The Thomas Wooden Railway Blog (WRB) - The Official Blog of WRF

March, April, and May Updates!

2009-05-05T19:44:00.002-04:00

Good day, readers. It is I, your friendly neighborhood moderator, EvilThomas here, giving you the update on all things Thomas and all things Wooden Railway. Let me first start off by apologizing for the large gap inbetween this post and the last. You see, the other mods, admins, and I have all been very busy with our own lives. So much so that we haven't had much time to update the Blog. However, do not fear, as we are back and better than ever.

Hero of the Rails:

For starters, we've rcieved news on the upcoming speical "Hero of the Rails". Pics for the three new characters in the upcoming special, Hiro, Victor, and Kevin, have been released. Also, it has been confirmed that Pierce Brosnan was the narrator only for "The Great Discovery". Michael Angelis and Michael Brandon will resume their narrating roles for "Hero of the Rails" for the UK and US, repsectively. Also, it has been confirmed that individual voice actors shall be used, giving each engine its own distinct voice.

Thomas Wooden Railway 2010:

Also, a list of items set to come out in the Thomas Wooden Railway Range for 2010 has been released. Among these will be: Hiro, Patchwork Hiro, Muddy Thomas, Victor, Charlie, Kevin, as well as several more RFID Talking Railway Engines, and more.

New Die-Cast Engines!

It has also been confirmed that, starting in 2010, Mattel will be releasing a line of die-cast Thomas engines. This could, possibly, see the return of more detailed models, as well as several more characters. Mattel is known for releasing a huge number of characters in their range, due to their excellent research team. With past releases in other series, thye have even released models that nobody ever knew existed. Could this possibly lead to some Railway Series characters being released? Only time will tell...

Magic Railroad News:

A major development in the "Thomas and the Magic Railroad' news. A few months ago, a video on YouTube was found that is from the originally recorded version of the movie. It shows the chase scene involving P.T. Boomer. To watch the video, go here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q63UIJ9lPIQ

Layouts:

Another fantastic set of layouts has been shown, this time from vincehoffman. To check out the pics of his layout, go to the Thomas Wooden Railway Forums.

Well, that's all the news I can think of, at the moment. Until next time,

EvilThomas

A Sneak Peek at Season 13, it seems...

2009-02-05T22:22:00.008-05:00

Pictures of the new characters from Thomas and Friends Season 13 have recently surfaced on the Internet, and a few members of the WRF have found them!

Hiro:

Kevin the Crane Engine:

Victor:

Discuss this new season of Thomas and Friends, the CGI change, the new characters, or just about anything else about the future of Thomas right here!

Personally, I'm most interested in the new, red engine Victor, who appears to be narrow-gauge and with a design similar to Sir Handel's! I can't wait to see the Wooden Railway model. I can just imagine new versions of "Duke the Lost Engine" reenactments or other Skarloey Railway reenactments with Sir Handel being repainted red (as he is in the Railway Series)!

As of yet, no images of the Wooden Railway versions are available. But you can discuss these characters and other upcoming items in the 2009 Wooden Railway thread!

I think this will be an interesting season for Thomas, seeing as many changes will be taking place. Pierce Brosnan is likely to be the narrator in the U.S. and the U.K., and this season will be the first to be completely CGI. As you may already know, the charming models and sets will no longer be used, and, though it's sad to see them go, a new era for the Thomas and Friends franchise is beginning. The new change may be a good thing, allowing for more flexibility, but it could also not turn out so well. We'll just have to wait and see!

And don't forget, a new special for Thomas and Friends is apparently coming out later in the year, called Hero of the Rails!

We barely know anything about it, except for the title and its supposedly titular character Hiro, but We'll keep you updated!

In Forum News, there's a new picture in the Caption Contest thread, so if you have a funny caption in mind, we'd love to see your entry! Contests are always fun, so why don't you give it a try?

~SirHandelII~

More 2009 Stuff

2009-01-22T23:05:00.007-05:00

Happy New Year everyone!

First off, I'd like to formally apologize for my long, unannounced absence. I've just been busy with lots of stuff, and I don't intend to be absent for that long without notice again.

Two days ago, we celebrated our 3rd Anniversary! It was actually January 20th, not the 21st! We currently have around 450 members on the WRF forum. Many of them, however, are inactive, and this is sad because now we have more to offer than ever! We strongly encourage anyone who has an interest in Thomas the Tank Engine, the Railway Series, the Thomas and Friends TV show, or wooden railways in general to join! The more members we have, the better, and we could use more, especially those who are willing to come online often and post!

