All aboard for Day Out With Thomas the Tank Engine in Grapevine

Grapevine Vintage Railroad is celebrating Thomas the Tank Engine this month with the beloved character steaming into Grapevine as part of the nationwide “Day Out with Thomas: The Celebration Tour 2015.”

Thomas is celebrating 70 years of friendship this year and 20 years of visiting America; the last 11 in Grapevine.

Paul W. McCallum, executive director of the Grapevine Convention and Visitors Bureau, who has been with the city for nearly three decades and is a train aficionado, was happy to welcome Thomas again.

“Thomas is one of those iconic events we look forward to every year because it represents the core of what Grapevine is all about — and that’s families,” McCallum said.

To honor seven decades, the Best Friends Express will mark an unprecedented year of Thomas-themed programs and activations as the #1 blue engine celebrates friendship with fans around the world.

The fun-filled event, held in Grapevine on April 10, 11, 12, 17, 18 and 19, provides children of all ages the opportunity to climb aboard and take a ride with Thomas as well as participate in Thomas & Friends themed activities. Little engineers and their families have been invited to take a 25-minute ride on their favorite engine; meet Sir Topham Hatt, controller of the railway; and enjoy arts and crafts, train tables, a petting zoo, storytelling and live music.

Since Thomas the Tank Engine left the depot 70 years ago, this useful engine and his Island of Sodor friends have chugged their way into the hearts of preschoolers and grownups worldwide. Based on The Railway Series of classic stories, Thomas & Friends is a rite of passage that inspires the imagination while teaching the life lessons of friendship, exploration and cooperation.

Day Out with Thomas: The Celebration Tour 2015 is hosted by the Museum of the American Railroad and the Grapevine Vintage Railroad.

Day Out with Thomas is a collaboration between the Museum of the American Railroad and the Grapevine Vintage Railroad in Historic Downtown Grapevine. Proceeds from the event go toward historic rail preservation. The event introduces a new generation of train enthusiasts to rail travel and the importance of rail preservation. For more information, visit www.HistoricTrains.org.

Thomas the Tank Engine was created by a father for his son 70 years ago and today is enjoyed by families in more than 185 territories and in 30 languages. The #1 blue engine and his friends invite children to enter a world of imagination through the tracks of a train and the words of a story.

This story was originally published April 14, 2015 at 9:57 AM with the headline "All aboard for Day Out With Thomas the Tank Engine in Grapevine."