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Speaker 1: Welcome to Brainstuff from how Stuff works dot com where
Speaker 1: smart happens. Hi. I'm Marshall Brain with today's question. What
Speaker 1: is a tank engine? As in Thomas the tank Engine.
Speaker 1: If you're a parent or a grandparent, then you know
Speaker 1: all about Thomas. Thomas the tank Engine is a merchandizing
Speaker 1: phenomenon that includes small wooden train sets, videotapes, books, clothing,
Speaker 1: and official website and tons of fans sites. If you
Speaker 1: look at Thomas and his friends, there are a few
Speaker 1: things to notice. First, there's Edward, Henry, Gordon and James,
Speaker 1: and they all have coal cars like normal steam engines do.
Speaker 1: But Thomas has no coal car. Thomas has these big
Speaker 1: square tanks beside his cylindrical boiler. The other engines do
Speaker 1: not have these tanks, and Thomas is carrying his own
Speaker 1: coal and a small bin behind the cab. The square
Speaker 1: tanks beside the boiler are what make Thomas a tank engine.
Speaker 1: In real life, the tanks might hold between one thousand
Speaker 1: and two thousand gallons of water, depending on the engine.
Speaker 1: Tank Engines Evolved is a way to handle short lines
Speaker 1: and switching duties in a train yard. The engine carries
Speaker 1: a small amount of coal behind the cab and water
Speaker 1: in its tanks. A tank engine is therefore self contained
Speaker 1: and it doesn't need a coal car. That makes it lighter, smaller,
Speaker 1: and less expensive, but gives it a pretty limited range
Speaker 1: before it has to be recold and rewatered. Tank engines
Speaker 1: were not very common in the United States, but they
Speaker 1: were very common in England, so Thomas the tank Engine
Speaker 1: is a fairly authentic depiction of a form of short
Speaker 1: haul steam engine. The other engines in the series are
Speaker 1: normal steam engines pulling separate coal cars. For more on
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