Thomas & Friends Wooden Railway
Thomas & Friends Wooden Railway (1992–2017, 2022–), later rebranded as Thomas & Friends Wood (2017–2021), is a wooden railway system designed and created by Learning Curve. It is one of two Wooden Railway lines that feature the characters from Thomas & Friends. The other is BRIO. However, this is the only line to feature characters from The Railway Series.
In 1992, Learning Curve created the line with the help of Roy Wilson.[7] In February 1993, the line was first released during American International Toy Fair. One of the first sets for the line was the 22 piece starter set.[8] This set and many of the earlier sets had generic track until 1995, which is the year that Learning Curve patented the "Clicketyclack" track design.[9]
The models at this time were made from painted wood, with plastic being added for the wheels and faces. Metal was used for the magnets and axles. These models would be upgraded; the wooden smokeboxes were replaced with plastic smokeboxes, and would also include more realistic funnels. These models would not last long, as they would be revamped again in 2002. These models had newer, more detailed faces.
The battery-powered line of characters were first released in the 1990s.[10] The second version of these models got released in the 2000s.[10] Learning Curve created new track in the 2000s, due to a lawsuit, and so that this line of characters could use the track.[11]
Like many other brands, Learning Curve faced a recall around the time of the economic downturn. The models involved in this recall had red or yellow paint, and were sold between January 2005 and June 2007. Tests with these models indicated there was the presence of lead. Hence, there was a risk of lead poisoning.[12]
Learning Curve was also responsible for the creation of the Talking Railway Series in 2008. This series of engines and destinations could interact with each other through gold magnets found on the engines.
In 2009, this line was affected by the takeover of the Thomas franchise by Mattel's preschool division Fisher-Price. Now, this line was creating the new characters from the CGI series, and re-releases of the originals with CGI faces. Learning Curve (RC2) got acquired by Tomy, who continued making the line until they gave up the rights to Fisher-Price.
In 2013, Fisher-Price acquired the Thomas Wooden Railway line from TOMY. The models from TOMY would continue to be made although over time these models began to evolve. They introduced rounder corners to the models, so that children would not injure themselves.
In 2017, the line went through a complete overhaul under the name Thomas & Friends Wood. The engines were made smaller to cut production costs, and the track system was rendered incompatible with the standard wooden track design without the use of adaptors. For a brief time the toys were half-painted, leaving exposed wood in many sections, again to cut production costs. Due to heavy criticism, Fisher-Price resumed fully painting the engines in 2019.
On June 27, 2021, it was announced that Thomas & Friends: Wood will be discontinued, as Mattel had lost money from the line, following the show's cancellation and the 2D series being a standalone series. It was replaced by a revival of the original "Wooden Railway" line. The line features new engine models with more accurate designs, increased levels of detail, and stronger durability. In addition, the older track system was restored; borrowing elements from the traction-rail and Clickety-Clack designs. The revived line was released to outlets such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble in March 2022.
Take-n-Play Thomas & Friends
Take-n-Play (formerly Take Along) is a series of die-cast 'Thomas' models made by Learning Curve and designed for preschool children. The models have superseded the Ertl die-cast models range, which has now been discontinued. The two ranges are incompatible as the new models use special 'two-way' magnets instead of the hook-and-loop couplers provided on the Ertl models.
First released at the start of 2002, the models are generally much chunkier, and considerably less accurate, than the Ertl range. Many items in the Ertl range were passable as 'scale' models of the TV Series characters, but the Take Along products are much more obviously toys.
The range includes all the major and minor characters from the TV series and Movies, plus Mike, Culdee, and D199 from The Railway Series. The rolling stock models include many of the 'special' (non-speaking) trucks that have featured in single episodes, and the vehicles include the members of The Pack. As well as the individual characters, a number of play-sets have been produced, either containing two or more characters, or a single engine with play scene and DVD. Some specials have been produced with a metallic finish, and a few models are fitted with sound chips and lights.
In 2006, two playsets called Train Yard Set and Working Hard Set were introduced. These were much bigger than other playsets, being more than 1×1 meters. Original sets were less than 30×30 centimeters.
In 2010, Take-Along was bought by Mattel and became a Fisher-Price line, and renamed Take-n-Play. New characters were released and the old models were re-released with upgraded paints and faces.
In 2013, the production of the Take-n-Play models was relocated to Thailand
TrackMaster
In 2007, HIT Entertainment's subsidiary HiT Toy Company picked up the license to produce the Thomas Motor Road and Rail range. The TrackMaster (formerly Tomy) engines were compatible with Tomy's Motor Road and Rail merchandise. TrackMaster's light brown colored track was easily connected to the previous blue track from TOMY by track adapters, which were included in every set until new releases after 2008. An innovation in this range was special editions of certain engines, including remote-controlled and face-changing variations. In 2010, the rights were put under the ownership of Fisher-Price.
In 2014, Mattel decided to take TrackMaster and completely reinvent it. The trains from this range would now be faster and be able to go up tall hills. This range also saw the track made more realistic. The coaches and rolling stock did not receive that treatment; they were made smaller so that the engines could go up hills without struggling because of big rolling stock.
Motorized
Motorized is a battery-operated toy system manufactured by Fisher-Price, Mattel in the US and was launched in 2020. It is a rebrand of the 2014 TrackMaster line and is virtually identical to it, although with new products being released alongside re-released older ones and an aim to be more simplistic with packaging and sets similar to the previous line before it.
Capsule Plarail
In 1997, Tomy made a range of wind-up models that "have an action when you wind them up". The range was small and included only a few of the 'major' characters.
In 2006, another range was introduced. More characters were modeled than previously, and some had moving side rods. Additional models from the range were released in Japan.
Tomix
From 1998 onwards, a significant range from Tomix has been introduced providing an electric N gauge Thomas system which was still unique in 2007 and which then included 4 locomotives: Thomas, Percy, James and Henry. Some of the rolling stock looked similar to Graham Farish items.
