Thomas the Tank Engine is based on a set of books called The Railway Series that were written by W.V. Awdry and first published in 1945.  The stories show talking trains, cars, boats and helicopters that all live on an island called Sodor.  There have been several incarnations of Thomas, including Thomas and Friends, a television show that first aired in 1984 in the United Kingdom and then in 1989 in the United States.  There were also two other shows called Storytime with Thomas as well as Thomas and the Railway Show. 

Thomas later starred in his own film called Thomas and the Magic Railroad in 2000.  Thomas is a little tank engine that lives on Sodor.  He was one of the first tank engines that helped to build the railway.  His main aspiration is to see the world, which has resulted in a few mishaps along the way.  He now has his own railway line in Sodor and he has many other friends, including Edward, Henry and Gordon, who are all talking engines.   

Trivia :  Thomas and Friends has had several narrators, the first of which was Ringo Starr, the former drummer for The Beatles. 
Thomas has appeared in video games for the Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis as well as for the Commodore 64 (a computer which was released in 1982), and the PC.

["Know Your Character" series provided by:
store51 - Sports & Kids Room Superstore]