In place of Thomas Carlyle, Britain nurtured Christopher Hill, EP Thompson and Eric Hobsbawm.

The Rev. Awdry continued his work as a minister even while publishing Thomas stories, but Christopher Awdry says his father always kept his life as an author and his life as a clergyman separate.

Thomas Kodadek at the Scripps Research Institute in Jupiter was cited as saying however that early diagnosis may help find a good therapy for Alzheimer's disease.