MUCH-loved children’s favourite Thomas the Tank Engine is undergoing a revamp for the 21st Century, which will see all the characters given sleek new images fit for the digital age.
Since the Rev W Awdry’s first book which he read to his son in 1943, the tales of Thomas, James, Henry and Gordon have enchanted generations of children.
Now a few more generations will be able to enjoy the tales after the makeover which is good news for railway lovers.
It is also a golden opportunity for Scotland’s creaking transport system to get a much-needed boost by buying up the old rolling stock ahead of the rail network being nationalised next year.
Who wouldn’t love to see James the Red Engine puffing his way up the Highland mainline with a smile on his face, despite running three hours late due to signalling problems at Perth.
But of course, what should be of more interest to Transport Scotland are the fleet of smiling boats amongst Thomas’s friends.
These could all be bought too and used to plug the gaps on Scotland’s ferry network, which has suffered severe disruption over the summer due to the ageing fleet breaking down regularly.
Little, happy vessels like Lucinda the barge could undergo a refit and plough up and down the west coast.
Obviously she would need a hybrid green engine put in, a bulbous bow fitted and a staff accommodation deck installed and then she would be ready to join the CalMac fleet around 2046. At a cost of around £345m at the current rate.
Thomas’s big chum Bulstrode could easily do the big runs across the Minch to the Western Isles while Captain the wee tug boat could do some of the smaller journeys on the Clyde.
But the biggest bonus would be the train ferry which appears in the books, which could prove a godsend at ports like Oban or Mallaig where trains can just roll onto the boat and bypass CalMac altogether.
They won’t have anywhere to go once on an island obviously, but at least they got there, which is more than can be said for many CalMac ferries at the moment.
The problems on Scotland’s ferry network, of course, are no laughing matter and are a national disgrace. It is not CalMac’s fault though as the staff can only work with what they have been given and that is a fleet that is well past its working life.
The shambolic procurement system and the fiasco of the two ferries currently still in the shipyard years out of date and millions of pounds over budget should have resulted in heads rolling by now .
But nobody is yet to take responsibility for the complete shambles that is costing the island economies millions of pounds.
If CMAL and Transport Scotland were in the private sector, management would have been sacked by now but instead they just plough on playing fast and loose with public cash.
It’s enough to wipe the smile off even Thomas’s face.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here