Here is the link to download EvilThomas's Anniversary BlogCast!
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=YHN13PO3

Anyway, NEW Wooden Railway items for later 2009 have been discovered by Fred (BigThomasFan). We have found pictures for some, just names and prices for others. Discuss them here on the forum!

All information on 2009 items was found from "My Favorite Toys.com"!

In other news, there's been a bunch of new reenactments from users DiscontinuedTrain, CGI useful1, and sodor200. Be sure to check them out! Remember, a list of links to the latest reenactments is at the very bottom on the Home Page of WRF and some other pages so you don't miss a thing!

That's all for now, and remember to keep checking the Blog (WRB) for more updates!

Sincerely,

~SirHandelII~

Happy New Year

2009-01-09T19:50:00.003-05:00

9 JANUARY 2009:

I hope everyone had a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year. Here's the news of the month.

WRF's 3rd Anniversary

WRF's third birthday is coming up in less than two weeks.There is a countdown located at the top of the home page that will help members keep track how many days/hours/minutes/seconds are left until 21 January 2009 8:09pm (Eastern). Come online for the celebration! This is a once in a year special event!

3rd Anniversary Skin

I will put up WRF's 3rd anniversary skin this weekend. Make sure to adjust your profile so you can view the skin.

Count to 1000 - Round 6

Congratulations to percy89 on winning round six of Count to 1000. percy89 received a custom title as a prize. Round 7 is up - start counting and maybe you can win!As always, the 999th poster gets an honourable mention and 300 shop points - Discontinued Train!

WRF Shop

There's not much going on with the WRF Shop currently. I would like to know everyone's opinion on the Shop. Is it a good feature for the forum? Should I remove it? Please personal message me your thoughts.

When reposting links/photos on other threads...

I received a complaint from a member yesterday about certain members ripping photos from his/her posts to post elsewhere on the forum. When doing so, please give credit to the member who originally posted the picture/link. Reposting pictures/links without credit is considered stealing from the original poster.If members are reposting pictures in the same thread, please quote from the member who posted it first.

Make sure to mark your calendars for WRF's 3rd birthday!

Thanks.

Sincerely,
Frank

The WRF BlogCast

2008-10-28T16:54:00.003-04:00

Hi, all.

This is your friendly Thomas Wooden Railway Forums Moderator, EvilThomas. And, I've recently had an idea. As WRF is an awesome place, and the WRFBlog is awesome as well, the Blog deserves something equally as awesome. So, after a brief discussion with Frank, I have created the WRF BlogCast!
A BlogCast, if you do not know, is a Podcast about a Blog. So, here it is! The very first edition of the WRF BlogCast: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=8VUTP0EH

Enjoy!
EvilThomas

It's October!

2008-10-04T22:54:00.009-04:00

News from Frank, the administrator:

Halloween

Halloween is one month away and WRF has to make the most of it! I've defaulted the Halloween skin yesterday and it will stay as the default skin until the first or second day of November.

Similar to last year, WRF will host some Halloween games for prizes and fun.

Trick-Or-Treating

Located at the left of the member profile (as seen below) are the trick or treat buttons.

Members may only trick or treat any one member once per hour. Give others a treat or trick them by snatching a treat away from them (but that wouldn't be really nice, would it?).

Scary Story Contest

We would love to read some spooky fan fictions written by members. Like last year, be creative and have fun!

Prizes

After Halloween, the member with the most amount of treats from trick-or-treating and the member with the scariest spooky story (judged by me, SirHandelII, and EvilThomas) will win a special WRF prize! It could be shop points, a custom username, a special title, or even something else! There will also be a small consolation prize for the member with the most amount of treats in second place. However, if there is a tie for first place, this will not occur.

But members must be active within the last three days before Halloween to receive prizes. This means that if a certain member won the most amount of treats from trick-or-treating but has not logged onto the forum by the 29th of October, he/she will not win and the prize will go to second place and so on if that happens.

The Party on the 31st

Don't let Halloween pass this year - celebrate! Make sure to come on and visit the Halloween Party thread!

The real party begins on the 31st so make sure you come on the forum (or at least for a little while)! And enjoy some virtual Halloween party food, drinks, and perhaps even forum gifts!

Help Us With Skins and Banners

Reenactors, would you like to help with pictures for skins and/or banners here on the forum? For further information, visit this thread!

News Regarding the Shop

The pictures of all the WRF Shop items will be decreased in size later this week due to some members having more than six shop items at once. And stay tuned for 1999 characters making their way to the Shop.

Have a great week, WRF!

