Thomas the Tank Engine documentary to receive UK premiere at Alstom’s The Greatest Gathering

An Unlikely Fandom: The Impact of Thomas the Tank Engine explores the profound influence of the beloved children’s television series on popular culture and its enduring legacy.

Alstom’s three-day festival in Derby forms part of the wider festivities for Railway 200, a year-long celebration marking the opening of the Stockton and Darlington Railway (S&DR) on September 27th, 1825, and a journey that gave birth to the modern railway.

The documentary delves into the origins of Thomas the Tank Engine, its global impact and the passionate community of fans that have grown around it.

An Unlikely Fandom has been directed by Brannon Carty, an independent filmmaker from Greensboro, North Carolina. He will be travelling from the USA to take part in a Q&A following the screening on Saturday August 2nd, where he will be joined by the film’s producers, Ahmad Akfa, Joshua Hood and Nicholas Maniscalco, along with co-producer James Garder.

“For many of us railfans, it was watching episodes of Thomas the Tank Engine as children that drew us into the wonderful world of trains and railways. Therefore, it was only fitting that we shone a spotlight on Thomas and his friends at The Greatest Gathering, and invite the filmmakers to premiere their fantastic documentary at our historic site. For visitors coming to our festival on Saturday August 2nd, this will be a perfect way to end their day,” said Ben Goodwin, Director of Communications UK and Ireland at Alstom.

The popular character began his adventures in a book published in 1945 – the first in Rev. W. Awdry’s The Railway Series. These stories were later adapted by Britt Allcroft into a live action television show that starred the anthropomorphic railway engines, and which ran from 1984 until 2021.

The Greatest Gathering takes place on Friday 1, Saturday 2 and Sunday, August 3rd, 2025, at Alstom’s Litchurch Lane Site in Derby. Britain’s biggest and oldest remaining train factory will be home to more than 100 rolling stock exhibits from the past, present and future of the railways, with the site itself opening to the public for the first time in almost 50 years.

Alongside displays of historic and modern, mainline locomotives, the celebration will also feature rides along Derby’s Test Track and a variety of narrow-gauge trains will be in operation. Fairground attractions, street food and live music will also add to the festival feel.

Tickets to the UK premiere of An Unlikely Fandom: The Impact of Thomas the Tank Engine are available to purchase only by existing ticketholders of The Greatest Gathering on Sunday, August 2nd only. Priced £10 per person (plus booking fees).

* pictured credited to An Unlikely Fandom

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