References in Popular Culture
Satirical magazine Private Eye produced a book Thomas the Privatised Tank Engine, written in the style of The Railway Series. The stories were strongly critical of private railway companies and the Government of John Major, and covered subjects such as the Channel Tunnel, London Underground, transport of radioactive waste and the perceived dangerous state of the railways.
Andrew Lloyd Webber wanted to produce a musical based on The Railway Series, but Awdry couldn't give Lloyd Webber the control he wanted. Lloyd Webber would go on to compose Starlight Express, and create The Really Useful Group, a name inspired by the catchphrase "Really Useful Engines".
Read more about this topic: The Railway Series
Famous quotes containing the words popular and/or culture:
“If they have a popular thought they have to go into a darkened room and lie down until it passes.”
—Kelvin MacKenzie (b. 1946)
“If mass communications blend together harmoniously, and often unnoticeably, art, politics, religion, and philosophy with commercials, they bring these realms of culture to their common denominator—the commodity form. The music of the soul is also the music of salesmanship. Exchange value, not truth value, counts.”
—Herbert Marcuse (1898–1979)