Sincerely,
Frank

Other News:

Well, it's me, Stephen again, and we're already into October! As stated above, Frank has lots of plans for Halloween this year on the WRF, so be sure to participate in the festivities! Treat, Trick, post in the fan fictions (you can also do so on Tidmouth Forums), post in the party thread, have fun with the games, and enjoy the WRF Shop!

Thomas and Friends Season 12 has finished airing in the UK, and it should start to air in the U.S. (at least in my area) around October 19th, methinks, so that's something to get excited about!

In Wooden Railway news, pictures have been found of upcoming items Race to the Wharf Set, Flora and Tram, re-designed Duncan! Discuss them here on the WRF!

Take a look:

Race to the Wharf Set:
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3126581

Flora and Tram:

Re-designed Duncan:

Now here's some news about our members.

Fred (a.k.a. BigThomasFan) won Count to 1000 - Round 5 at 7:58 PM on September 28th! Discontinued Train was the honorable 999th poster, so he received a consolation prize of 300 Shop points. Fred's name is now on the WRF Post of Fame, and he received a prize of 1000 shop points! Furthermore, the Count to 1000 - Round 5 thread has been placed in the WRF Museum Gallery, and Fred has started the Count to 1000 - Round 6 thread, which has already proven to be popular. So far we're past 70! And many members have cleverly decided to post adages or proverbs with each post in addition to the number to make this round more special and interesting.

DiscontinuedTrain has posted some more humorous wooden railway reenactments (check them out, they're hilarious!), and he is also ambitiously planning a new "Flying Kipper" reenactment in the future that will feature "snow powder" for the wintry scenes. Be on the lookout for that! I know I'm looking forward to it! BigThomasFan is also planning a reenactment of "Thomas, Percy, and the Dragon," which will hopefully be just in time for Halloween!

Well, that's just about all I can think of for now. Enjoy the forum and have a great week!

Take care,
Stephen (SirHandelII of WRF)

As Time Goes By...

2008-09-21T19:47:00.004-04:00

Well, it's been a while since the blog's been updated, so here you go. I'm Stephen, or SirHandelII from the forum, and now that I'm a team member on the blog, I decided to make a post. Actually, this post is over a week late since I meant to post it. I tend to procrastinate. ;) Recently, things have been going pretty well around the forum. We've had quite a few new members, and last Sunday over 100 members came online! In the Thomas fan world, there's been a lot of exciting things to talk about.

The new feature-length film Thomas and the Great Discovery, which is narrated by Pierce Brosnan, has been released on DVD, and from what I've heard, it sounds very exciting! Talk about it here!

Upcoming wooden railway items for 2009 have been discovered, including the Limited Editions Smudger and Proteus. This information is open to discussion here!

Thomas and Friends Season 12 has begun to air in the UK, and the new changes are in place with CGI facial expressions for the engine and vehicle characters, and complete CGI for the human characters. So far, this seems to be a very interesting season! Surprisingly, however, Michael Angelis has been the narrator for the British episodes when Pierce Brosnan was previously announced, so it will be interesting to see who narrates the episodes for the United States. For the U.S., Season 12 episodes will not begin to air until sometime in October, so we Americans will just have to wait and see! Discuss new information on Season 12 here, and the Thomas switch to CGI here!

From the little I've seen of Season 12, it seems as though this season is a great improvement from earlier seasons. The stories so far seem to be better written (although there's still the lack of realism that has been in place since around Season 6), and old characters such as Donald, Douglas, and Duck have returned! I think the CGI works well, especially for the human characters. The engines' faces look alright, although some leave a little to be desired, and the moving faces are a little distracting from the scenery and backgrounds. However, I think the moving faces gets you more focused on the actual story and helps get you more interested in the episodes. Once I actually see full episodes when they actually air on TV in my area, I'll be able to write more about what I think of the new season.

On the forum, we've had some great new wooden railway reenactments posted by WRF users DiscontinuedTrain, BenTankEngineTwin, and ewan4me! Be sure to check them all out and leave a comment!

As for the Count to 1000 - Round 5 thread, we're at about 900, so we're coming close to completing it! Remember, the winner gets a special prize, and it could be yours, so be sure to participate!

The Thomas Wooden Railway Forums now have 385 members, about 100 of which are active, and currently about 30 members come online each day, so things are going pretty well! It's always good to see old members returning and new members joining! If you're not a member of the WRF, but you have any interest in Thomas or wooden railways, be sure to sign up today!

