Nene Valley Railway 'Branch Line Goods' Driver Experience featuring 'Thomas'

Shot by Liam Egan / LPYLPhotography on the 17th April 2025 on the Nene Valley Railway, featuring their locomotive Hudswell Clarke 0-6-0 Tank Engine No. 1800 / No. 1 'Thomas'. This Thomas was offically named by Thomas' creator, Railway Series author the Reverend Wilbert Awdry. So, essentially this is the real Thomas (although, the design has some minor differences to the engine depicted in the books and later television series). Due to copyright issues, Nene Valley Railway's Thomas cannot be reffered to as 'Thomas The Tank Engine', as the name is owned by Mattel. Nor can he feature a 3D face. (Personally, I prefer the classic illustrated faces that were a mainstay of early 'Day Out With Thomas' events). He is legally allowed to be promoted as simply 'Thomas' and feature the classic blue livery due to the railway's documented agreement with Reverend W. Awdry. This event was a fantastic day organised by the NVR's Wagon Group. I thoroughly enjoyed it and I hope you will enjoy watching this video. The video does not contain footage of my own driving experience. I encourage anyone to visit the Nene Valley Railway to see Thomas and their variety of other engines - some of which are European. (Plus you can 'stick it to' Mattel by supporting an independent Thomas event! I also similarly encourage you visit the Talyllyn Railway in Wales during one of their Awdry Weekends or Railway Series events.). There is also an engine and rolling stock which were featured in '007: Octopussy' and the line was used again in '007: Goldeneye'. If it's difficult to travel in the forceable future, I recommend donating via the Nene Valley Railway's website. Parents please note: Children can attend these Driver Experience events but they will be unable to drive a locomotive due to their age and physical stature.