4. Reverend Wilbert Awdry, the creator of "Thomas the Tank Engine", grew up near which railway main line in Box, Wiltshire? This railway is featured in some of his stories.
From Quiz Choo Choose Thomas! Part 2
Answer:
The Great Western Railway
Wilbert Awdry was the son of an Anglican vicar; his family moved around a lot when he was young. One of his more permanent homes, called "Journey's End" by the family, was just 200 yards from the Box Tunnel, which was built from 1838-1841, and is considered to be an important feature of the Great Western Main Line. Awdry wrote that as a young boy he would listen to the train whistles at night, and learned to distinguish between the different coded signals. It was at that time that he decided, "There was no doubt in my mind that steam engines all had definite personalities". One of Thomas's friends, Duck, worked for the Great Western Railway before coming to the Island of Sodor. In the story, "The Thomas Way", Duck learns that his original mantra, "There are two ways of doing things: the Great Western way, or the wrong way", might not be correct; there is a third way of doing things - the Thomas way! Nevertheless, Duck has the final word, pointing out that the Great Western Way is usually the best!