One last note - it has come to our attention there has been some conflict between members of the Sodor Island Forums (SiF) Thomas fan community and alleged anti-SiF YouTube users. It is lamentable that there is such a rift in the Thomas fan community, but it does exist. Unfortunately, there is nothing we can do to stop "flaming" or disrespect on YouTube, but we would like to make it clear that we of the WRF do not support any disrespectful behavior or hateful comments towards any party, and the last thing we want to do is to start "Internet flame wars." Furthermore, the WRF is not associated with any "SiF hate group," whether members like SiF or not. We just want to enjoy sharing our love of Thomas like everyone else. So please, whether you like SiF or WRF or not, just treat others as you'd like to be treated, and try to be respectful towards others on YouTube. If you do encounter disrespectful people, the best thing to do is probably to just ignore them. And if you would like to share your opinion on something, make sure to do it respectfully so that you will not offend others, and so that people will take you seriously. Remember, the Awdrys would never want an "Internet war" among Thomas fans. All of us love Thomas, and that's really all that matters, not personal vendettas. So just have fun, and enjoy the forum!

SirHandelII of WRF

Christmas in July

2008-07-20T18:49:00.001-04:00

Hello all, here's the news.

2009 Thomas Wooden Railway

Thanks to BigThomasFan, we have pictures and brief information on the upcoming 2009 wooden railway! Discuss it all here!

1998 Characters in Shop

Mike, Duncan, Toad, The Diesel, Express Coaches, and Sodor Railway Repair are now available in the WRF Shop! To add to that, I've decided to lower the prices of everything - but only by 25%.

Christmas in July

Not sure if many members are familiar with Christmas in July. Some people in the summer crave for a colder atmosphere mimicking that of Christmas resulting in a summer Christmas in July.

For those who know me well, you know that I absolutely love Christmas so the 25th of July will seem like Christmas on WRF. Come online this Friday to receive a free WRF Shop holiday gift card! But in order to obtain this gift card, members must post at least once in the Talk-About-Anything-Here Thread thread. Then members will be sent a survey. After completing that survey, I will add a WRF holiday gift card to your profile! After receiving this item, members can sell it back to the Shop to gain an amount of around 25 to 50 shop points or keep it until the price inflates to around 100 to 300. *Limit one gift card per member.

Thank you! Have a great week!

Sincerely,
Frank

Early Fourth of July

2008-06-29T16:57:00.002-04:00

Happy early Fourth of July for those who live in the USA!

George Carlin Skin and Episode of the Week

One week ago from today, American Thomas narrator George Carlin died. To keep him in our thoughts, I've taken the time to make a skin dedicated to him, similar to the one I made for David Mitton. The George Carlin skin shall be WRF's default skin for the whole month of July. Also, for July, all episodes of the week at the WRF Theatre will be shown in George Carlin's narration. Then from August onward, episodes and the narrator will be chosen randomly.

1997 Characters in Shop

Rheneas, Duke, Sir Handel, Fred, Ada, Jane, Mabel, Sodor China Clay Cars, and Barrel Car are now available in the WRF Shop!

Less Blogging

I haven't updated this Wooden Railway Blog for quite a while. From now on, all posts to this blog will be the same as ones posted in the News, Updates and Announcements thread on WRF. I'm sorry, but I just don't seem to have the time to make blog posts every now and then weekly.

Thank you. Have a good day.

Sincerely,
Frank

Happy Memorial Weekend!

2008-05-25T11:07:00.002-04:00

Happy Memorial Day Weekend for those who live in the USA!

Two New Moderators

Let's give a big warm welcome to two new additions to the WRF staff team! After one week of trial, BigThomasFan and EvilThomas are now WRF Moderators. Congratulations to you both! SirHandelii and I both know you two will do great!

Round 4 of Count to 1000 Has a Winner

Congratulations, also, to the winner of round four of Count to 1000 - sodor200! For those who didn't win, don't be too disappointed, as there is always next time. Speaking of next time, Count to 1000 - Round 5 is up now - start counting and you might just win!

Shop Edits

The Custom Username, which used to be obtainable in the shop, has now been removed. It causes a bit of confusion and members put too much in their username. However, it can still be obtained by messaging me (the admin). Just tell me what you want your custom username to be and I'll subtract 1000 shop points from your account. Also, the next batch of wooden railway characters is on its way into the Shop.

Surveys

Twice a month, I will send five random active members from the last 24 hours a survey. By responding to the survey, members receive 25 shop points free! How great is that!? Be on the lookout for opportunities to win hundreds to thousands of shop points for free - it's simple and easy! Don't forget the most fun way on gaining shop points and that's by posting!

Any further questions should be messaged to the me at WRF. Thank you all!

