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I would be interested in whether it has anything to do with faces on trains or just the fact they were trains. Also, compared to other train programs like Ivor

I would be interested in whether it has anything to do with faces on trains or just the fact they were trains. Also, compared to other train programs like Ivor the Engine (from the UK), the trains were real models, not cartoonised. I think the bright solid colours helped too, there is perhaps something soothing about simplicity and trains offer excitement with less of the unknown than road transport.

pbhjpbhj 8y ago
Ivor the Engine is very similar to Thomas IMO, but I saw them both in books first. Solid colours, may be a factor, train livery often is quite bold too. But I don't think kids need to have experienced train travel to have the effect, and real trains aren't so simple; road travel is far more commonplace for most and so is not unknown?
PhasmaFelis 8y ago
Not sure why this got downvoted; I was going to say something similar. A lot of autistic kids like trains. We tend to like trucks, construction equipment, and machines in general, anything that's orderly and has a lot of information available about it; trains are a quintessential nerd interest (see: model train hobbyists, trainspotters), so there's a whole community out there to tap into. I would guess that Thomas the Tank Engine intersects trains and children's TV in a particular way that resonates with a lot of kids who began with an interest in either.