally promoted Percy to hauling goods on the important Hornby Thomas branch line. The headstrong Thomas is one of Percy’s best train friends, as is the beloved Toby the Tram engine.
The first appearance of these fictional Hornby Thomas characters in book form was in 1950. Percy made his first television appearance in the Hornby Thomas TV series Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends in 1985.
