This year, for his third birthday, my son Buster wanted a Thomas birthday, and when I asked him if he wanted a Thomas cake or a Percy cake (the cake pan will only allow a small engine), Buster demanded a Gordon cake. I have to admit that I was confused, because everything I knew about Gordon included his arrogance, but Buster talked about nothing but Gordon for weeks, including giving that as his only answer when asked what he wanted for his birthday. What else was a mother to do but get him the Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends Gordon?

::: Okay, to Mommy He Looks Like a Big Thomas :::

According to the Thomas web site, Gordon is the "most senior," the fastest, and the most powerful of all the engines in Sodor and isn't afraid to let anyone know it. He's definitely bigger (and more expensive), as he is the same size as the larger trains Daisy and Spencer. Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends Gordon has two black wooden blocks, each with two metal axles with two blue wheels each, for a base, each separately mounted on metal posts to act as a sort of shock absorber for the engine, allowing this extra-long engine to go around corners and up hills a bit more easily. Like all the other wood trains, he has magnets at the front and back (one on each of his "shocks" to connect him to other vehicles.

On top of the shocks is a long blue wooden base that forms the bottom of Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends Gordon. While he might be the same long style as Daisy and Spencer, he has the same rounded body style as the smaller engines like Thomas, and is mostly blue with black, red, and grey accents. His grey plastic face has a sort of benevolent expression.

Along with Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends Gordon, you get Gordon's Tender, a small coal car that attaches to the back of Gordon via the magnets. The tender has a black wooden base with two metal axles, each with two blue plastic wheels (so it matches) with magnets at the front and back. On top of the base is a carved blue bin sort of car, with red accent paint and a yellow number 4 outlined in red. On top of the tender is a molded black plastic rectangle of "coal." I'm sure that my three-year-old would laugh hysterically at me for not knowing, but I'm guessing that with these larger engines, they require so much coal to keep going that they have to bring it along in back? I'm going to run with that idea.

Like the rest of the Learning Curve trains, Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends Gordon comes with a lifetime guarantee, although, at least for now, this is one of the nicest looking ones since he's relatively new and Buster takes special care of him. I do know from experience, however, that over time, the paint begins to chip on these trains.

::: Well, He LOOKS Friendly :::

According to the Thomas web site, Gordon is the "most senior," the fastest, and the most powerful of all the engines in Sodor and isn't afraid to let anyone know it. I've seen descriptions of him as arrogant, but I think that my son Buster is attracted to the fact that he's a very important train in Sodor (after all, he's the one Sir Topham Hatt chose to take the Queen of England around Sodor), but that he also helps out the smaller and younger trains, and Buster is very into helping out his younger sibling when the spirit moves him, even if his idea of helping isn't the same as either mine or his brother's.

For whatever the reason, Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends Gordon is Buster's favorite train. The amount of effort it took me to pry this train and his tender away from Buster to even finish up the review is more than I'd like to put into a review again. He'll be happy to have Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends Gordon returned to him so that he can take him to bed every night; the only one of the Thomas trains to merit such distinction.

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All the things Gordon can lord it over in our version of Sodor:

Ben • Briarpatch Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends Number Game • Colorforms Thomas & Friends - Island of Sodor Play Set • Chinese Dragon • Dazy Sure Track • Ivo Hugh with Zoo Cars • Lifting Bridge • Mavis • Maxim 124-Piece Roundhouse Train Set • Nilo FlexaTrack • Nilo Multi-Use Storage Bench • Nilo Multi-Use Train Table • Oliver • Schylling Thomas & Friends Tin Drum • Sir Topham Hatt & Lady Topham Hatt • Spencer • Thomas the Tank Engine

Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 14.39
Type of Toy: Trains
Age Range of Child: Other