Britt Allcroft, creator of 'Thomas the Tank Engine', dies at 81

Britt Allcroft, a British writer, producer, and director, passed away. She was 81.

 She was responsible for bringing Thomas the Tank Engine, an animated locomotive, to television and starting a popular and successful franchise. 

Holly Wright, Allcroft's daughter, informed The New York Times that her mother passed away in Los Angeles on Christmas Day.

The Rev. Wilbert Awdry drew inspiration for Thomas the Tank Engine from a wooden toy he manufactured for his son and used it in a series of children's books published in the 1940s. 

Allcroft's initial adaption, which she funded by taking out a mortgage on her home, was a 26-episode television series that debuted as Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends on ITV in the United Kingdom in 1984.

Ringo Starr was chosen by Allcroft to play Mr. Conductor, the first narrator of the soothing program. The Beatles drummer would be followed by George Carlin, Alec Baldwin, and Pierce Brosnan.

Allcroft and American producer Rick Siggelkow created the spinoff Shining Time Station, which debuted on PBS in the United States in 1989. She also produced Mr. Conductor's Thomas Tales, another spinoff, in 1996.

Allcroft also created the animated series Magic Adventures of Mumfie, which was based on Katharine Tozer's books and included an elephant.

Hilary Mary Allcroft was born in West Sussex, England, on December 14, 1943, and at the age of 19, she was hired by the BBC. 

After that, she worked for Southern Television before starting her own production firm to start stage and television productions.