Britt Allcroft, the creator of the “Thomas the Tank Engine” series, has died. She was 81. Filmmaker Brannon Carty shared the news of Allcroft’s death on Instagram on Friday, Jan. 3.

Thomas & Friends is celebrating 80 years of the beloved character and his stories PEOPLE has a first look at the never-before-seen 1983 pilot episode of Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends Thomas ...

The creator of the beloved children’s series ‘Thomas & Friends,” Britt Allcroft, died at the age of 81.

Now Thomas is heading for the Santa Cruz Mountains, where Felton’s Roaring Camp Railroads will be hosting Thomas and Percy’s Halloween Party for three weekends, beginning Oct. 14-15.

Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends ran for 24 series until January 2021 with a total of 584 episodes. Allcroft stepped down as executive producer in the early 2000s.

In an agreement that both parties say is a first, Mattel's Thomas the Tank Engine TV show has turned to an unlikely partner to help develop scripts: the United Nations.