The following list describes the characters that have appeared in the British children's book series The Railway Series, along with the television adaptation Thomas & Friends, which ran from 1984 until 2021. The Railway Series is a series of 42 British books written by Wilbert Awdry and his son Christopher Awdry. Wilbert wrote the first 26 books from 1945 to 1972 beginning with The Three Railway Engines; while Christopher wrote the remaining 16 books from 1983 to 2011 concluding with Thomas and His Friends.