Thomas the Tank Engine arrived at the Strasburg Rail Road Saturday morning to greet his fans.

The "very useful engine" will be in Strasburg through Sept. 25.

Five-year-old Sam Campos, showing his temporary tattoos, excitedly relayed one of his favorite Thomas stories, in which the not-so-nice Spencer wanted to destroy an older engine named Hiro.

"Spencer wanted scrap Hiro," Caleb said with a wide-eyed emphasis on the word scrap.

Fortunately, Thomas helped Hiro hide and taught Spencer how to be nice.

Sam and his 3-year-old brother, Caleb, were surprised by the trip to see Thomas Saturday morning. Their parents did not tell them about the trip until they were in car.

Thomas first left the depot on the island of Sodor more than 50 years ago in stories about the blue and red engine, his friends and a conductor named Sir Topham Hatt. Many, but not all, fans are preschoolers, who came with parents or grandparents. Families had the opportunity to ride a train pulled by Thomas.

Fans could have their photos taken with Thomas and Sir Topham Hatt, ride pump and cranky cars, hear a musician, list to a storyteller, see a 3-foot-tall Thomas made of Megablocks and play with Thomas and his friends on wooden play tables.

More information on Thomas' fit can be found at: http://www.strasburgrailroa....