List of Thomas the Tank Engine References in Publications

The following is an alphabetical list of Thomas the Tank Engine-related sightings and references in books, comic books, comic strips, magazines, and other print publications.

Ingrid Pitt's Bertie the Bus
In 1981, actress Ingrid Pitt wrote a book entitled "Bertie the Bus". The main character's name is a clear reference to The Railway Series character has of the same name.

Raising Steam
In the 40th novel in author Terry Pratchet's Discworld series, the character Harry King is referred to as a "Fat Controller, with a history of throwing people down the stairs".

The Little Blue Engine
In 1953, Ursula Hourihane published a little known book series, with a title character "the little blue engine". The engine highly resembles Edward, along with some elements from Gordon.

Thomas the Privatised Engine
Thomas the Privatized Engine was first printed in the pages of the "Private Eye” newspaper in 1992 before being published into its own book two years later.  The collection of stories features Thomas dealing with the effects of rail privatization on the Island of Sodor, such as being sold to private companies only to be leased back to Sir Topham Hatt.

One For the Murphy's
Near the end of the book, a son of the Murphy's is wearing a Thomas towel or blanket.

Vroomers
One of the books in the series was "Cranky the Crane", a clear reference to the Thomas & Friends character of the same name.

The Beano

 * A possible reference occurs in an issue of The Beano from the mid-2000s, where Minnie the Minx vists her cousin named Thomas, who is a massive train enthusiast.


 * In the Johnny Bean strip in The Beano Annual 2009, a man named Mr Puff is in charge of a miniature railway with an anthropomorphic steam locomotive named Timmy the Train. Johnny decides to ride as a passenger in one of Timmy's little carriages. After going through a dark tunnel, it is revealed that Johnny is now driving Timmy, and that Mr Puff must have fallen in the tunnel. Johnny drives Timmy dangerously, going at max speed. When a fallen tree is on the rails, Johnny and Timmy crash into, which leads to Timmy being destroyed. Timmy is a parody of Thomas.

MAD
A drunken parody of Thomas appeared in an issue of MAD.

Big Nate
In the May 3rd, 2005 comic strip, Francis drinks the "Thomas the Tank Engine" juice box, and says that he is drinking it because his mom "ran out of Ovaltine."

Off the Mark
In the May 26th, 2013 strip, Thomas appears in one of the windows with several other "toons" in "The Betty Rubble Center For Recovering Toons". Thomas is listed as Case #5, with his case being, "Totally Tanked".