Britt Allcroft, the creator of the “Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends” series, died at 81, filmmaker Brannon Carty announced on X. Allcroft’s death was announced by filmmaker Brannon Carty.

The Thomas the Tank Engine universe was the brainchild of an Anglican minister, the Reverend Wilbert Awdry, who in 1942 began spinning stories about trains to amuse his son Christopher, who had ...