Blue plaque to be unveiled at home of Thomas the Tank Engine creator

Ceremony marks 80 years since release of the Rev W Awdry's first book and coincides with railway bicentenary

Eighty years since the first of a beloved fleet of trains was introduced to the world, a national blue plaque is being unveiled at the redbrick house in Gloucestershire where the Rev W Awdry worked on his railway stories.

The addition of the new Historic England plaque to Wilbert Awdry's old address in Stroud is expected to prompt fans of Thomas the Tank Engine and his fellow locomotives to make a pilgrimage to the street to pay their respects.