I dunno, Toad. I like Brio products and would still mess with it if I knew where my stuff ended up, but I grew out of that and model railroads now. I have an HO scale model railroad on a 4x8 sheet of plywood and I model the railroad for this locale....which is Burlington Northern Santa Fe (anybody on the east coast will have no idea what BNSF is because they don't run there. You should be seeing CSX locomotives there).
Anyway, I love Thomas because it has a huge, intricate storyline that explains why *everything* is the way it is: locations, why engines have been added to the Fat Controller's engine roster, where Sodor is, why lines are abandoned, all mergers with other railroads, what engines Thomas & friends are in real life, a complete history of the island's railway system, etc. I just love that it's a kid's show with talking locomotives, but the setting isn't completely out there and surreal...it's just steam engines going about their daily business. I think it's very clever that it's wrapped up in a kid's show and kept simple, but there's such a deep story behind it all. (Gotta read the books to know. Nothing is explained much in the TV show...and no, I'm not talking about friggin' Shining Time Station... ugh.)