How Old just revealed the ages of Thomas the Tank Engine and his friends

We put the cast of Thomas The Tank Engine through How Old to see how old they are
We're answering all the important questions here

How old is Thomas The Tank Engine? Not Thomas The Tank Engine the brand, but Thomas The Tank Engine the person trapped in a train's body. Do you know? Does Google? Does anyone? Not a soul.

Or, to be more accurate, no one KNEW. Because thanks to Microsoft's How-Old tool we can finally find out. Literally everyone else on the internet has done it, why not Thomas and friends?

Thomas The Tank Engine: 27

Thomas

Not only have we learned that Thomas is a 15-year-old trapped in a 27-year-old engine, we have also uncovered the truth about his gender: the really useful engine is, in fact, a woman.

Percy: 40

Percy

If you'd asked us, we'd have said that Percy was about 11. After all, this is the train who ran away backwards without a driver because he got in Gordon's way for a moment. Come on Percy. Sort yourself out, you're supposedly a grown up.

Edward: 45

Edward

Edward was always kind of like the hot older brother, in so much as anthropomorphised trains can be attractive to anyone, so we are disappointed to discover that he's actually 45 and, er, a woman.

Henry: 47

Henry

Now this is more like it - Henry is definitely about 47. He's got just enough responsibility to be worried all the time and is therefore always nagging you to stop messing around and sort your life out. "Where do you want to be in five years, Kate?" he'd probably ask. "Still writing silly articles about toy trains on the internet? Is that really what you want your life's work to be?" Typical 47-year-old, that one.

Gordon: 66

Gordon

Gordon's like the scary teacher at school who's always shouting so when you're little, you hate them. But then you get a bit older and you start realising that they're quite witty and any word of praise from them is worth five gold stars from any other teacher. All scary teachers seem about 66 when you're a kid. He's probably only 32.

James: 36

James

If Edward was your friend's hot older brother, James was your annoying brother who wouldn't stop hitting on your friends. Microsoft pegs him at 36 - he's probably still living in the Fat Controller's basement.

Toby: 38

Toby

Toby is the nicest of all the engines. He's 38 and he's got it all figured out; he's not trying to impress any of the younger engines anymore, he's just getting on with his quiet, closeted life up on the mountain where we think he lives? Not sure. Anyway, he's also a woman.

Donald and Douglas: 36 and 76

Donald Douglas

Right, well, something has clearly gone wrong with Microsoft's algorithm because Donald and Douglas are very clearly twins. Also, what is it trying to say here: if you're happy, you're young but if you look a bit concerned you are old?

Annie and Clarabel: ???

Anni

Ugh. The patriarchy strikes again.

News Editor (UK)

Former UK News Editor for TechRadar, it was a perpetual challenge among the TechRadar staff to send Kate (Twitter, Google+) a link to something interesting on the internet that she hasn't already seen. As TechRadar's News Editor (UK), she was constantly on the hunt for top news and intriguing stories to feed your gadget lust. Kate now enjoys life as a renowned music critic – her words can be found in the i Paper, Guardian, GQ, Metro, Evening Standard and Time Out, and she's also the author of 'Amy Winehouse', a biography of the soul star.