<P> Awdry was unsatisfied with one detail of the illustration--the fact that the front end of his footplate featured a downward slope, which meant that his front and back buffers were at different levels . This was an illustrator's mistake that was perpetuated in subsequent books . The accident, in "Thomas Comes to Breakfast" was partly devised as a means of correcting this . Thomas has always been shown with a curved front buffer beam in the television series . </P> <P> Unfortunately, despite creating the visual image of such an iconic character, Payne did not receive any credit for his work, and it is only since the publication of Brian Sibley's The Thomas the Tank Engine Man that he has started to receive major recognition . It had often been erroneously assumed that C. Reginald Dalby created the character, as he was responsible for illustrating books 3--11 and repainting the illustrations of books 1 and 2 . </P> <P> Thomas arrived on Sodor in 1915, when The Fat Controller bought the locomotive for a nominal sum to be a pilot engine at Vicarstown . After rescuing James in Thomas & the Breakdown Train, he became a "Really Useful Engine" and was rewarded by being put in charge of the Ffarquhar branchline . Although Thomas is seen today on various heritage railways, the last of the LB&SCR E2 class was scrapped in 1963, however a proposed project has been announced to build a new one . </P> <P> Despite becoming the most popular character in The Railway Series, Thomas did not actually feature in the first book, The Three Railway Engines (namely Edward, Henry, and Gordon). </P>

What time period is thomas the tank engine set in
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