Frank

National Train Day

2008-05-10T15:33:00.004-04:00

NATIONAL TRAIN DAY

So, earlier this week I was watching Wheel of Fortune on UPN 38, as I usually do every weekday evening at 7 and saw that they were promoting something called National Train Day. I became curious and therefore looked it up on Google and came upon the website. Then I decided to make a National Train Day skin and banner for WRF since most of WRF's skins are based on holidays and special events like that.

Here are some useful links:
National Train Day - the official website which will tell you more about well, National Train Day.
And of course, visit the Thomas Wooden Railway Forums and use the National Train Day skin!

Cheers,
Frank

Thomas Wooden Railway Items in Shop

2008-05-10T15:30:00.003-04:00

WRF SHOP NEWS

Those who were here with WRF in late 2006 remember the short-lived Shop code. Because of glitches, I had no choice but to remove it. As of early 2008, it has returned but the question is will it glitch up again? And if/when it does, what shall I do?

Well, anyways, good news is that the Shop has finally been updated with wooden characters! Thomas, Gordon, Toby and even the devious Diesel can now be bought to be displayed underneath your profile on WRF! Each character cost ranges from between 20 to 50 shop points (might increase/decrease with time)!

As of now, no glitches have been brought up and let's hope it stays that way! Remember - gaining shop points is easy! For each counted post, you gain two shop points. Also, be on the look out for secret ways to receive shop points including winning games and answering surveys that we randomly send out!

Enjoy the Shop!

Frank

Forum Upgrade

2008-04-03T08:51:00.002-04:00

Proboards issued to upgrade the Thomas Wooden Railway Forums yesterday night. The upgrade has been a success but there are still minor glitches such as the 'most recent posts' button. When clicked, it will take you to the recent posts before the upgrade. And the Ultimate Info Center is having trouble too.

It appears that the picture hosting site Maj is having some problems, as well. Most of WRF's skin and board pictures and even some reenactment pictures by members are hosted on that site. Until Maj fixes it's bug, WRF's classic skin pictures has been reuploaded to one of my Photobucket accounts.

Glitches galore!

Frank

WRF Shop and Theatre

2008-03-17T21:21:00.003-04:00

Let us welcome two new codes I enabled on the Thomas Wooden Railway Forums - Shop and Theatre!

The WRF Shop was previously used quite a long time ago but had minor glitches and bugs that I had to remove it. A year later, I thought it should deserve a second chance so it has returned. The Shop code can now be used by all members. To use the shop, members need Shop Points and those points are earned by your post count (x2). For example, if I would have 10 posts, then I would have 20 Shop Points. Redeem those points for special items from the Shop such as the ability to bold, italic, underline and even change the colour of your username! Much more is coming soon! Members can also donate Shop Points to one another and sell items back to the Shop for a portion of the regular price. So get posting and get shopping!

Grab your tickets, popcorn and drink and head over to the WRF Theatre! The Theatre is a brand new code and will help to advertise and promote Thomas-related YouTube videos from members on WRF. If you have a video that you would like to be shown at the WRF Theatre, then we'll show it! Plus, WRF will have a screening of a randomly selected 'Thomas Episode of the Week' from YouTube. So head over to the Theatre now!

Frank

WRF Updates - New Staff/Board Editing Finished

2008-03-09T01:48:00.004-05:00

Let me welcome the newest addition to the WRF staff team - SirHandelII!

SirHandelII was wonderful as a regular member. He always contributed to posts and topics and never spammed up the place. He was also a great friend and very fun to talk to.
So, welcome to the staff team, SirHandelII! I know you'll do a great job!

Now, I have also finished editing the boards on WRF. I have removed the staff list from each board and also the table above each board. In replacement, I have put a much more detailed description for each board. I hope that this will be more informative and easier to find.
Also, some boards have moved such as the Transfer Table and the Thomas Game Board to better categories.

The next mission for WRF is a board clean-up meaning all threads with zero posts will be sent to the Scrap Yard!

And WRF might reuse it's old 'Shop' code once again! This might attract more members and get more active or non-active members to post constructively!

That's all for now.

Frank

Grand opening of the Thomas Wooden Railway Blogs

2008-01-10T16:04:00.000-05:00

As the Thomas Wooden Railway Forums (WRF)' second anniversary is only ten days away, I have decided to create a new family link for WRF called the Thomas Wooden Railway Blogs!

This blog will be dedicated to informing about new Thomas & Friends Wooden Railway System products and things happening at the Thomas Wooden Railway Forums!

Although, this site will likely not be updated very often, it will be for news and updates.