Ethan Bryan, eight year old son of Drayton Manor general manager George Bryan, blows the whistle on the new world record, assisted by sister Anais-Lorren, local visitor Thomas Land (right) and the Fat Controller.
The UK’s Drayton Manor Theme Park in Staffordshire, home to the hugely popular Thomas Land, has claimed another ‘first’ by setting up the world’s longest ever Thomas the Tank Engine train track at the end of August.
Utilising 10,530 pieces from the new TOMY Thomas Track Master train set, the record breaking track was set up just outside the main entrance to Thomas Land and measured 1,800 metres in length. It was constructed by the Royal British Legion Industries and took a team of six people over a week to complete.
Event was held on behalf of Drayton Manor, HIT Entertainment, owner of the Thomas & Friends brand, and toy maker TOMY . The aim was built to break the current Guinness World Record for the longest toy train track, which previously stood at 1,650.14 metres.
To fit the entire track into the space available, TOMY commissioned 1,700 customised supports to enable the Thomas Track Master Track to travel up and around itself in spirals five tiers high. A total of 48 spirals were created, each 3 metres long and 0.6 metres wide, interspersed by popular Thomas destinations from the Island of Sodor. The track on display also featured numerous Thomas & Friends engines and carriages which brought the whole layout to life and youngsters visiting Drayton Manor were invited by the Fat Controller to take part in the record breaking attempt by adding pieces to help complete the track.
Commenting on the day of the record attempt, Drayton Manor’s General Manager Central Services Helen Pawley said: “This is an amazing occasion. Thomas Land is a huge attraction for the park and Thomas’ popularity continues to grow each year. We are thrilled to take part in a Guinness World Records attempt with TOMY and HIT Entertainment and I’m sure our guests will also enjoy viewing the track and seeing what we have created. It’s been great fun to do and I’m delighted we’ve broken the record.”
The TOMY Thomas Track Master train set is based on the world famous pre-school brand Thomas & Friends, the UK’s number one pre-school brand, a position it has maintained for the past eight years.
Fun facts
The record breaking Thomas & Friends track was made up of the following elements:
5,500 straight pieces of track
3,125 curved pieces of track
10 flat end turn out with switch track (mix of left and right)
10 slope track curves
50 girders (level 1, 2 and 3)
20 bridges
10 Harold at the Hangar
10 Sodor Mountain mines
10 Cranky at the Docks
20 stations
15 Tidmouth sheds
50 Signal posts
1,700 customised supports
Total of 10,530 pieces
See Also -
European award for Drayton Manor Theme Park Thrill Ride
Baby Gibbon Gets a Helping Hand at Drayton Manor Theme Park Zoo